State Championship Preview: Division 4

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Division 4 is seeing a defending champion attempting to defend their D4 throne! Grand Rapids South Christian dominated Goodrich 28-0 last year for their first ring since 2014. Harper Woods is having an incredible season themselves, going 6-3 in the regular season and flexing their muscle through the playoffs, outscoring opponents 151 to 56. This game is going to be an exciting matchup where points will likely be scored early and often. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Christian comes into the game at 10-3, just like Harper Woods. They're going to look to utilize their star QB [player_tooltip player_id='1290463' first='Carson' last='Vis'], who has the frame, build, and accuracy to be a great QB at the next level. His timing is good, and he makes good decisions. His WR [player_tooltip player_id='610770' first='Jake' last='Vermaas'] will be a big piece of the puzzle on Saturday. He's a big target who has a wide catch radius and sticky hands. He will need to utilize some quickness and late hands to be able to snag some catches against a very athletic Harper Woods team, as he will likely be matched up with Michigan commit [player_tooltip player_id='77223' first='Jacob' last='Oden'] quite often. Defensively, they will need to win in the trenches with guys like Mitchell Lindhout, who really impressed me when I saw him against Grand Rapids Catholic Central. If they can get good push up front and stop up the running lanes, it will bode extremely well for their opportunistic linebackers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Harper Woods is an extremely impressive team on paper. As I mentioned earlier, Michigan DB commit [player_tooltip player_id='77223' first='Jacob' last='Oden'] is going to be a big problem for South Christian to try and neutralize. He's an elite defender who will also see a lot of burn at wideout as well where he's a fantastic route runner with good hands and is able to make adjustments to the ball to come up with big catches. [player_tooltip player_id='251324' first='Stephone' last='Buford Jr.'] will be the one slinging it, and I really like what he can do. He makes good decisions, puts the ball on the money, and is elusive in the pocket, with an ability to run on read option plays effectively. LB [player_tooltip player_id='251295' first='Willie' last='Powell'] will also be a big piece for Harper Woods as he can be as disruptive as anyone in the state. The 2025 class is loaded with ranked kids as well including Bryant Witherspoon, big offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='899500' first='J-Shawn' last='Kennedy'], [player_tooltip player_id='899580' first='Vory' last='Peacock'] and more! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Overall, this game is loaded with absolute studs top to bottom, and will be a can't miss display of skill. Set a reminder to check this one out Saturday, as there are dozens of future college football players going to war for the coveted Wooden Mitten!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->