Ottawa-Kent Blue 2021 Review

The regular season is over and league champions have been crowned, and the OK-Blue proved to be competitive and exciting until the very end. It was a pleasure covering this conference during my first season as a writer, and I look forward to the next season. Let’s now review the conference standings, and review how each team performed. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Standings </span></strong> <ol> <li><strong>9-0 Unity Christian </strong></li> <li><strong>8-1 West Catholic </strong></li> <li><strong>6-3 Spring Lake</strong></li> <li><strong>6-3 Coopersville</strong></li> <li><strong>4-5 Fruitport</strong></li> <li><strong>4-5 Allendale</strong></li> <li><strong>3-6 Hamilton</strong></li> <li><strong>2-7 Holland Christian </strong></li> </ol> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Season Recap</strong></span> <strong>Unity Christian</strong> Don’t look now, but the Crusaders look to be on another state-championship run. Unity Christian was absolutely dominant this season, winning every one of their games by at least 26 points. All in all, UC averaged 55PPG and 12.6PAPG. In other words, it’s Unity Christian’s league, everyone else was just competing for 2nd place. Offensive MVP - <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13955079/Cam-Chandler">Cam Chandler</a> Defensive MVP - <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/10020341/Ryan-Shinabery">Ryan Shinabery</a> <strong>West Catholic </strong> I think it’s safe to say that West Catholic is back to its dominant ways after a few shaky seasons in 2018 and 2019. The Falcons largely dominated the Blue with the exception of UC. West Catholic averaged 39PPG and 18.6PAPG, the second-best stats in the OK-Blue. This team comes into the DIII playoffs ranked #3 and they host undefeated Comstock Park this Friday 10/29. Offensive MVP - [player_tooltip player_id="159621" first="Tim" last="Kloska"] Defensive MVP - <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11567215/Michael-Ignatoski">Michael Ignatoski</a> <strong>Spring Lake</strong> I’ve said it time and time again, but Spring Lake has a very bright future under head coach Dan Start. This team came out of the blocks very strong, winning against some good teams, though they’ve had a slow finish with some unfortunate injuries. This team averaged 31.6PPG and 26PAPG, putting them 3rd in league offense and 5th in defense. Spring Lake enters the playoffs in a good spot facing Grand Rapids Christian, and it should be a very competitive game. Offensive MVP - <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13367148/Alex-Lee">Alex Lee</a> Defensive MVP - <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/10413044/Ty-French">Ty French</a> <strong>Coopersville</strong> I’m very impressed by what Coopersville has been able to accomplish this season. This team began the season 5-0 and narrowly lost a few huge games at the end of the season. Coopersville could have easily finished the season 8-1, and I have a good feeling about their playoff matchup against Cedar Springs. This team averaged 25.7PPG (5th) and 22.8PAPG (3rd) Offensive MVP - <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14335493/Beau-Harris">Beau Harris</a> Defensive MVP - [player_tooltip player_id="206954" first="Timothy" last="Allen"] <strong>Fruitport </strong> This team was a bit frustrating to watch all season, as they ended the season 4-5 with many close, winnable games. Their ceiling this season was 7-2, and they could have gotten there if they did just a few things better. Fruitport averaged 27.3PPG (4th) and 27.6PAPG (6th). Fruitport narrowly made the playoffs, and they face Cadillac on Friday in a game that could be very close. Offensive MVP - [player_tooltip player_id="93699" first="Gavin" last="Reames"] Defensive MVP - <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12894081/Andrew-Fielstra">Andrew Fielstra</a> <strong>Allendale </strong> Unpredictable is how I’d describe Allendale’s season. One week they’d come out very competitive, the next they’d come out looking very flat. No better example than losing to Fruitport and Hamilton in back-to-back weeks, then defeating Spring Lake the very next week. Allendale posted the #6 offense in the league with 20.2PPG, and the #5 defense with 23.4PAPG. Unfortunately for Allendale, their season is over as they did not qualify for the postseason. Offensive MVP - <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/10074846">[player_tooltip player_id="99315" first="Cole" last="DiPiazza"]</a> Defensive MVP - <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/10075280">Domenico Tejeda</a> <strong>Hamilton </strong> This team did not impress, and unfortunately did not necessarily disappoint. They weren’t very competitive as they averaged 18PPG (8th) and 33PAPG (7th). We can only hope that Hamilton finds their stride next season, as they haven’t posted a winning record since 2016. Offensive MVP - <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/9936998/Brant-Goodpaster">Brant Goodpaster</a> Defensive MVP -<a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/10250456/Isiah-Emerson"> Isiah Emerson</a> <strong>Holland Christian </strong> It’s another down year for Holland Christian as they finish last in the OK-Blue for the second year in a row. I didn’t have the opportunity to watch this team in person, though with the amount of talent they have, I can only assume there’s a lack of cohesiveness on both sides of the ball. They averaged 18.3PPG (7th) and a league-high 35 PAPG. Offensive MVP - <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11398489/Julius-Dykhuis">Julius Dykhuis</a> Defensive MVP - <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13389198/Riley-Brower">Riley Brower</a>