The GR Christian football team took to the field on a beautiful late summer Friday evening at Northview High School to take on a tough and scrappy Wildcat team. The Eagles came out a bit slow and did not quite have enough left in the tank to finish a late rally, eventually falling to the hosts by a score of 22-14. 

The Black & Blue defense was a definite highlight in this contest, allowing only 7 first-half points and battling hard all night to keep the Eagles in the game, despite early struggles by the offense. Led by senior linebacker TeQuan Culbreath (8.5 tackles) and senior lineman Jaylin Garcia (7 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss), the boys from GRC gave the Wildcat offense tough sledding all night. Linebackers Tem Warners and DeWayne Goree also each contributed with QB sacks, while senior Gabe Armstead chipped in an interception from his position in the defensive backfield. 

Offensively, the Block C boys found a way to move the ball with moderate success throughout the game - going 3-and-out only two times on the evening. However, turnovers, missed assignments, and other miscues piled up to keep the Eagles off the scoreboard until early in the 4th quarter when quarterback Alek Wickstrom found junior receiver Jude Klunder open in the end zone for a nice 4-yard TD strike. Five minutes later, the mighty Blue & Black would strike again on a 2-yard run by junior DeWayne Goree. Just as the Eagles started to form visions of late-game heroics, the game clock gave a resounding punctuation mark as the time ran out before the offense could possess the ball again. GR Christian got good contributions from leading rusher Tayvarie Heard, along with Klunder (6 catches and the aforementioned TD) and senior tight end, Tyler "Big Play" Porte (4 catches for 84 yards). The big men up front supplied great pass protection as the Eagles took to the air more frequently down the stretch of the game as well.

With no time to feel sorry for themselves, the team will need to show up ready to roll this week with a big rivalry game on the horizon against their cross-town foe - a very tough and battle-tested squad from East Grand Rapids. Go Eagles!