The Eagles squad hosted the Hamilton Hawkeyes for a conference game on a lovely fall evening.
The crowd was lively but the Eagles offense had a tough time developing rhythm in the first
half. The Hawkeye option offense was tough and, despite some solid defensive play, was able
to keep drives alive and put the ball into the endzone twice before giving the Eagles the ball
with just over a minute left in the second quarter. The Eagles got a first down near midfield on a
pass from Bradley Nuiver to Malachi Sandberg but couldn’t connect on a couple of deep shots.
The Eagle punt was muffed by Hamilton and Justin Davis wrestled the loose ball away at the
bottom of the pile giving the Eagles another chance. With just a few seconds left, the Eagles
tried a 42-yard field goal as time expired in the half but the strong kick sailed just wide left – so
close from such a distance! Halftime score 14-0 Hamilton.
In the second half, the Hawkeye defensive pressure and offensive fakery kept the Eagles off-
balance on both sides of the ball despite strong effort by GRC. The Eagles kept fighting and
finally found some rhythm on their last drive of the game – led by Will Stuit finding Sandberg
and Elden Grover for nice gains through the air. The Eagles Offense moved the ball down to the
Hamiton 26-yard line but stalled on fourth and long and the Hawkeyes were able to run out the
clock. The final score: Hamilton 30 GRC 0.
It was a tough loss to a good team but, as they have all season, the Eagles offense and defense
never stopped battling and picking each other up. Leaders on Offense were Bradley Nuiver with
4 completions for 52 yards passing and Wyatt Stuit with 4 completions for 42 yards. Receivers
were led by Malachi Sandberg with 4 catches for 33 yards and Breion Walton with 2 receptions
for 32 yards. The running attack was paced by Elden Grover with 3 carries for 20 yards to go a
key 22 yard reception on a well-executed screen play. Charlie Molenbeek was all over the field
on defense with 10 tackles. Kayden Buyck had two key pass break-ups to go with his 3 tackles
and the eagles tallied quite a few tackles for loss: Easton Howe (3), Wyatt Stuit (2), Cam Renz
(1.5 plus a forced fumble).
The tough and resilient Eagles look to get back into the win column next week Thursday at
6:30PM for an away contest against the Wayland Wildcats. Roll Eagles.