Grand Rapids Christian 28 West Catholic 26
Looking for an OK White win, the Eagles battled West Catholic in a back-and-forth
game full of big plays. After a slow start, GRC struck first when Bradley Nuiver found
Jacob Burgess for a 46-yard TD, with Nuiver hitting Wyatt Stuit for the conversion and
an 8-0 lead. The Falcons answered, but GRC came right back as Nuiver connected with
Cooper Brisbane for 53 yards to get close before finding Stuit in the end zone. Nuiver
and Stuit connected for the conversion giving the Eagles a 16-6 edge. WC was able to
get a TD but the Eagles responded when Nuiver added a 12-yard TD run just before
halftime to make it 22-12 Eagles.
West Catholic opened the second half with a quick score to pull within two, but the GRC
defense came up with stops and turnovers, including a strip-sack from Stuit that was
recovered by Jacob Bierling. Just a bit later, a wild sequence saw the Falcons pick off
an Eagle pass only to have Sam Krosschell force a fumble during the return! Zeke Sare
dove on the ball to give possession back to the Eagles. With 3:02 left, Nuiver hit
Krosschell for 40 yards before James Veldheer powered in from the 5, stretching the
lead to 28-20. WC scored late, but on their 2-point try to tie, Sare burst through to make
the stop. The defense sealed it with two huge, incompletion-causing hits by Josiah
Gurley, closing out the win 28-26.
Bradley Nuiver paced the offense, going 12-for-16 for 236 yards and 2 TDs. Jacob
Burgess had 76 receiving yards and a score, while James Veldheer rushed for 63 yards
and a TD. Defensively it was a team effort with many players making key plays.
Veldheer led with 7 tackles and Cole VanderBaan notched 6. Sam Krosschell collected
5 tackles and a forced fumble; Jacob Bierling tallied 5 tackles and a fumble recovery;
Javi Cummings added 4 tackles and a sack. Wyatt Stuit stole the show with an
incredible stat line of 6 tackles (4 for loss), 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, an interception,
plus 61 receiving yards, a TD reception, and 2 two-point conversion catches!
The Eagles improve to 3-3 on the season and will go on the road next Thursday to face
the Hamilton Hawkeyes.
Go Eagles!