By Greg Chrapek
Halloween is just around the corner and in high school football that means the state playoffs are also set to launch.
With the final week of the regular season in the books, a pair of local heavyweights, East Kentwood and South Christian, are both set to begin what they hope will be long playoff runs.
East Kentwood (5-4 overall) travels to Hudsonville (8-1) in the first round of the playoffs in Division 1 Region 1 at 7 p.m. Friday, while South Christian (5-4) hosts Holland Christian (6-3) at East Kentwood High School in Division 4 Region 1 at 7 p.m. Friday.
The Falcons finished the regular season with a 5-4 record after falling 45-27 to Rockford in the regular-season finale. The Falcons clinched a playoff berth with a 31-7 win against Jenison in Week 8.
The Falcons have made steady progress in their trek to the playoffs while playing a rugged schedule full of playoff teams.
“Our team has gained a lot of confidence the last couple of weeks,” said East Kentwood coach Tyrone Spencer. “I like where we are going right now and we are starting to hit our peak.”
The Falcons have a good mix of passing and running on offense and have been playing strong defense.
“I think we have done a good job of establishing the run and mixing in the pass,” Spencer said. “The last couple of weeks our defense has also been pretty stout, especially against Grand Haven and Jenison. Even the Grandville game our defense did a pretty good job at times containing that explosive offense.”
Offensively, the Falcons are led by quarterback Kayd Coffman and running back Elijah Jones. Jones rushed for 186 yards against Jenison after running for over 180 yards the week before against Grand Haven.
On defense, the Falcons have been receiving solid play at all three levels.
“Our linebacker, Terence Kabanda, leads us in tackles,” Spencer said. “Our defensive line is a pretty stout group with Syncere Hobson-Washington, James Jones and Tyler Meeuwsen all doing a good job. Our sophomore safeties Donavan Jones and Major Barnes have done a good job of making plays.”
Kentwood is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022 after missing out on the playoffs last year.
South Christian makes playoffs with win over Catholic Central
South Christian kept its string of playoff appearances going with a big 26-20 win against Catholic Central in the Week 9 finale to guarantee a spot in the playoffs. The Sailors have qualified for the playoffs the past eight years, including winning the Division 4 state championship two years ago and reaching the Division 4 state title game last year.
The Sailors improved to 5-4 for the season with the win against the Cougars.
The Sailors clinched their playoff berth in thrilling fashion as they trailed Catholic Central 20-10 at halftime before rallying in the second half with a pair of touchdowns to win the game.
In the third quarter, Carson Vis tossed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Kenyon and then connected with Tyler Brinks on a two-point conversion pass to cut the deficit to 20-18.
In the fourth quarter, the Sailors took the lead when Vis hit Brinks for a one-yard scoring strike for the winning touchdown. Vis then connected with Brinks for the two-point conversion.
Vis completed 24-of-31 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns and ran the ball 18 times for 59 yards.
Chuck DeHaan led the receiving corps with four catches for 93 yards.
Like East Kentwood, South Christian has faced a rugged schedule loaded with playoff teams. The Sailors opened the season with four consecutive wins before falling the past four weeks to bring their record to .500.
South Christian entered the Catholic Central game with a high-powered offense led by quarterback Vis, who passed for 219 yards and a touchdown in last week’s loss against Zeeland West. Vis also rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown. Vis has a variety of targets to pass to including Brinks, who had six catches for 99 yards against West and Owen Burgess, who caught 13 passes for 81 yards and DeHaan, who caught four balls for 35 yards and a score.
The MHSAA Football Playoffs conclude with the 8-Player Finals on Nov. 23 at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome and 11-Player Finals to be played Nov. 29-30 at Ford Field.
