Photo courtesy of Lou Murray
Check out his pictures of the Forest Hills Northern vs EGR game here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/45681226@N02/albums/72177720312121124
And just like that, the 2023 MHSAA Football regular season is over! Nine weeks of competition are now behind us, and starting next week, it’s a five-week sprint to Ford Field for the MHSAA State Championships. Several conference races and games with playoff implications took place around the area tonight. For scores, stats and links to recaps, keep reading the MSR Recap Central:
11-MAN FOOTBALL
Belding 66 Tri-County 20
Benton Harbor 24 Hopkins 16
Big Rapids 55 Alma 13: The Cardinals dominated Alma to conclude the 2023 regular season. With eight wins, Big Rapids has now won its most games in a year since 2012. They are back in the playoffs for the fourth straight year, the longest streak in program history. Big Rapids rushed for 324 yards as a team, with Jack Bollman (7 carries, 172 yards, 3 touchdowns) leading the charge. In a losing effort, Cade Sutherland had 8 catches for 128 yards and a score for Alma. BR 8-1 ALMA 2-7
Bronson 18 Loy Norrix 16: One of the state’s biggest upsets in terms of enrollment differential took place on Friday. The 2-6 Bronson Vikings (enrollment 320) took down Loy Norrix (2-7).
Bullock Creek 21 Swan Valley 13
Byron Center 49 Northview 0
Central Montcalm 39 Lakeview 7
Comstock Park 25 Newaygo 18
East Grand Rapids 21 Forest Hills Northern 7
East Jordan 20 Elk Rapids 0
Edwardsburg 59 Sturgis 33
Forest Hills Central 28 Greenville 0: The Rangers pitched a shutout to wrap up the 2023 regular season. Mason McDonald was 8/13 passing for 110 yards and two scores. JT Hartman added 115 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Nolan Hartl chipped in his own rushing touchdown, while Brenden Cargill and Ty Hudkins hauled in McDonald’s touchdown tosses. Defensively, both Hartman and Brady Drueke had 6 tackles, while Jacob Harleton recorded an interception. FHC 8-1 GRN 2-7
Forest Hills Eastern 27 Cedar Springs 20: FHE was able to narrowly edge their conference foes in the Battle of the Hawks. These schools exchanged touchdowns throughout the game, with FHE’s Mark Fuehrer powering across the goal line from a yard out to open the 4th quarter with an equalizer. After stopping Cedar Springs at the 26 yard line on a fourth down attempt, FHE was able to put together a 7-play, 74-yard touchdown drive. With 2:35 to play, Jake Heemstra was on the receiving end of a 44-yard touchdown pass from Mark Fuehrer. With this win, the Hawks have their most wins since a 2015 semifinal season. FHE 7-2 CS 4-5
Freeland 35 Croswell-Lexington 32
Grand Rapids Catholic Central 42 Ottawa Hills 0: The Cougars blanked their longtime City rivals to wrap up the 2023 campaign. Kamall Hillard had a team-high 10 carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Brock Jones also found the end zone on the ground. Connor Wolf threw just nine passes, five of which were caught. Lucas Thelen had three of those catches for 39 yards and two scores. This is the second straight winless campaign for the Bengals, as their streak extends to 23 games. GRCC 8-1 OH 0-9
Grandville 43 Jenison 14
Hart 44 Ravenna 0
Hastings 38 Battle Creek Penfield 3
Hesperia 46 Holton 6
Holland Christian 49 Unity Christian 20: The Maroons ended their 2023 regular season with a shootout victory against their rivals. HC was able to mirror the score of last year’s game, in which the ‘Saders won by the same amount. Eli Boyce completed all 24 passes he attempted, racking up 248 yards and 4 touchdowns. He added 107 yardson the ground over 15 carries. Josh Bruxvoort paced the receiving core with 90 yards, while Ethan Abberger had 82. James Van Appledorn led HC’s defense with 11 tackles. This was the first win in the series for the Maroons since 2019. HC 4-5 UC 3-6
Houghton Lake 48 St Louis 8: The Sharks season comes to an end with a frustrating defeat against Houghton Lake. STL was outgained 442-125 in this game, with Joshua Dew scoring the lone Sharks touchdown on a 15-yard carry in the fourth quarter. HL 5-4 STL 1-8
Kenowa Hills 28 Middleville 20
Kent City 44 Grant 20
Lawton 64 Comstock 0
Lowell 63 Grand Rapids Christian 35
Ludington 45 Mason County Central 14
Manistee 40 Fremont 7
Muskegon 58 Wyoming 0
North Muskegon 52 Shelby 14
Oakridge 35 Montague 14
Reed City 27 Cadillac 14
Reeths-Puffer 14 Zeeland West 12
Spring Lake 47 Hamilton 38
Union 60 Holland 25: The ‘Hawks saw an offense explosion against the Dutch in their regular season finale. Union scored in each quarter, including a 28-point fourth quarter. This was a response to a Holland run that trimmed the 24-0 deficit down to 32-25 with 9 minutes to go. Amari Powell passed for 305 yards, while Jesse Phillips turned 32 Union Carries into 353 yards. The Dutch’s losing streak extends to 21 games (3 forfeits). The last time they went winless in a 9-game campaign was 0223. U 3-6 HOL 0-9
West Catholic 59 Fruitport 7
West Ottawa 34 East Kentwood 22
Whitehall 68 Orchard View 0
Zeeland East 21 Mona Shores 20
8-MAN FOOTBALL
Bridgman 63 Colon 0
Climax-Scotts 38 Pittsford 30
Concord 76 Athens 0: The ‘Jackets wrapped up their regular season with a thrashing of Athens. This gives Concord their most wins since 2016, when they posted a 9-3 mark. The victors outgained Athens 468-128 in this game, with 343 yards gained through the air. Mekhi Wingfield caught 8 of Riske’s 12 passes, racking up 223 yards and five touchdowns. CON 6-3 ATH 0-9
Fulton 36 Carson City-Crystal 28
Gobles 68 Red Arrow 8
Marcellus 42 Eau Claire 0
Martin 40 Maple Valley 22: The Clippers finish the season with a strong showing against neighboring Maple Valley. Gavin Meyers rushed 24 times for 273 yards and three scores. Haylen Buell added 22 carries for 106 yards and three scores for the victors. MRT 7-2 MV 7-2
Mayville 66 Ashley 14
Twin City Sharks 56 Lawrence 16: The Sharks were able to obtain their first winning season since the two feeder programs combined. The strong finish by Twin City has given them four wins in their final five contests. TCS 5-4 LAW 1-8
Wyoming Lee 62 Bloomingdale 0
