Photo Credit: Lou Murray
One of the area’s best rivalries, East Grand Rapids and Lowell, renewed its latest chapter as a season opening game. These teams both have high hopes for 2025, and Lowell flexed its muscle with a statement 40-7 victory.
The Pioneers actually struck first in this game, as Josh McCune ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run. Just four minutes into the contest, EGR was ahead 7-0.
From that point forward, it was all Red Arrows. Lowell scored 40 unanswered points to blow its longtime rivals out of the water. Late in the first quarter, Logan Dawson got Lowell on the scoreboard with a 31-yard touchdown run. A missed extra point left them behind by a point, 7-6, as the game transitioned to the second quarter.
The defenses still looked strong in the first half on both sides, as Lowell just got one more touchdown before the half. Marek Pullen broke free, with his 31-yard touchdown lifting the Red Arrows to a 13-7 locker room advantage.
In both the third and fourth quarters, Lowell scored a pair of touchdowns. Dawson scored each of the Red Arrows touchdowns in the third quarter, completing his hat trick with short carries of 2 and 3 yards. He added a fourth score with an early 45-yard sprint past the Pioneers’ defense to balloon the lead. Finally, Nathen Raison ripped off a 58-yard touchdown to cap off the victory.
Lowell (1-0) snaps a three-game slide in this rivalry. Their defense was phenomenal, forcing five turnovers and forcing EGR to turn it over on downs an additional three times. They will look to move to 2-0 when they face Mattawan. East Grand Rapids will look to bounce back when they face South Christian.
