Zeeland East senior Zeek Ramadhani (99) cuts to the outside as he breaks loose for a 32-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of last Friday’s win over Hamilton.
Photo courtesy Andrea Brink Photography
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Both of Zeeland’s varsity high school football teams will begin play in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 playoffs this Friday night.
Zeeland West (7-2) will host Niles (4-5) at Zeeland Stadium, while Zeeland East (5-4) will travel to St. Joseph to face the Bears (7-2). Both contests are rematches of first-round games from last year’s state playoffs.
The Chix needed a fourth-quarter rally on Senior Night last Friday at Zeeland Stadium to clinch the 32nd and final playoff berth in Division 3, edging Hamilton 38-37. Meanwhile, the Dux were upended on the road by Spring Lake, 35-26.
Trailing 16-14 at the half, East struck for two touchdowns in the third quarter. Senior wide receiver Isaiah Boonstra took a swing pass from senior quarterback Will Drnek and turned on the jets for a 69-yard catch-and-run to put the ball inside the Hamilton 5. Senior running back Payton Sackett finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge to give the Chix their first lead of the night at 22-16.
A short time later, sophomore linebacker Hunter VanZyll intercepted a Hamilton pass to give the Chix the ball in Hawkeye territory. That set up a 7-yard TD run by senior Zeek Ramadhani as the East lead grew to 30-16 with 4:49 left in the quarter.
But suddenly, Hamilton reeled off 21 unanswered points, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Tyler Driesenga early in the fourth quarter. East trailed 37-30 with less than 10 minutes remaining, needing a score to keep its season alive.
The Chix answered the call. A 36-yard pass from Drnek to senior Coby Miller put the ball at the Hamilton 4-yard-line. Moments later, Sackett scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to cut the Hawkeye lead to one.
East coach Joe Woodruff elected to keep his offense on the field for the two-point conversion. The Chix gave the ball to the 240-pound Ramadhani, who plowed his way into the end zone to put East ahead 38-37 with 6:44 remaining.
“Zeek’s a unique football player. Obviously, he’s a really, really good football player,” Woodruff said after the game. “Certainly, he would be one of our best offensive linemen, which is what we pegged him as. As we went early in the season, we realized if we can survive with some other kids playing tackle for us and hand him the ball (we can have success). He’s one of our fastest kids and one of our biggest kids and one of our strongest kids. It adds a new element to the offense when we’re able to do that.”
With just over two minutes remaining, junior Carson Rilley picked off a Hamilton pass inside the East 10-yard-line, and the Chix ran the clock out to seal the win.
Hamilton led the entire first half, taking the opening kickoff and driving 72 yards in seven plays to open the scoring. Kefa Tamminga’s 6-yard TD run and a two-point conversion gave the Hawkeyes an 8-0 lead.
East responded with a 69-yard, 10-play drive. Boonstra put the Chix on the board with a 10-yard touchdown run, but the two-point conversion failed.
An interception by Hamilton set up an 11-yard touchdown pass from Nolan Schrock to Damen Sabala in the second quarter that extended the Hawkeyes’ lead to 16-6. East answered with a Ramadhani 32-yard touchdown run and a Boonstra two-point conversion, and the Chix trailed at halftime 16-14.
Sackett led East with 91 yards on 22 carries while Ramadhani added 55 yards on five carries. Drnek completed 6 of 9 passes for 125 yards, with Boonstra catching three of those passes for 74 yards.
Defensively, Rilley led the Chix with 10 tackles while Chase Shults had eight and Ramadhani seven, three of them for losses.
Woodruff was proud of the character his team showed down after falling behind.
“We just talked to our kids about (how) this is just a good life lesson, that you just have to get up in the morning and you keep going to work,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what happens to you during the day, you’ve just gotta keep going to work and you can’t quit.”
Meanwhile, West struggled to control Spring Lake’s rushing attack in its final regular season game. The Lakers scored on all four of their first-half possessions to take a 28-14 halftime lead. The Dux battled back to cut the lead to 28-26, but a Spring Lake touchdown with just over seven minutes remaining put the game away and clinched a playoff berth in the process.
All-State halfback Brandon Holman scored an early touchdown for West, but suffered an ankle injury later in the first half and did not return. West coach Jeff Bolhouse is hopeful that Holman will be able to play Friday night against Niles.
Senior quarterback Drew Albrecht ran for two touchdowns and threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to senior halfback Cam Brouwer to lead the Dux offense. Albrecht finished the game with 116 yards passing on five completions in six attempts. Brouwer led the ground game with 66 yards on seven carries while Kenny Howe III added 54 yards on eight carries. Senior Logan Nash caught three passes for 57 yards.
Zeeland Record
Both of Zeeland’s varsity high school football teams will begin play in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 playoffs this Friday night.
Zeeland West (7-2) will host Niles (4-5) at Zeeland Stadium, while Zeeland East (5-4) will travel to St. Joseph to face the Bears (7-2). Both contests are rematches of first-round games from last year’s state playoffs.
The Chix needed a fourth-quarter rally on Senior Night last Friday at Zeeland Stadium to clinch the 32nd and final playoff berth in Division 3, edging Hamilton 38-37. Meanwhile, the Dux were upended on the road by Spring Lake, 35-26.
Trailing 16-14 at the half, East struck for two touchdowns in the third quarter. Senior wide receiver Isaiah Boonstra took a swing pass from senior quarterback Will Drnek and turned on the jets for a 69-yard catch-and-run to put the ball inside the Hamilton 5. Senior running back Payton Sackett finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge to give the Chix their first lead of the night at 22-16.
A short time later, sophomore linebacker Hunter VanZyll intercepted a Hamilton pass to give the Chix the ball in Hawkeye territory. That set up a 7-yard TD run by senior Zeek Ramadhani as the East lead grew to 30-16 with 4:49 left in the quarter.
But suddenly, Hamilton reeled off 21 unanswered points, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Tyler Driesenga early in the fourth quarter. East trailed 37-30 with less than 10 minutes remaining, needing a score to keep its season alive.
The Chix answered the call. A 36-yard pass from Drnek to senior Coby Miller put the ball at the Hamilton 4-yard-line. Moments later, Sackett scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to cut the Hawkeye lead to one.
East coach Joe Woodruff elected to keep his offense on the field for the two-point conversion. The Chix gave the ball to the 240-pound Ramadhani, who plowed his way into the end zone to put East ahead 38-37 with 6:44 remaining.
“Zeek’s a unique football player. Obviously, he’s a really, really good football player,” Woodruff said after the game. “Certainly, he would be one of our best offensive linemen, which is what we pegged him as. As we went early in the season, we realized if we can survive with some other kids playing tackle for us and hand him the ball (we can have success). He’s one of our fastest kids and one of our biggest kids and one of our strongest kids. It adds a new element to the offense when we’re able to do that.”
With just over two minutes remaining, junior Carson Rilley picked off a Hamilton pass inside the East 10-yard-line, and the Chix ran the clock out to seal the win.
Hamilton led the entire first half, taking the opening kickoff and driving 72 yards in seven plays to open the scoring. Kefa Tamminga’s 6-yard TD run and a two-point conversion gave the Hawkeyes an 8-0 lead.
East responded with a 69-yard, 10-play drive. Boonstra put the Chix on the board with a 10-yard touchdown run, but the two-point conversion failed.
An interception by Hamilton set up an 11-yard touchdown pass from Nolan Schrock to Damen Sabala in the second quarter that extended the Hawkeyes’ lead to 16-6. East answered with a Ramadhani 32-yard touchdown run and a Boonstra two-point conversion, and the Chix trailed at halftime 16-14.
Sackett led East with 91 yards on 22 carries while Ramadhani added 55 yards on five carries. Drnek completed 6 of 9 passes for 125 yards, with Boonstra catching three of those passes for 74 yards.
Defensively, Rilley led the Chix with 10 tackles while Chase Shults had eight and Ramadhani seven, three of them for losses.
Woodruff was proud of the character his team showed down after falling behind.
“We just talked to our kids about (how) this is just a good life lesson, that you just have to get up in the morning and you keep going to work,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what happens to you during the day, you’ve just gotta keep going to work and you can’t quit.”
Meanwhile, West struggled to control Spring Lake’s rushing attack in its final regular season game. The Lakers scored on all four of their first-half possessions to take a 28-14 halftime lead. The Dux battled back to cut the lead to 28-26, but a Spring Lake touchdown with just over seven minutes remaining put the game away and clinched a playoff berth in the process.
All-State halfback Brandon Holman scored an early touchdown for West, but suffered an ankle injury later in the first half and did not return. West coach Jeff Bolhouse is hopeful that Holman will be able to play Friday night against Niles.
Senior quarterback Drew Albrecht ran for two touchdowns and threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to senior halfback Cam Brouwer to lead the Dux offense. Albrecht finished the game with 116 yards passing on five completions in six attempts. Brouwer led the ground game with 66 yards on seven carries while Kenny Howe III added 54 yards on eight carries. Senior Logan Nash caught three passes for 57 yards.
East’s Raab Wins at O-K Black Meet, West Boys 2nd
Zeeland East junior Adalyn Raab heads for the finish line as she won the girls individual title at the O-K Black Conference cross country meet Oct. 21.
Photo courtesy Zeeland East Athletics
Zeeland East junior Adalyn Raab successfully defended her individual girls title, while the Zeeland West boys finished second on Oct. 21 at the O-K Black Conference cross country meet at Diamond Springs Golf Course in Hamilton.
Raab crossed the finish line in a time of 17 minutes, 27.1 seconds to win the girls individual title, 10.8 seconds faster than runnerup Avery Engbers of Holland Christian.
Holland Christian won both the boys and girls meets. In the boys meet, the Maroons finished with a team score of 30, followed by West with 50, Spring Lake (86) and Zeeland East (116). Holland Christian won the girls race going away with a team score of 31, followed by Holland (82), West (88) and East (94).
West runners took six of the top 20 places in the boys meet, including two of the top three. Bryson Hassevoort finished second in a time of 16:01.2 while Tanner Smith took third in 16:06.8. Weston Grewell came in 12th in 16:45, followed by a pack of Dux in 17th through 20th place – Michael Ensing (17:00), Jacob Gruppen (17:00.5), Caden Uttech (17:01.9) and Brett Raak (17:11.6).
Nate Davis led East with a 10th-place finish in 16:28.4. Nico DiLaura finished 25th in 17:25.1, followed by Micah Chen (26th, 17:28.6), Levi Groenhout (31st, 17:50) and Tristen Hinson (35th, 18:15.2).
In the girls meet, West was led by Tessa Albrecht, who finished fifth in 18:49.4. Avali Hoffer came in 16th (20:08.1), followed by Kaila Keeler (17th, 20:13.3), Caralyn Elkins (22nd, 20:29.2) and Rowan Sloothaak (31st, 21:07.3).
Alivia Schnakenberg finished 12th for East in 19:44.7, followed by Tenley DeWitt (24th, 20:38.9), Charlie Vonk (29th, 20:47.2) and Haley Green (33rd, 21:33.7).
The Chix and Dux will compete in the Division 1 regional at Portage Central on Friday afternoon.
Zeeland East junior Adalyn Raab successfully defended her individual girls title, while the Zeeland West boys finished second on Oct. 21 at the O-K Black Conference cross country meet at Diamond Springs Golf Course in Hamilton.
Raab crossed the finish line in a time of 17 minutes, 27.1 seconds to win the girls individual title, 10.8 seconds faster than runnerup Avery Engbers of Holland Christian.
Holland Christian won both the boys and girls meets. In the boys meet, the Maroons finished with a team score of 30, followed by West with 50, Spring Lake (86) and Zeeland East (116). Holland Christian won the girls race going away with a team score of 31, followed by Holland (82), West (88) and East (94).
West runners took six of the top 20 places in the boys meet, including two of the top three. Bryson Hassevoort finished second in a time of 16:01.2 while Tanner Smith took third in 16:06.8. Weston Grewell came in 12th in 16:45, followed by a pack of Dux in 17th through 20th place – Michael Ensing (17:00), Jacob Gruppen (17:00.5), Caden Uttech (17:01.9) and Brett Raak (17:11.6).
Nate Davis led East with a 10th-place finish in 16:28.4. Nico DiLaura finished 25th in 17:25.1, followed by Micah Chen (26th, 17:28.6), Levi Groenhout (31st, 17:50) and Tristen Hinson (35th, 18:15.2).
In the girls meet, West was led by Tessa Albrecht, who finished fifth in 18:49.4. Avali Hoffer came in 16th (20:08.1), followed by Kaila Keeler (17th, 20:13.3), Caralyn Elkins (22nd, 20:29.2) and Rowan Sloothaak (31st, 21:07.3).
Alivia Schnakenberg finished 12th for East in 19:44.7, followed by Tenley DeWitt (24th, 20:38.9), Charlie Vonk (29th, 20:47.2) and Haley Green (33rd, 21:33.7).
The Chix and Dux will compete in the Division 1 regional at Portage Central on Friday afternoon.
Maroons Hand Chix First Conference Volleyball Setback in Sweep
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland East varsity volleyball team had defeated Holland Christian twice this season, including a sweep of the Maroons on their home court Sept. 17.
The Maroons returned the favor on Oct. 20 on East’s home floor, potentially denying the Chix an outright O-K Black Conference championship with a three-set sweep of their own, 25-18, 25-23, 25-20.
The loss dropped East to 25-5 on the season, 9-1 in conference play. The Chix hosted Hamilton Tuesday night for Senior Night and will close out regular season play tonight at Zeeland West. Wins in both matches would give East at least a share of the O-K Black title.
Holland Christian came out as the aggressor early. East only led once in the first set, at 4-3 following an ace by Jordyn Grassmid. The Maroons scored the next four points to take the lead for good and pulled away to win the set.
East appeared poised to even the match in the second set. With the score tied at 15-all, back-to-back kills by Lizzie Risdon and Elise Hoeksema gave the Chix the lead. East stretched the lead out to 22-17 on a Kyla Kuiper kill.
But then Holland Christian stunned the Chix with a rally that turned the tide of the match, scoring eight of the next nine points. Tessa Leeuw’s ace capped the comeback and gave the Maroons a two sets-to-none lead.
East again had the lead in the third set at 11-8 before the Maroons went on another run to take a 17-14 lead. A Risdon kill pulled the Chix within one at 18-17, but East was never able to pull even after that.
“I thought we did a lot of things really well. I thought our serve receive was pretty good,” East coach Jake Szetela said after the match. “We made a lot of good opportunities for ourselves defensively, and we just didn’t convert enough. We got stuck in a couple of rotations where we had some momentum and just let it slip away. (Holland Christian) came out and won with effort, and obviously a lot of great execution on that side of the net.”
Risdon led East with 11 kills and eight digs. Kuiper dished out 22 assists. Grassmid had a 2.24 serve receive average on 25 receptions, while Leah Keur had a 2.38 serve receive on eight receptions.
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland East varsity volleyball team had defeated Holland Christian twice this season, including a sweep of the Maroons on their home court Sept. 17.
The Maroons returned the favor on Oct. 20 on East’s home floor, potentially denying the Chix an outright O-K Black Conference championship with a three-set sweep of their own, 25-18, 25-23, 25-20.
The loss dropped East to 25-5 on the season, 9-1 in conference play. The Chix hosted Hamilton Tuesday night for Senior Night and will close out regular season play tonight at Zeeland West. Wins in both matches would give East at least a share of the O-K Black title.
Holland Christian came out as the aggressor early. East only led once in the first set, at 4-3 following an ace by Jordyn Grassmid. The Maroons scored the next four points to take the lead for good and pulled away to win the set.
East appeared poised to even the match in the second set. With the score tied at 15-all, back-to-back kills by Lizzie Risdon and Elise Hoeksema gave the Chix the lead. East stretched the lead out to 22-17 on a Kyla Kuiper kill.
But then Holland Christian stunned the Chix with a rally that turned the tide of the match, scoring eight of the next nine points. Tessa Leeuw’s ace capped the comeback and gave the Maroons a two sets-to-none lead.
East again had the lead in the third set at 11-8 before the Maroons went on another run to take a 17-14 lead. A Risdon kill pulled the Chix within one at 18-17, but East was never able to pull even after that.
“I thought we did a lot of things really well. I thought our serve receive was pretty good,” East coach Jake Szetela said after the match. “We made a lot of good opportunities for ourselves defensively, and we just didn’t convert enough. We got stuck in a couple of rotations where we had some momentum and just let it slip away. (Holland Christian) came out and won with effort, and obviously a lot of great execution on that side of the net.”
Risdon led East with 11 kills and eight digs. Kuiper dished out 22 assists. Grassmid had a 2.24 serve receive average on 25 receptions, while Leah Keur had a 2.38 serve receive on eight receptions.
On the Record
Dux Down Lakers in Four Sets
The Zeeland West varsity volleyball team defeated Spring Lake on Oct. 20 25-12, 21-25, 25-21, 25-16.
The win moves the Dux to 22-14 overall and 4-7 in the O-K Black Conference.
West was led by Molly Settlemyre with nine kills and Hannah VanderZwaag with five kills and seven blocks.
The Dux host Zeeland East tonight for their final home conference match, with first serve at 6 p.m.
Byron Center Defeats Zeeland in Girls Swimming
The Zeeland girls swimming team was defeated by Byron Center Oct. 20 in a dual meet, 110-72.
Senior Ariyah Gettings and junior Natalie Lauritzen won two races each for Zeeland during the meet.
Gettings won the 50-yard freestyle in 24.94 seconds and the 100-yard freestyle in 54.53.
Meanwhile, Lauritzen won the 200-yard freestyle by nearly 10 seconds in 1:54.78 and the 100-yard backstroke in 58.43.
Zeeland will next compete in the Last Chance Meet Nov. 10 at the Holland Aquatic Center.
West Eliminated in District Soccer
The Zeeland West varsity boys soccer team jumped out a 1-0 first-half lead, but could not maintain its momentum as the Dux were eliminated from the Division 2 state tournament Oct. 21 with a 2-1 loss to Holland.
West finished its season with a record of 9-7-2.
The Zeeland West varsity volleyball team defeated Spring Lake on Oct. 20 25-12, 21-25, 25-21, 25-16.
The win moves the Dux to 22-14 overall and 4-7 in the O-K Black Conference.
West was led by Molly Settlemyre with nine kills and Hannah VanderZwaag with five kills and seven blocks.
The Dux host Zeeland East tonight for their final home conference match, with first serve at 6 p.m.
Byron Center Defeats Zeeland in Girls Swimming
The Zeeland girls swimming team was defeated by Byron Center Oct. 20 in a dual meet, 110-72.
Senior Ariyah Gettings and junior Natalie Lauritzen won two races each for Zeeland during the meet.
Gettings won the 50-yard freestyle in 24.94 seconds and the 100-yard freestyle in 54.53.
Meanwhile, Lauritzen won the 200-yard freestyle by nearly 10 seconds in 1:54.78 and the 100-yard backstroke in 58.43.
Zeeland will next compete in the Last Chance Meet Nov. 10 at the Holland Aquatic Center.
West Eliminated in District Soccer
The Zeeland West varsity boys soccer team jumped out a 1-0 first-half lead, but could not maintain its momentum as the Dux were eliminated from the Division 2 state tournament Oct. 21 with a 2-1 loss to Holland.
West finished its season with a record of 9-7-2.
