Top Week 7 Matchups across the OK Conference
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It’s week 7 in the Ottawa-Kent Conference! We have several great matchups with some league championships and major playoff implications. Here are five great matchups this weekend. (4-2) Muskegon @ (6-0) Zeeland West This is the OK-Green Championship. Both teams…
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Continue ReadingIt’s week 7 in the Ottawa-Kent Conference! We have several great matchups with some league championships and major playoff implications. Here are five great matchups this weekend.
(4-2) Muskegon @ (6-0) Zeeland West
This is the OK-Green Championship. Both teams are undefeated against league opponents, and now’s the time to win the league and solidify a high playoff seed.
Muskegon comes into this one on a hot 4-game winning streak where they’ve outscored opponents 195-48. After a few tough losses against two of the best teams in the state, Muskegon looks like they’ve finally settled in. You know the offense is going to be good, and the defense has some talent as well. It’s all about execution, getting consistent yardage, and not having to rely on home-run plays. Miguel Botello Miguel Botello 6'4" | 300 lbs | OL Muskegon | 2024 State MI , Karl Brooks Karl Brooks 6'4" | 345 lbs | OL Muskegon | 2024 State MI , N-Kye Wynn N-Kye Wynn 6'5" | 245 lbs | OL Muskegon | 2025 State MI and the rest of the O-Line is the best in the state when they want to be. Zeeland West is going to come to play in the front 7, and the O-Line needs to dominate play in and play out. The backfield, consisting of M’Khi Guy, Destin Piggee Destin Piggee 5'6" | 160 lbs | ATH Muskegon | 2024 State MI , Jake Price Jake Price 5'6" | 175 lbs | RB Muskegon | 2024 State MI , and others will get their touches. I’m actually pretty confident in the offense, and it’s the defense that needs to be disciplined. Zeeland West is one of if not the best Wing-T team in Michigan. The D needs to stay on assignment.
Zeeland West has an amazing opportunity to go undefeated this season. With Senior RB Parker Holman Parker Holman 5'8" | 160 lbs | RB Zeeland West | 2024 State MI and a gritty O/D Line, this team has played fundamental hard-nosed footwell very well. Granted, West’s schedule is significantly weaker than what Muskegon has faced up to this point. The Big Reds will be by far the Dux biggest test so far this year. If they want to win a state championship, they’ve got to be able to beat Muskegon.
(5-1) Grandville @ (5-1) Caledonia
Big stakes in the OK-Red in this matchup. Both Cal and Grandville head into this one with a loss against some of the best teams in Michigan (Davison and Rockford).
Grandville needs to play good 4 quarters of football, and they can’t get down if things start going the other way. They stuck with Davison for a while, but there came a point where the Grandville body language was down, and the play calling began taking more risks. They have a good O-Line with three workhorse RBs in the back and a QB who in my opinion needs to get involved in the offense more. Jayden Terry Jayden Terry 5'8" | 175 lbs | RB Grandville | 2026 State MI headlines the offense as a Division 1 college prospect. Cash Ruff Cash Ruff 6'4" | 205 lbs | ATH Grandville | 2024 State MI does a good job as a Wing-T QB though I’d like to see him somehow get some rushing attempts. He’s too talented to be handing the ball off every single down. My strong opinions aside, Grandville has the offense to drive down the field, eat clock, and keep this thing close. Their defense is surprisingly stellar with many “unimposing” players playing super well.
Caledonia is the heavy favorite here. It looks like Cal could be building into a consistent championship contender, especially if they remain at D2 size. Brody Betser Brody Betser 6'2" | 205 lbs | QB Caledonia | 2025 State MI is turning out better than I could have ever imagined, while there are so many supporting players that I’ve seen rise to the occasion. That’s the mark of a great program; being able to graduate a ton of talent and to come back a year later with a whole new group of dominant players. I have yet to watch a Cal game this season though when I do I’ll be looking at Brody Betser Brody Betser 6'2" | 205 lbs | QB Caledonia | 2025 State MI , Dharius Walker Dharius Walker 5'8" | 175 lbs | RB Caledonia | 2024 State MI , Derek Pennington, Maddox Greenfield Maddox Greenfield 5'10" | 175 lbs | WR Caledonia | 2024 State MI , and several others.
(1-5) Grand Haven @ (0-6) Jenison
I’m actually considering attending this one since I live extremely close to Jenison and I have a Rugby match on Saturday.
Neither of these teams are making the postseason. This game is all about getting something good on the board and building toward next season. Grand Haven shockingly has had super low numbers these past few seasons and they haven’t had a winning record since 2019. Jenison hasn’t posted a winning record since 2020. I don’t know a ton about these two teams, so I look forward to possibly seeing some bright spots come tomorrow.
(4-2) Comstock Park @ (3-3) Sparta
This is another game that I’m considering attending. Comstock and Sparta both are likely playoff teams with recent success in the OK Silver. QB Nic Gordon Nic Gordon 6'5" | 200 lbs | QB Sparta | 2024 MI headlines Sparta with great size at 6’5″ while being able to sling it. Comstock on the other hand seems to have a strong senior class headlined by RB Easton Hood.
(1-5) Grand Rapids Christian @ (5-1) East Grand Rapids
Even though EGR is heavily favored, this is still a historic rivalry worth taking a look at.
It’s awesome to see the rise of EGR over the past year. They went from a fallen giant to a rising power once again. The most obvious standouts come in the form of several 6’5″+ linemen with other good players at LB, QB, other positions. EGR is simply a well put together football team. They may not have the D1 college star power yet, but great coaching alongside promising young players make for a program to watch out for.
GR Christian has fallen hard as of late. Transfers, coaching changes, and more. It’s a dissapoing fall from once being a state title contender. I honestly don’t know any GR Christian players off the top of my head; and I could name at least a few players on nearly every team in the OK Conference.