The Hudsonville Eagles and Grandville Bulldogs provide one of the area’s more passionate rivalries. These neighboring towns have met in each season since 1997, and Friday night saw another great battle. Hudsonville, who continues to announce themselves with each victory, brought down their rivals in a 35-16 contest that secures them at least a share of the OK Red title with two games still to play.
Midway through the first quarter, Hudsonville struck first. Bryce Fox powered in from six yards out, giving the Eagles an early 7-0 lead. Grandville wasted no time in responding, as Jayden ‘Tank’ Terry bolted through the Hudsonville defense for an 81-yard touchdown sprint. Their successful PAT evened the count at seven.
Not to be outdone by his counterpart, Owen Haarsma provided a spark for Hudsonville on their responding possession. He took the handoff, made a quick cut and raced 72 yards to the end zone to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead.
Hudsonville would score once more on a pass from Baker to Brady Van Laecke. The Bulldogs would respond at the end of the first half, finding three points when Jake Keranen converted a 29-yard field goal. As the teams went to the locker room, Hudsonville held a 21-10 edge.
The same 21-10 score would hold throughout the third quarter, with two punts and two turnovers on downs. On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Hudsonville would extend their lead on another keeper by their tailback, Bryce Fox. His 22-yard run gave the Eagles a 28-10 lead.
Though Grandville normally prefers to run in their T-offense, trailing by 18 forced them into a passing situation. Ethan Newville found Gibby Connelly on a play-action pass that the tight end turned into a nice 69-yard touchdown score. A failed conversion left Grandville down 12, 28-16.
Hudsonville would ice the game away with just under four minutes to play. Their drive brought them deep into the red zone when Griffin Baker and Van Laecke paired up for an 8-yard score.
With this victory, Hudsonville improves to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in the OK Red. In the final two weeks, a victory over either Caledonia or West Ottawa would give the Eagles the outright league title. Grandville, now 3-4, will look to get back to .500 when they face West Ottawa in Week 8.
