Well, to say that district championship weekend delivered would be the understatement of the century… upsets, wild comebacks, last second winners and more all played out in stunning fashion last Friday – Let’s *try* to find the four biggest stories of district title weekend on MSR.
1st DOWN: Sailors Sink ‘Saders
Last week here we gave some great bulletin board material to South Christian as I posed and answered the question of ‘who could stop the ‘Saders” after Unity Christian disposed Hamilton in round one to continue their perfect season after leading by 50 at the half by saying… “Probably No One”.
Well, South Christian and QB Carson Vis had some other ideas, as a now-healthy Vis had the impact on the game that we certainly figured he could, as S.C. put up 35 points to end the Crusaders perfect season in stunning fashion. Unity was a clear favorite for many to make it to and likely win once they got to Ford Field this year – and now South Christian has re-set that scenario to put themselves in a spot to make a run back to Ford Field and look for some revenge of their own, after they fell in the title game with a last second incomplete pass vs Harper Woods last November.
The Sailors ability to string together long drives to control the ball and strike with big plays when needed in a one-score game with Vis’ arms and legs was the X-Factor in this game and will be the key for them the rest of the way. If coach Brown’s team will be able to use the offense to help keep the defense off the field more and then also be able to lean on Vis and his talented supporting cast for extended bug plays when needed – this could be the start of another special run for South Christian.
2nd DOWN: Bulldogs Maroon Sailors
Maybe the most anticipated game of the weekend was a rematch of the 14-12 Mona Shores and Byron Center clash between the top two teams from the OK-Green this year – each of which feel that they should have been favored to win this game and also to go all the way to the state finals on Thanksgiving weekend.
This game lived fully up to the hype in a stunning back-and-forth affair that was decided on the slim margins (particular the turnover margin) like the first time around. The first half was all Byron Center as the Dawgs would lead 17-0 on the break with Mona Shores only maneuvering the ball into plus territory once. Then the Bulldogs would recover a pooch kick to open the second half and immediately throw a TD from Landon Tungate to Luke Laska to lead 23-0 10 seconds into the third.
Then QB Jonathan Pittman took over for Mona Shores, first with his arm – finding Tyrese McCorvey-Hill for a long TD, then with is legs – rushing in twice to knot the game at 23 by the mid point of the 4th quarter (thanks also to two two-point conversions on then legs of Pittman).
Byron Center would then answer, as Tungate would plunge into the end zone from a yard out to retake a 30-23 lead with under 6 minutes to go. The Sailors would drive all the way up to the BC 8 yard line, where on third down Pittman would make the game’s critical mistake as he threw up an INT (his second of the game) to Bulldog senior Will Lake to seal the game and seal the revenge win for B.C..
The Bulldogs next will host 8-3 Portage Central, as they look to win the regional championship game that they fell in to East Lansing a year ago – and continue their revenge tour.
3rd DOWN: Eagles Win a Rivalry Classic
Grandville and Hudsonville seemingly only play thrillers when the two face off, the first time around this year Hudsonville cemented their status as eventual OK-Red Champions with maybe their most impressive game of the year – taking down the Bulldogs 35-16. But, Grandville came in to this game flying high off a Rockford road win to open the playoffs and riding some great defensive performances that turned the Bulldogs into real contenders. Hudsonville needed a walk-off field goal to take down East Kentwood the week before – setting this one up for what was expected to be another thriller – and that was right.
Grandville would have the early edge, going up 10-0 at the half. But, Hudsonville was able to rally to find themselves up 12-10, before the Bulldogs would strike right back to lead 16-12 and then get the ball back in their possession leading by that same mark with a chance to put things away. The Bulldogs would throw the first of the key second half INTs here, leading to a long Hudsonville drive that would give them a 19-16 edge on a break-out Owen Haarsma run.
Rushed to the air Grandville would be able to move the ball just to the outside of field goal range before Ethan Newville would throw his second INT of the half to Trenton Naber, closing out Hudsonville’s 10th consecutive win and giving the Eagles a district championship in heart stopping fashion.,
The Eagles next will look to avenge their own loss – against another power T team – as they travel to unbeaten and the top playoff point earning team in Michigan – Howell.
4th DOWN: Cougars Stun Falcons
The state title game in division 5 last year likely ran through a regional final game between West Catholic and Catholic Central, and this year the same very likely could be said about Friday’s district final game between the GR area’s two Catholic school rivals. The Falcons were the favorite in this one according to most, with Catholic Central finishing up and up-and-down season that saw them finish tied for second in the OK-Black as they broke in a lot of new pieces off of their championship-winning 2023 season.
But, in a weekend of surprises – there would be no reason to expect anything different than the madness that broke out at West Catholic Friday in this one. Let’s just fast forward to the closing seconds… Leading 18-15 with 18 seconds on the clock Wes Catholic is set to punt it away, they are just a punt and a Hail Mary or two stop away from moving on and earning a hard-fought win over the reigning champs.
But, then junior Brayden Sweeney for the Cougars blocked the punt and CC landed on it inside the 15 yard line with less than 20 seconds on the clock. GRCC then would strike, freshman QB Odin Spencer would find senior wide out Jami Williams with nine seconds on the clock to take one of the most stunning leads you could imagine. The desperation heave would fail for West and Catholic Central prevailed with maybe the most stunning victory in recent memory – and a remind that it’s always going to be the ultimate challenge to beat the reigning champ, regardless the circumstances.
FREE PLAY:
I wasn’t even able to get into FHC’s tough win over Coopersville that set up a rematch in D3 vs Zeeland West from last year’s state semifinal next weekend, or coach Ralph Munger leading Newaygo back from a 16-0 deficit vs Central Montcalm for another district title for one of the state’s greatest coaches of all time. Those and a ton more great stories can be relived in the on-demand section of the listen live page – I would highly suggest everyone going back and listening to all of the great action from nine district title games from last weekend on MSR.
We’ll have a ton more action coming up this week, so be sure to check in and keep up with all of the biggest matchups across west Michigan and beyond as the ‘drive to Detroit’ begins to near it’s conclusions with two wins now just separating all of the teams that play from a chance to play for a state title!
