GR Christian 14 Holland Christian 6
After days of rain, the skies over Eagles Stadium cleared for the final game of the
season. Holland Christian began the game with a long kickoff return into Eagles territory
but, on fourth down, Jacob Bierling pressured the QB and Sam Krosschell knocked
down the throw to end the threat. The Eagles drive stalled on an interception, but Zeke
Sare returned the favor, intercepting a Holland Christian pass at the 5-yard line, and
returning the ball back near midfield! Just a few plays later, James Veldheer darted
through the line and outraced the HC defenders for a 32-yard TD run. Bradley Nuiver
and Wyatt Stuit connected for the conversion to give GRC an 8-0 lead. On the Maroon’s
next try, Kayden Buyck batted down a pass, and Stuit collected a sack to force a
Holland Christian punt. Unfortunately, an Eagle turnover gave HC another chance and
they were able to get a touchdown, but Bierling forced an errant throw on the
conversion: 8-6 GRC as the first half came to a close.
The Eagles received the opening kick and marched the field behind solid running from
Sare and Nuiver and key completions to Cooper Brisbane. After a 12-play drive, Nuiver
found Jacob Burgess in the endzone to extend the Eagles’ lead to 14-6. The Eagle
Defense forced another punt after an Isaac James sack, and the Eagles offense tried to
put the game away. Holland Christian was able to keep the Eagles a yard short on
fourth-down at the HC 15-yard line, giving themselves one more chance with 3:38 left in
the game. Things got interesting as a Maroon receiver got behind the defense and
dashed down the sideline, but Veldheer made a diving ankle-tackle to give the D
another chance to make the stop – and the Eagles responded! With under a minute left,
HC faced 3 rd and 2 at the six yard-line when Antonio Martin flew through to sack the
quarterback! On fourth down, the Holland Christian QB sprinted right, looking for a
receiver. The Eagle DB’s covered long enough to allow Isaac James to race the width of
the field to get the sack and force a fumble to let the Eagles kneel out the win!
The run-game led the way in this victory. James Veldheer powered for 73 yards and a
TD while Nuiver and Sare added 45 and 42 yards on the ground. Nuiver’s 9 completions
for 80 yards were not high numbers, but moved the chains. Two catches each for
Burgess (22 yards, 1 TD), Brisbane (22 yards), and Cole VanderBaan (17 yards) kept
drives alive! Defensively, Veldheer (5 tackles) and VanderBaan (4 tackles) flew around
the field. Kayden Buyck (2), Jacob Bierling, and Stuit had critical pass break-ups, while
James (2), Stuit, and Martin collected sacks to thwart the Maroons.
The final game win gives the Eagles three wins in the final four games to raise their
record to 5-4 for the season. The competitiveness, drive, and growth over the course of
the season was impressive to see! Thank you to the fans for supporting the team this
season.