OK Conference Rundown: Week 8

There are two weeks left in the regular season as teams across the state are making a final push to qualify for the state playoffs. Let's take a look around the OK Conference to see what the best matchups are in each league.   OK Red: East Kentwood (4-3) @ Hudsonville (2-5) Another week, another must-win matchup in the Red. Last week, it was East Kentwood and West Ottawa that battled it out with their playoff hopes on the line. East Kentwood came away with the narrow 14-6 win, drastically improving their odds at making the Division 1 State Playoffs. Meanwhile, Hudsonville fell to Rockford 41-32, giving the Eagles their 5th loss. All is not lost for the Eagles, who are currently projected to make the field of 32 with a best-case scenario 4-5 record. Trey Carr has had an up-and-down season thus far and will need to elevate his play if Hudsonville hopes to earn their 3rd win of the season. Keep an eye out for the two-quarterback system the Falcons have deployed as of late. Both [player_tooltip player_id='241629' first='Casey' last='Joppie'] and Ben Cash have different skill sets that make game planning tough on the defense.   Prediction: Hudsonville 21, East Kentwood 17   OK Green: Mona Shores (6-1) @ Reeths-Puffer (5-2)   One of the Lakeshore's oldest rivalries takes center stage in the OK Green tonight as Mona Shores hopes to stay perfect in league play when they go across town to face rival Reeths-Puffer. Dahmir and [player_tooltip player_id='243093' first='KeWaun' last='Farnum'] have led the Sailors on both sides of the ball this season and haven't faced an opponent that has been able to match the brother's athleticism and playmaking ability. Reeths-Puffer will need big performances from quarterback Brady Ross and runningback [player_tooltip player_id='253315' first='Brody' last='Johnson']. Caiden Bolduc had an eye-popping 17.5 tackles in the Rockets' loss to Zeeland West last week and will need to have the same type of production in order for the Rockets to earn its sixth win of the season.   Prediction: Mona Shores 35, Reeths-Puffer 21   OK White: Byron Center (5-2) @ Forest Hills Northern (4-3)   Byron Center enters tonight's OK White matchup riding a four-game win streak and still hanging on to a chance of a share of the league title barring a Forest Hills Central loss. Byron Center quarterback Hunter Schichtel has the ability to expose a defense with his legs and arm and will look to find holes in a defense that is only giving up 19 points per game. Forest Hills Northern is riding a two-game win streak of its own and will look to make it three straight wins for the first time since the shortened 2020 season. Drew Dabaja has been solid this season and should get his chances at big plays against Byron Center's defense, which has been susceptible to giving up big-chunk plays.   Prediction: Byron Center 27, Forest Hills Northern 24   OK Gold: Catholic Central (6-1) @ Wayland (4-3)   Catholic Central bounced back nicely last week in their 21-0 win over Ottawa Hills, following the Cougar's first loss in 43 games against South Christian in week five. [player_tooltip player_id='188030' first='Connor' last='Wolf'] is one of the area's best quarterbacks and should put up big numbers against a Wayland defense that has surrendered just under 21 points per game in league play this season. Maverick Daley and Dustin Loomans have been the catalysts of the Wildcat offense this season and will need to come up with a few game-changing plays if Wayland hopes to pull off the upset and take one step closer to making the division 4 playoffs. As it stands now, Wayland needs one more win to qualify for the playoffs.   Prediction: Catholic Central 42, Wayland 25   OK Blue: Coopersville (5-2) @ West Catholic (6-1)   We've got a good one in the Blue this week as Coopersville travels to West Catholic hoping to avenge a brutal 28-24 collapse last year that went the Falcon's way. West Catholic will need to bounce back from a week ago when they lost their first game of the season against a solid Fruitport team. West Catholic should have the advantage on offense behind its backfield of Bernie Varensdeel and [player_tooltip player_id='300689' first='Tim' last='Kloska']. Colton Bosch and Dylan Merlo are two main pieces for the Broncos who have their fair share of memories from last season's classic between the long-time conference rivals. I'm expecting this one to be a fourth-quarter affair yet again.   Prediction: West Catholic 24, Coopersville 21   OK Silver: Sparta (4-3) @ Calvin Christian (4-3)   Sparta has won four out of its last five games and looks to take one step closer to a Division 3 state playoff berth with a win over the Squires. Calvin Christian has its best record through seven games since 2016 but still needs some help as they currently are on the wrong side of the bubble in Division 6. Keep an eye out for Calvin Christian's Matt Elderkin, who leads the entire OK Conference with 10 touchdown receptions. Sparta's Davien Hammock is a big play threat at wideout in his won right and will need to be held in check if Calvin Christian hopes to pull off the upset.   Prediction: Sparta 26, Calvin Christian 12

There are two weeks left in the regular season as teams across the state are making a final push to qualify for the state playoffs. Let's take a look around the OK Conference to see what the best matchups are in each league.