By Greg Chrapek
The East Kentwood football team made it a memorable playoff appearance for themselves and new coach Tyrone Spencer.
Taking on OK Red Conference champion Hudsonville (9-1 overall), the Division 1 District Semifinal contest came down to the final play of the game when the Eagles kicked a field goal as time expired to escape with a 25-23 win.
“They (Hudsonville) got it off just as time expired,” Spencer said. “Our guys played great; they played fantastic. They played through a lot of adversity and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The game was close throughout, much different then the Week 5 game between the two OK Red heavyweights that Hudsonville won 35-6.
“The last time we played them we gave them some cheap stuff,” Spencer said. “They are 85 percent run and I told my defensive backs that they will probably throw about 10 passes. I told them they are going to have to defend those passes and not give up any big plays. We did a pretty good job of tackling and we didn’t give up any cheap plays down the field. Our guys were ready to play and in sync.”
Hudsonville took the early lead in the game when quarterback Griffin Baker scored on a short run putting the Eagles up 6-0 in the first quarter.
East Kentwood shaved the lead in half in the second quarter when Jayden Garcia connected on a 32-yard field goal making the score 6-3.
The two teams then traded scores later in the second quarter. Hudsonville scored when Brady VanLaecke broke through a hole in the Falcon line and raced 37-yards for a touchdown putting the Eagles up 13-3.
13-10 Hudsonville in the second quarter
East Kentwood responded with a drive led by their standout running back Elijah Jones, who capped it with a touchdown run and extra point from Garcia closing the gap to 13-10.
Late in the half, Hudsonville extended the lead to 16-10 on a field goal.
Edmonds TD kickoff return called back before halftime
On the next play, the Falcons seemed to have turned the tide when Ahman Edmonds returned the kickoff for a touchdown. The score, however, was nullified from a penalty.
“At halftime we should’ve been leading as we returned the kickoff for a touchdown,” Spencer said. “There was a penalty called that didn’t even have an effect on the touchdown. That held us back a little.”
Eagles up 22-10 after Baker’s 51-yard run
Hudsonville added to its lead in the second half. Baker again provided the big play for the Eagles as he found an opening and took off for a 51-yard touchdown run. Hudsonville missed the two-point conversion leaving the Eagles with a 22-10 lead.
Jones gets Falcons within five on 80-yard TD run
Facing adversity again, East Kentwood showed it was not about to fold. Again, the Falcons turned to Jones, their explosive running back. This time Jones broke through a hole in the Hudsonville line and raced 80 yards for a touchdown. Garcia tacked on the extra point and the Falcons were within five at 22-17.
Kayd Coffman strike to Murphy-Ware puts Falcons up in fourth
In the fourth quarter, Kentwood struck again. After a Hudsonville turnover, the Falcons went to the air. Kentwood quarterback Kayd Coffman dropped back and aired a pass out deep down the field to Christopher Murphy-Ware. Murphy-Ware caught the ball in stride and sped into the end zone completing the 51-yard scoring strike and putting the Falcons up 23-22.
Ian Jenkin’s 34-yard field goal gives Hudsonville the win as time expired
With 1:31 remaining in the game, Hudsonville began a final drive at its own 39-yard line. The Eagles managed to move the ball into field-goal range and with the clock winding down, Ian Jenkins booted a 34-yard field goal as time expired giving Hudsonville the win.
With the loss, the Falcons ended the season with a 5-5 record.
“I’m really proud of the kids”
“I’m really proud of the kids,” Spencer said. “It would’ve been great to cap the season off with this win, but I think the life lessons the kids learned through football this year are more important. I’m really proud of them and how they competed all season. They came out and competed every day and battled through adversities. I’m really proud of our players, our coaches and everybody that is a part of this program.”
Spencer, in his first year as head coach of the Falcons, laid a solid foundation for the future.
“I feel the foundation has been laid,” Spencer said. “We had a lot of young sophomores and juniors who came into the year inexperienced and now they have a lot of experience. I think that will be beneficial for us. We also return seven starters on defense next year and four starters on offense. Any time you have 11 starters returning you should be a decent football team.”
Offensively, Jones led the Falcons this season with 1,208 yards rushing (7.2 per carry) and 12 touchdowns. Coffman led the team in passing with 56.5% completions for 1,594 yards and 11 touchdowns against just two interceptions.
A trio of Falcon receivers totaled over 400 yards receiving this season. Edmonds caught 29 passes for 479 yards and four touchdowns. Caiden Holt caught 22 passes for 476 yards and five touchdowns, while Murphy-Ware caught 32 passes for 451 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, Terence Kabanda led the way this season with 71 tackles, including four tackles for loss. Donavan Jones added 50 tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception. James Jones Jr. totaled 44 tackles including seven tackles for loss and a sack. Defensive linemen Syncere Hobson-Washington and Tyler Meeuwsen both totaled seven tackles for loss with Hobson-Washington adding two sacks and Meeuwsen one. Javani Overstreet and Major Barnes both finished with 31 tackles apiece. Lloyd Nelson finished with 25 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
