**ARTICLE BY LIEN VELDBOOM**
The Crusaders of Unity Christian had struggled offensively in their first two non-conference matchups. They, however, have since recovered and are undefeated in the OK Blue alongside West Catholic. The Allendale Falcons entered having a mediocre season with a 2-3 record. The Crusaders took charge quickly Friday night, and the Falcons couldn’t recover.
In the first quarter, Allendale opened the scoring. Nolan Spencer rushed for a 7-yard score. Kyle Rosser was able to complete the extra point, giving the Falcons a 7-0 early lead. This lead didn’t last long when Nolan Vis ran it in from the 3-yard line. They completed a two-point conversion.
It was all Unity Christian in the second quarter. Vis ran for his second score of the night when he split the defense for a 1-yard score. The Crusader’s defense assisted in the scoring when Hugo VanderWaal blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the Falcon’s endzone. Vis completed his hat-trick late in the second with another 1-yard push into the endzone. At the half, it was 30-7 Unity.
Two additional Unity Christian touchdowns grew the lead in the third quarter. Mitch Tibbe racked up his first touchdown through the air. He found Carter Bylsma, who carried the ball over the endzone. Later, Isaac Stienstra made his first trip to the end zone with a 50-yard sprint past the Falcon defense. The Falcons reacted with a score of their own. Tyler Sparks was able to shuffle through the solid Crusader defense for a 3-yard score.
The final quarter saw another touchdown run from Sparks, a 47-yard run. Unity Christian’s final score came from Gavin VanKoevering, who received the ball from Tibbe and carried it over the line. Even though the Falcons were very much out of it, they closed out the game with a 46-yard touchdown from Noah Brose.
Unity Christian rushed for 246 yards in this game. Isaac Stienstra leads the charge with 71 yards of his own. Mitch Tibbe threw for 2 touchdowns 0n the night. Allendale relied on Tyler Sparks through the air and on the ground. He led the rushing yards with 141 yards and added 129 yards with his arm.
The Falcons will travel to Coopersville for their week 7 match-up. The Broncos are 2-2 in the OK Blue. Unity Christian will have to defend their undefeated record next Friday as they face the Maroons of Holland Christian. This former rivalry from the OK Green should be a good one as the Maroons look to have a more promising season than the previous few seasons.
