Division 4 Regional Final Preview: South Christian vs Edwardsburg

After months of waiting, the MHSAA State Playoffs are finally back on track. The Division 4 Regional Final between Grand Rapids South Christian and Edwardsburg should be one of the best matchups across all divisions this weekend. South Christian comes into this game with an 8-1 record, and its only loss was dropping a 28-27 nailbiter to Division 5 favorite, Grand Rapids Catholic Central. Edwardsburg enters the game undefeated on the backs of a historically great defense, having only allowed 50 total points all season. The Eddies and Sailors will be facing each other for the first time since a 2014 Division 4 semi-final that ended in a thrilling 50-48 win for South Christian. <em><strong>Playoff Road</strong></em> South Christian: (8-1, OK Gold): Pre-District: Defeated Kelloggsville 56-0, District Semi: Grand Rapids Christian 20-6, District Final: Hamilton 56-14. Edwardsburg: (8-0, Wolverine Conference): District Semi: Defeated Vicksburg 55-7, District Final: Defeated Paw Paw 43-0 <em><strong>Top Prospects</strong></em> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="29813" first="Elliott" last="Grashuis"], WR, South Christian</h6> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="80360" first="Connor" last="Dykema"], LB, South Christian</h6> <h6>Trevor Hansen, DB, South Christian</h6> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="79517" first="Ty" last="Rynbrandt"], QB, South Christian</h6> <h6>Jake DeHaan, QB, South Christian</h6> <h6>Logan McColley, ATH, Edwardsburg</h6> <h6>Jakobe Luster, DB, Edwardsburg</h6> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="30105" first="Drew" last="Bidwell"], LB, Edwardsburg</h6> <h6>Landon Mikel, TE, Edwadsburg</h6> <h6></h6> <em><strong>Keys To The Game</strong></em> South Christian’s offense, specifically the passing game has looked dominant at times this season. A key question within the Sailor’s passing game will be focused on who will lineup under center. [player_tooltip player_id="79517" first="Ty" last="Rynbrandt"] went down with a broken collar bone in the district opener, handing the keys to the offense over to Jake DeHaan as a result. Due to the long pause in the state playoffs, Rynbrandt has had time to heal and is now listed as questionable ahead of Saturday’s game. Regardless of who starts at quarterback, Edwardsburg will be tasked with slowing down the Sailor offense, and specifically star wideout Elliot Grashius. Grashuis has torched defenses all season long, hauling in 52 catches for 759 yards and nine touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, Edwardsburg hasn’t given up nine touchdowns total all season. In fact, they’ve only surrendered more than 7 points once this season. Conversely, the Eddies have a prolific offense of their own, scoring 185 points during a three-game stretch earlier this season. <em><strong>Prediction: </strong>South Christian 34, Edwardsburg 30</em>