Zeeland West State Championship Scouting Report

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If I were to describe Zeeland West's season in one word, it would be "efficient." That's exactly how they played today against an extremely talented Detroit MLK team. Defensively, their zone-heavy coverage confused the King QB. Offensively, they ran the ball down King's throat, plus every single completed pass was a TD. On top of that, [player_tooltip player_id='1290838' first='Keaton' last='Hendricks'] had himself a record-breaking performance. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I could write about 15 Zeeland West starters because this is such a well-rounded team. For now, here are five players who I'd like to highlight. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1290838"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":1569689,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-674b8497998b6"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Keaton came to play today and was a gigantic reason why Zeeland West won the Division 3 State Championship. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the first half alone, Keaton totaled 104 yards rushing, four total touchdowns, and one forced fumble. In the end, Keaton finished with 129 yards rushing, 25 yards receiving, and 6 total touchdowns- a State Championship record. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>His performance today mirrors what he's been doing all season. Offensively, Keaton made the most out of every single touch. Running the ball, he's definitely Zeeland West's best option, mainly because of his vision and speed. I can't quite explain it, but he's just so, so good once he reaches the second level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, he's a very opportunistic and smart player. That forced fumble was at the end of the first half, and it allowed West to go up 28-6 with just 3 minutes remaining. <br>A player like this shouldn't go without D3 offers, at the very least. Get this man on a college football team! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["899626"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-674b849799918"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Trey played a GREAT game against a very good defense. You won't find many players with as much success against King. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, Trey had six tackles and one critical forced fumble. Offensively, Trey totaled 124 yards on 12 attempts, plus 3-4 passing- all three of his passes going for TDs. You can't get much more efficient than that!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I don't have a whole lot more to say other than how dang efficient Trey was all season. He isn't the biggest, he isn't the fastest, not even the most athletic player- but he seems like one of the smartest and most coachable players in Michigan. Hats off to Trey for an incredible high school career! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1613533' first='Brandon' last='Holman']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"160","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2495","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Zeeland West","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-674b8497999b9"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brandon had a very positive impact on today's game. He had two highlights from what I saw - a blocked extra point and an amazing kick return that led to a Zeeland West TD. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the Kick Return, Brandon actually bobbled the ball and took a while to pick it back up. Once he picked it up, he was swarmed by defenders. Somehow, someway, Brandon found a hole and exploded through it, only being tackled by the final defender. Brandon was also pretty good in coverage- played just rock-solid zone defense that King really struggled to attack. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I have to say it, but Brandon had a major learning opportunity in the 4th quarter. He recovered a fumble in the endzone but almost ran out of the endzone then back in. That play would have resulted in a safety instead of a Zeeland West touchback. I'd imagine that mistake was corrected the moment it was made. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Good state championship performance, and a MAJOR breakout candidate for 2025!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["899585"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-674b849799a00"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brody is another one of those just excellent role players for Zeeland West. He doesn't light up the stat sheet, but he's just a rock-solid football player. Most of his highlights came on defense, where he totaled 5 tackles plus an interception. Otherwise, he's a smart, physical football player- typical for Zeeland West.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From everything I've heard, Brody is a smart, humble, coachable football player. He had a very good season, and I'm happy to see him perform very well defensively against a very good offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Jacob McLaren","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'5u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"200","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2407","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Zeeland West","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-674b849799a89"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A quick shoutout for Jacob McLaren, who was an extremely good role player on the offensive side of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He won't show up anywhere on the stat sheet, but I promise, he played a very good game. Jacob blocked well throughout the game, with one big block in particular to seal a TD. He wasn't even supposed to block on the play- it was just a very good heads-up play. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Considering his size, I hope Jacob earns an opportunity to play at the next level in his primary sport, basketball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->