By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships. That old adage was certainly the case for the South Christian football team Friday as the Sailors used a big defensive effort to turn back Forest Hills Eastern 22-14 to win a Division 4 district title.
It was the fourth consecutive district title the Sailors have won and sends South to the regional title game where it hosts Big Rapids next Friday at 7 p.m. at Byron Center High School.
“It was one of those games that went back-and-forth the whole way,” said South Christian Coach Danny Brown. “Luckily, we had the ball one last time and put together a good drive to win it. They (Forest Hills Eastern) are a really good team and we knew it was going to be a close game. Our kids stepped up to the plate when they needed to.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. Forest Hills Eastern knows their identity and does a good job. They have big, strong lines and can run the ball. We knew we had to work hard to contain them.”
The Sailors had first-hand experience knowing what they were in for as South held off Eastern 32-29 in a tight game in week four of the regular season. While the two teams put a few less points on the scoreboard this time, the game was equally as tight and again came down to the end.
“I think this game was a little more cleaner brand of football,” Brown said. “Both defenses have improved since that game and it showed. This game was played a little more defensive minded and there were fewer big plays. It came down to whichever team made the big play at the end.”
Sailors grab 7-0 lead in first quarter
The game was a defensive grind for the first three quarters. The lone touchdown of the first half came in the opening quarter when South’s Charlie Schreur ran in for a touchdown from five-yards out. Drew Bruinsma kicked the point after giving the Sailors a 7-0 lead.
7-apiece in the third quarter
The next time a team reached the end zone was in the third quarter. That was when Eastern running back Will Morgan ran in for a touchdown from three-yards out. The Hawks then tied the game up with the point after.
South regained the lead early in the fourth quarter. The Sailors struck through the air when quarterback Carson Vis connected with wide receiver Jake Vermaas on a two-yard fade pattern. Bruinsma added the extra point putting South up 14-7.
Eastern knots it up at 14 in the fourth
Eastern tied the game back up later in the quarter. The Hawks used the passing game to tie the contest as quarterback Mark Fuehrer connected with Jake Heemstra for a 10-yard scoring strike and they added the point after to tie the game.
With two minutes remaining in the game, the Sailor offense again stepped up to the plate. With Vis spreading the ball around to his talented group of receivers, the Sailors marched the ball down the field. The Sailor passing game capped off the drive with Vis connecting with Noah Funk on a 23-yard passing play that provided the winning points.
“We made the most of our opportunities on offense,” Brown said. “Obviously, it was not our cleanest game on offense, but credit the guys for sticking with it. They found a way to win and advance.”
Carson Vis to Jake Vermaas never gets old
Offensively, the Sailors finished with 270 total yards. Vis completed 14-of-19 passes for 161 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Vermaas caught seven passes for 83 yards, while Funk caught two balls for 33, Sam Weiss caught two passes for 27 yards and Austin Tiesma caught two balls for 18 yards.
Vis led the ground game with 50 yards rushing, while Schreur added 46 yards.
The South Christian defense limited Eastern to 251 yards of total offense. Eastern rushed for 172 yards and passed for 79 yards.
Ben Mulder led with five solo tackles and seven assists
South Christian senior linebacker Ben Mulder was one of the defensive leaders as he totaled `five solo tackles and seven assists.
“Ben is our middle linebacker and he had a nice game,” Brown said. “When your middle linebacker is making a lot of tackles it means that your defensive linemen are doing a real good job of occupying blockers and keeping blockers off your linebackers. We turned in an all-around great job defensively. Our defense has stepped up and played well the last two games. They are playing well together as a unit and doing a good job of chasing the football.
“Like I told the guys after the game, if you’re going to make a deep run in the playoffs you have to play good defensively. Our defense stepped up and did a really nice job.”
The Sailor defense also received strong efforts from Tiesma who totaled five tackles and seven assists, Tyler Brinks who added three tackles, two assists and a quarterback sack, Daniel Niewiek who had two tackles and four assists and Andrew Helmus who added a tackle and three assists.
