The OK Conference in the State Championships
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The 2022 season was a historic one for our local Grand Rapids Area football programs. The Ottawa-Kent conference sent five teams to Ford Field, with South Christian and West Catholic coming home with Championship trophies, plus Muskegon, Caledonia, and Forest…
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Continue ReadingThe 2022 season was a historic one for our local Grand Rapids Area football programs. The Ottawa-Kent conference sent five teams to Ford Field, with South Christian and West Catholic coming home with Championship trophies, plus Muskegon, Caledonia, and Forest Hills Central earning runner-up honors. This article will quickly recap all five games while providing additional insight via interviews and added discussion.
Forest Hills Central falls to De La Salle 52-13
FHC faced a lot of adversity throughout the postseason. From losing Osterhouse in the East Lansing game to having to face a few juggernauts, such as Mona Shores, it was a hard-fought run. In the championship, they ran into a brick wall. Players like Ty Hudkins Ty Hudkins 6'0" | 190 lbs | DB Forest Hills Central | 2024 State MI played great for the Rangers, but the Pilots outmatched them in every way. Near the end of the 2nd-quarter, FHC trailed 35-0. The very end of the 2nd proved to be great for the Rangers, as they scored all 13 of their points within the final three minutes of the first half.
After the game, I asked Head Coach Tim Rogers, QB Justin Osterhouse, and DB Ty Hudkins Ty Hudkins 6'0" | 190 lbs | DB Forest Hills Central | 2024 State MI about the local community support.
How did it feel to get the sendoff from Grand Rapids and to feel the support that came with playing in this game?
Justin Osterhouse, FHC QuarterbackIt just showed us truly how many people this game affected in our community. Football is a big part of FHC, and it showed leaving the high school.
Ty Hudkins Ty Hudkins 6'0" | 190 lbs | DB Forest Hills Central | 2024 State MI , FHC SafetyIt kinda showed the community was also playing in the game with us. It wasn’t just us, it was all the other people out there too.
FHC finishes the season 13-1, with eight starters set to return next season.
South Christian defeats Goodrich 28-0
The stars shined for South Christian as they defeated Goodrich 28-0. Most in the press booth labeled this game as a toss-up, but the Sailors bested the early-game defensive struggle to get points on the board. The game started as a slugfest, but two TDs before halftime, then two more TDs late in the 4th sealed the deal. Jake DeHaan capped off his legendary career with 365 all-purpose yards and 3 TDs to grab the title. South Christian has been knocking on the door for some time, and finally, they’ve achieved the perfect 15-0 season.
Muskegon falls short in a shootout with King 56-27
The Big Reds had a phenomenal season but couldn’t finish the job against Detroit’s best. The game began with fireworks, as King’s Jameel Croft Jameel Croft 6'1" | 165 lbs | DB Detroit King | 2023 State MI took the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, then after another King TD, Muskegon answered. Down 14-0 early on, M’khi Guy M’khi Guy 5'7" | 165 lbs | ATH Muskegon | 2024 State MI broke a 60-yard run to paydirt. After both teams traded touchdowns one more time, King surged for two-straight scores. King led 35-14 at the half, and neither defense did much better in the second half. Even though Guy, Botello, and Brooks showed out for the Big Reds, it wasn’t enough.
Seniors such as Kingston Blackmon Kingston Blackmon 5'6" | 160 lbs | DB Muskegon | 2023 MI and Amarion Glover will be sorely missed. Though Muskegon returns most of their offensive line, their Quarterback, and Running Back, plus they have a whole offseason to fine-tune the defense. Muskegon will be back.
Caledonia runs out of steam vs. Belleville, losing 35-17
Nobody thought Cal would put up the fight that they did. Belleville becoming repeat champions was the expected outcome, but OK-Conference couldn’t have been better represented with Caledonia. As the game kicked off and the 1st-quarter went along, it was apparent that Caledonia was playing this game to win. At the end of the 1st, the game was tied 7-7, despite a goalline INT by Mason Mckenzie Mason Mckenzie 6'0" | 170 lbs | QB Caledonia | 2023 State MI . At halftime, it sat at 14-14. Gutsy performances by Mason Mckenzie Mason Mckenzie 6'0" | 170 lbs | QB Caledonia | 2023 State MI and Derek Pennington Jr paved the way to a competitive 1st-half, but the 2nd-half had Belleville slowly gaining dominance. Caledonia showed their tiredness, and after a few minor mistakes, the game ended with Belleville standing victorious, 35-17.
Ever since Head Coach Derek Pennington took the helm, Caledonia has been on a meteoric rise. Defeating Rockford in the postseason was legendary while blowing Clarkston out of the water was eye-opening. Even though QB Mason Mckenzie Mason Mckenzie 6'0" | 170 lbs | QB Caledonia | 2023 State MI is set to graduate, they are many key pieces of this team that will be returning.
I was able to ask Mason Mckenzie Mason Mckenzie 6'0" | 170 lbs | QB Caledonia | 2023 State MI about his 1st-half interception, and here’s what he had to say
Mason, talk about the interception at the end of the 1st-quarter. What did you see there, and what was the plan?
Quarterback Mason Mckenzie Mason Mckenzie 6'0" | 170 lbs | QB Caledonia | 2023 State MIWe had a slant to Kaden and one of the linebackers tipped it, then the DB made a great play on the ball. Tough, tough break for us.
West Catholic smashes Negaunee 59-14
The Falcons are back! After a few “down” years, West Catholic returns to Ford Field and puts up a sensational performance against the best team in the Upper Pinnensula. Most were surprised to see Negaunee dictate the pace in the 1st half, as the halftime score showed a narrow 14-7 West Catholic lead. Little did the Miners know, there was a Kloska tsunami heading toward them in the 3rd-quarter. RB Timmy Kloska Timmy Kloska 6'0" | 220 lbs | RB Grand Rapids West Catholic | 2023 State MI had an incredible 2nd-half, totaling 241 yards and 4 TDs, leading the Falcons to victory. It was an incredible ending to the record-breaking career of Kloska, and I couldn’t be happier for a guy like him. As the clock hit 0:00, it was celebration time for West Catholic.
After the game, I caught up with Head Coach Landon Grove and RB Timmy Kloska Timmy Kloska 6'0" | 220 lbs | RB Grand Rapids West Catholic | 2023 State MI and discussed aspects of the game.
In the 1st half, I think you played their style of football, but in the 2nd-half, you were really able to play your game. Was there a gameplan change in the 2nd-half?
Head Coach Landon GroveYeah, our gameplan was really similar to what it was in the first-half. But again, you have to give Negaunee credit. They did a really good job, they slowed the game down, the ate a lot of clock. think we ran 9 plays in the first half while they probable ran 30 or a lot more. So again, credit to them. They got into a rythym and kinda forced our hand a little bit by not letting us have the football. When we had the ball, we capitalized and did a really nice job. So, in the 2nd-half our defense made some adjustments, got off the field on 3rd and 4th down, and we were really able to get into our script and gameplan a little bit more which allowed us to display the good players we have here.
Timmy, you’re one of the hardest workers in the state that I’ve seen. How does it feel to really show out this game and end your senior season with a state championship?
It’s great. Me and all my friends, and players on the team we’ve worked really hard for this, and this has been a dream since we were in 7th grade watching all these state championships growing up with those guys. So, it’s a great feeling becasue we’ve worked so hard for it.
RB Timmy Kloska Timmy Kloska 6'0" | 220 lbs | RB Grand Rapids West Catholic | 2023 State MI