MHSAA District Semifinals Preview: Division 1, District 1

Heading into the Division 1, District 1 semifinals, three OK Red teams, and one Big North team square off to extend their seasons. Two of the top quarterbacks in the area in Rockford’s [player_tooltip player_id="54861" first="Zak" last="Ahern"] and Hudsonville’s [player_tooltip player_id="29688" first="Brennan" last="Hayes"] will go toe-toe. Grandville’s dynamic duo of running back’s [player_tooltip player_id="29754" first="Cam" last="Terry"] and [player_tooltip player_id="29760" first="Marcel" last="Love"] look to extend the Bulldog’s season. Below I’ll break down the top prospects, key matchups, and predictions for each game. <h5>Hudsonville (5-2) @ Rockford (5-0)</h5> <strong><em>Top Prospects</em></strong> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="54861" first="Zak" last="Ahern"], QB, Rockford</h6> Zak wasted no time getting to work in Rockford’s 41-7 first-round win over West Ottawa. The senior signal-caller totaled 191 total yards in the win. His ability to run the ball at such an effective level tends to open the field up for him in passing situations. <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="29688" first="Brennan" last="Hayes"], QB, Hudsonville</h6> Much like Rockford’s [player_tooltip player_id="54861" first="Zak" last="Ahern"], [player_tooltip player_id="29688" first="Brennan" last="Hayes"] is a true dual-threat quarterback who can make a big play in any given moment. He topped 100 passing and rushing yards in Hudsonville’s first-round win and will be asked to provide the same production for the Eagles to march on in the playoffs. <h6>Dylan Ham, WR,  Hudsonville</h6> Dylan has been Brennan’s go-to guy all season long and that continued in the Eagles first-round win over East Kentwood. He’s one of the smoothest route-runners in the areas and can stretch the field with the best of them. <em><strong>Keys To The Game</strong></em> Hudsonville and Rockford will face off in what will be one of the more anticipated games across the MHSAA state playoffs on Friday. The two OK Red rivals were originally scheduled to play in week three, however, the game never happened due to the shortened season. Both teams feature dynamic quarterbacks who can make big plays in both the running and passing game. This game should come down to the time of possession battle and ultimately turnovers. Hudsonville will need big games from the QB-WR connection of Ham and Hayes. In the end, I like Rockford’s defense to make enough stops to send the Rams to the District Championship. <em><strong>Prediction: Rockford 17, Hudsonville 13</strong></em> <h5>Traverse City West (6-1) @ Grandville (6-1)</h5> <strong><em>Top Prospects</em></strong> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="29754" first="Cam" last="Terry"], RB, Grandville</h6> Cam had possibly the best game of any running back in the state last week, totaling 301 yards and four touchdowns in Grandville’s opening-round win over Grand Haven. Cam has incredible burst out of the backfield and reaches a top level of speed that defenders simply cannot match. Keeping him contained in the box is no small task and should be a priority for Traverse City West. <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="29760" first="Marcel" last="Love"], RB, Grandville</h6> Keeping tabs on [player_tooltip player_id="29754" first="Cam" last="Terry"] is only half the battle as Grandville has two running backs that can carve you up for four quarters. Marcel is the smaller of the two backs, but that tends to be an advantage for Marcel as he uses that to get lower than defenders, making it a tough task to wrap him up and bring him to the ground. <h6>Brandon Konchek, QB, Traverse City West</h6> Brandon has great size, standing at 6’5", and uses this to his advantage in the passing game in a number of ways. He can see over lineman without a problem and has proved that he has great vision when progressing through his reads. His touch on his deep balls stands out to me the most, proving he can put the ball in tight windows both down the sideline and over the middle of the field. <em><strong>Keys To The Game</strong></em> Grandville has arguably the best backfield in the state this season in Terry and Love. When they’re rolling, they can hang with any team in the state. Traverse City West has yet to face a team as talented as Grandville this year and struggled mightily against the one team with similar talent in Traverse City Central. I’m expecting the Bulldogs to pound the ball early and often on its way to a rather easy victory, setting them up with a chance at revenge against a Rockford team who handed them their only loss of the season. <em><strong>Prediction: Grandville 35, Traverse City West 14</strong></em>