The Eagles looked to defend their home turf against the Red Hawks of Union on a fall-like
evening at Eagle Stadium. The White-Out student section, the Eagles Cheer Team, and many
parents and fans helped energize the Eagles as they received the opening kickoff.
QB Charlie King helped orchestrate a beautiful opening drive using scrambles, runs by Tony
Phillips, and passes to four different receivers. The efficient drive was capped off with a 25-yard
strike to TD Davis and a successful XP kick by U’Maree Talley. Union’s first offensive drive was a
three-and-out after the Eagle defense did its job and the Red Hawks were forced to punt.
The Eagle offense stayed efficient and marched 63 yards in just 4 plays. The drive ended on a
25-yard flip pass to the motion man, Ben Toly, who got a great kickout block from wideout Tyler
Davis on the edge, cut upfield, where hustling left tackle Dane Fitzgibbon was 15 yards
downfield blasting the last Union defender with a chance. Talley again nailed the extra point.
Eagles up 14-0 still in the first quarter.
Union was again forced to punt by a swarming Eagle defense. On their third drive of the game,
GRC mixed running and passing to move the ball down the field to the 8-yard line. Aaron
Gholston’s juke inside and sharp cut outside put the Union defender in a blender and King
found Gholston wide open in the left front corner of the endzone. The extra point kick sailed
just wide: 20-0 Eagles.
Crafty kicker Davis Hutt spotted the ensuing pop-up kickoff between Union players and Adrian
Selfe jumped on the ball allowing the Eagles regain possession. Unfortunately, the Eagles
offense was stymied by the Red Hawks and forced to punt. The teams then traded punts on
their next drives, each team going three-and-out, before the half ran out on Union at their own
16-yard line.
Union received the second half kick and switched to the wildcat formation to try to get
something going against the stout Eagle D. It worked somewhat as the Red Hawks got a couple
of first downs using eight consecutive runs and moved the ball down to the Eagle 27-yard line.
That’s where the D stuffed the QB in the backfield on fourth down giving the ball back to GRC.
The Eagles recaptured the first quarter magic and marched 73 yards in just 4 plays – a 16-yard
swing pass to Phillips, a 24-yard sprint by Will Owens, a 29-yard dart to TE Brandt Alles dragging
tacklers down to the 4. Owens cashed in for the TD on the next play. The run and pass-blocking
was excellent by the OL of Dane Fitzgibbon, Caleb Pugh, Davis Hutt, Cam Morgan, and Trevor
Moore. Talley capped off the TD with true XP kick: 27-0.
After another Union three-and out, the Eagles first play after the punt saw the OL open a gaping
hole for Tony Phillips who ran for about 10 yards before he even had to make a move, then he
stiff-armed a Red Hawk, juked two others, and turned on the jets for a 57-yard gain down to

the 7-yard line. Union’s defense rallied but a 27-yard FG by U’Maree Talley after a perfect snap
from Aaron Gholston to the holder Charlie King made the score 30-0 Men in Black.
The GRC defense, led by the Young Big Men up front, sophomore Caleb Pugh and freshmen
Kylon Bender, forced a turnover on downs by Union deep in their own territory. Will Owens
took the ball three consecutive times from the 20-yard line punching it in behind the Boys Up
Front from 3 yards out for his second touchdown of the day. Talley’s kick was good and the
Eagles went up 37-0 and the scoreboard went to a running clock.
There was no quit in the Red Hawks and they used some nifty runs and a long pass to move the
ball down the field and capitalize on a pass from 8 yards out for their first and only TD of the
game with 4:47 left in the fourth quarter. The Union extra point was swatted away by TD Davis
making the score 37-6 Eagles. GRC was forced to punt and then the defense almost got the ball
back on a forced fumble by sophomore Hudson Ogle. Union recovered but the clock soon went
to triple zeroes! The Eagles were able to ring the Historic Seymour Christian Victory Bell for the
first time this season after their 37-6 victory!
Standout performances on offense were led by Senior backs Owens (48 yds on just 5 carries
and 2 TD) and Phillips (76 yds on 9 carries). Sophomore QB Charlie King completed 14 passes in
19 tries for 206 yards and 3 TD. The Eagles receivers were led by Brandt Alles (3 – 67 yds) and
Ben Toly (3 – 64 yds and a TD). None of these young men could have had the success they did
without standout effort by the OL.
On Defense, the three-running-back attack of the Red Hawks was stymied all evening with the
entire defense getting into the action. Linebacker Ty Damstra led the way with 5.5 tackles, 1
TFL, and a QB hurry but help was everywhere. Supporting in the secondary, Aaron Gholston had
3 tackles. Up front, Dane Fitzgibbon collected 3 of his own. All told, 14 different players
registered at least 1 solo tackle and 7 different players collected tackles for loss. U’Maree Talley
(2) and Nasir Zimmerman (1) swatted away passes from Union receivers that would have
connected for first downs.
It was a team effort to get the bounce-back win and even the record at 1–1. GRC prepares
to welcome rival East Grand Rapids to Eagle Stadium next week Friday. Let’s Roll Eagles!