The Grand Rapids Catholic Central Cougars welcomed their longtime city rivals, the Ottawa Hills Bengals, to town on Friday night for an OK Black battle. This was a one-sided affair, with the Cougars cruising to a 58-0 victory, scoring 51 first half points.
In the first quarter of the game, Owen Tietema was the star for CC. He scored twice, on a carry of 2 yards as well as a 2-yard reception. These were the lone scoring plays in the opening stanza.
The second quarter saw the CC offense explode. They got a 6-yard carry from Carter Burgin to push the lead out to 21 points. Just moments later, the Cougars defense swallowed up the Bengals quarterback for a safety. On the ensuing possession, John Superson III gave CC six more points with his3-yard carry. Nick Schaab hauled in a 20-yard touchdown to push the GRCC lead to 37-0, before the defense struck again. The next scoring play from the Catholic defense saw Malachi Young scoop up a loose fumble and rumble 12 yards for a touchdown. Finally, Brady Berkemier gave the Cougars a 51-0 halftime edge with his 12-yard carry with 1:40 to go in the half.
In the second half, the running clock chewed up the game clock. The lone score came on the defensive side, the third scoring play for the Cougars defense. Eshan Burrel found his way to the football, racing 28 yards for the recovery touchdown.
This game was absolutely one-sided. Ottawa Hills had (-32) yards of total offense, with (-24) rushing yards on 22 carries. GRCC had just 217 yards of offense, but two interceptions, three fumble recoveries and a safety kept giving the Cougars offense fantastic field position.
With the win, GRCC is now 6-0 and firmly in the driver’s seat in the OK Black. Next week, the Cougars will face Holland Christian in a pivotal OK Black contest. Ottawa Hills, now 0-6, has lost 37 of their last 38 contests. They will look to battle back next week when they face Northview.
