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The battle for at least a share of the OK Gold
Conference Title between the Trojans of Thornapple-Kellogg and the
Sailor of South Christian had a little bit of everything.
Great defense, big special teams plays, and a few firework type plays
on offense made this clash a barnburner until late.
Thornapple Kellogg wasted no time showing they were
ready for the Sailors who were coming into the game with a 5-game
winning streak. Connor Collier ripped off a 93-yard kickoff
return touchdown for the Trojans on the opening kickoff to give
Thornapple Kellogg a 7-0 lead just seconds into the game.
Both defenses stood strong for the next couple of possessions, until
the 4:08 mark when Jon Wassink was able to toss a bubble screen to
Brandon VanSolkema for a 22-yard touchdown.
In the second quarter the faithful crowd saw a
seesaw battle. Geff Plasman continued his fantastic season in
the 2nd quarter with a 59-yard touchdown run to give the Sailors a 14-7
lead with 8:02 left in the first half. About 3 minutes later
with South Christian in possession of the ball after a three and out by
the Trojans, Jon Wassink was struck from behind by a Trojan defender,
the ball was knocked loose, and Middleville took over at the 5-yard
line. Two rushes later Connor Collier found the end zone once
again for Thornapple-Kellogg to tie the game up 14-14 with 4:19 to go
in the half. South Christian was able to answer the bell
after a smooth 30-yard touchdown run by Jon Wassink. Credit
some phenomenal blocking downfield and great downfield vision of
Wassink for the touchdown. With just 2:35 left
Thornapple-Kellogg looked to move the ball on offense and they put
together a great drive. They capped it with a 27-yard field
goal by Nick Iveson to give us a halftime score of 21-17.
The 3rd quarter was a stalemate with both team
making big interceptions including one by the Trojans in the end
zone. The Middleville TK defense was able to make plays all
night to disrupt Wassink’s flow and gave the offense some decent field
position, but South Christian’s defense responded with strong
play. Both defenses made the offenses work all night, which
led us to the 4th quarter.
After a great punt pinned the Trojans at the
10-yard line. The six man defensive front for South Christian
nearly forced a safety after three straight negative plays from
scrimmage. Plasman continued to work his magic with a 35-yard
punt return to the Trojans 15-yard line and one snap later found
himself in the end zone once again with a 15-yard touchdown run to
extend the Sailors lead to 28-17.
After a 6 minute drive and converting three 4th
down conversions quarterback AJ Nye found his favorite wide receiver of
the night Cole Conkright for a TD. Nye’s night was done after
he was shaken up on the play. With the score at 28-23 in
favor of the Sailors, the Trojans tried an onside kick that ended up on
the Sailor sideline and South Christian took over. Geff
Plasman capped off his night with a 42 yard touchdown run a couple
plays later to seal the deal for the Sailors and gave them at least a
share of the OK Gold Championship.
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