Holland Christian High School

By Ty Marzean

When November rolls around, it’s time for high school football playoffs in Michigan. This also means that a familiar program is gearing up for a shot at the state title.

South Christian has qualified for the MHSAA playoffs for the ninth consecutive year. The Sailors have reached the Division 4 finals in back-to-back years leading into the 2024 tournament.

This Sailor team took a different route on the drive to Ford Field, taking a 5-4 record into the playoffs. South Christian has only four losses the past two seasons combined while making the finals in both seasons and winning the state championship in 2022.

“We are young, so the biggest thing for this team is to try to figure out who we are,” said South Christian Coach Danny Brown. “We started 4-0, we won a couple close games. Maybe we got a little bit ahead of ourselves, and who we were. The next four teams we played are all still in the playoffs, so they are good teams. We just had to take our lumps.

I’ll say the kids showed up at practice every week. Losing four games in a row in a season could go a different way, but they showed up every day still believing.”

Sailors forced five turnovers

South Christian advanced to the D-4 District Final with a 35-7 victory over Holland Christian Friday night. The Sailor defense turned in one of the best performances this season holding the Maroons to a season low in points and forcing five turnovers.

“We had to change up our scheme and personnel to see what makes this team click and it all came together,” Brown said. “Hopefully that’s a sign of good things to come.”

Sophomore Cody Jones recovered three fumbles on the night for South Christian.

“He’s a young guy with a high motor,” Brown said. “He’s getting comfortable with the speed of the game and what we want from him.”

Junior Ben Buiter intercepted two passes in the stellar defensive effort.

Senior quarterback Carson Vis once again led the Sailors offense, pacing the team with 123 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground and a passing touchdown.

South Christian quarterback Carson Vis. (WKTV, Greg Chrapek)

Sophomore running back Isaac Osterhaven also hit the century mark on the ground.

“Issac had it going on; he seemed fast and was running physical,” Brown said.

South Christian (6-4) now meets a familiar foe in the District Final in undefeated OK Gold champion Unity Christian (10-0), who beat South Christian 50-21 in Week 7.

“Unity is big up front and has very physical running backs; they are very good at what they do,” Brown said. “We will have to be physical up front and not allow them to move us off the ball if we want to have success. They don’t turn the ball over, and they will gain some yards. We just have to have a bend and not break defense.”

South Christian kicks off with Unity Christian in a Division 4 District Final at 7 p.m. Friday at Grandville High School.

South Christian’s Isaac Schrotenboer (32) battles for possession of the ball during Friday’s game with Holland Christian. (WKTV/Greg Chrapek)

By Greg Chrapek

WKTV Contributor

It was the first home game of the season for the South Christian boys basketball team and if Friday’s game is any indication, Sailor fans are going to be in for a fun season.

The Sailors, who reached the Division 2 state championship game last March, displayed plenty of strong defense and a potent offense as they jumped out to an early lead and went on to defeat Holland Christian 64-40.

With some key players returning from last year’s squad and a host of players looking to step up and play larger roles, the Sailors have a squad built to make an impact both in the area and on the state level.

“This is a new group with a lot of new players in new roles,” said South Christian Coach Taylor Johnson. “We have two very good guards coming back so guard play is going to be a key for us.”

Duo Vis and Vermaas a threat on court as well

The guard tandem of senior Jake Vermaas and junior Carson Vis is a familiar duo to South Christian fans. Not only did the duo turn in outstanding seasons last fall, but they were a big part of South Christian’s run to the Division 4 state football finals with Vis as the quarterback and Vermaas at wide receiver.

“Vermaas and Vis are going to lead us,” Johnson said. “They are both outstanding players, but it is going to take a while for them to get their legs after a long football season. A big key for us is we are going to have to rebound well and get extra possessions.”

Vermaas and Vis seem to be shaking off the rust of a long football season well. Vis led all scorers with 21 points against Holland Christian, while Vermaas added 17 points including a pair of deep three-point shots during the fourth quarter. Vis also displayed his big-play skills on defense and dunked an offensive rebound home in the first half.

South Christian came out of the gate playing some stingy defense in the game. The Sailors defense held Holland Christian without a point for the first three minutes and 17 seconds of the game and the visiting Maroons did not record a field goal until the 2:46 mark of the opening quarter.

South Christian’s Caleb Pleune (20), Jake Vermaas (0) and Sam Weiss (23) set up to defend Holland Christian Friday. (WKTV/Greg Chrapek)

“They (Holland Christian) got some decent shots, but the ball would not fall for them,” Johnson said. “I felt we played a pretty good game. We got out to a hot start. We got out in transition and got some easy buckets and that helped.”

Sailors up 32-12 at halftime

South Christian was up 13-4 at the end of the first quarter. The Sailors kept their foot on the gas in the second quarter as they scored the first nine points of the quarter to take a 22-4 lead. By halftime the Sailors were up 32-12.

The Sailors maintained the double-digit lead in the second half. South led 46-27 at the end of the third quarter and were up by 27 points late in the final quarter.

South Christian’s Sam Weiss (23) and Carson Vis (11) talk strategy during Friday’s game with Holland Christian. (WKTV/Greg Chrapek)

With four seniors on the roster, the Sailors are a relatively young team. Along with Vermaas, fellow senior Sam Weiss also saw extensive playing time last season. Tanner Raak, a 6-foot-5 forward and guard Drew Bruinsma round out the seniors on the Sailor roster. Raak and Weiss both finished the Holland Christian game with two points apiece.

The remainder of the lineup consists of juniors, who’ll be stepping into key roles for the team this season.

Up front, Isaac Schrotenboer and Davis Kemper are a pair of 6-foot-6 juniors that are being counted on to provide rebounding, defense in the post and offense in the paint. Schrotenboer finished the game with 10 points, while Kemper added six. The duo also turned in strong efforts on the boards and blocking shots.

Junior Nolan Fackler added four points, while 6-foot-5 junior Ty Brinks added two.

“We have some size in Kemper and Schrotenboer,” Johnson said. “Kemper was injured last year and Schrotenboer was on the junior varsity. Weiss gained a lot of experience last year and started in the title game. We are going to need them to step up and provide some rebounding for us this year. Weiss is also a good shooter.”

The Sailors also are counting on 6-foot-3 junior Caleb Pleune at forward and Raak.

“Pleune will be a key player for us,” Johnson said. “He is a real good shooter. Raak is another guy we are counting on to rebound and he is really solid defensively.”