South Christian's offensive line paved the way for the Sailors 35-23 win Friday night, a victory that clinched the OK Gold championship. (MLive.com file photo)
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10/17 - 7:00 PM Football Final Grand Rapids South Christian 35 Middleville Thornapple Kellogg 23
MIDDLEVILLE, MI – South Christian's passing and rushing numbers Friday night looked almost the opposite of how the statistics have piled up since senior Jon Wassink was named the Sailors' starting quarterback.
Wassink threw for only 70 yards against the Middleville Trojans Friday night, completing 8 of the 14 passes he attempted. On the ground however, the Sailors racked up more than three times as many yards as they did through the air, grinding out 245 yards rushing, including 176 yards and three touchdowns from 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior running back Geff Plasman.
The steady rain, driven by a north wind, contributed to those numbers, but so did South Christian's ability to alter its game plan to fit the soggy environment.
While the Sailors managed 315 yards of total offense in its 35-23 victory over the Trojans, a victory that clinched the OK Gold championship for the Sailors and also put them in the playoffs, Middleville could muster only 184 total yards of offense because the South Christian defense took away the Trojans' running game.
Middleville quarterback A.J. Nye threw for almost twice as many yards as Wassink (137), but the Trojans also gained fewer yards on the ground (47) than Plasman recorded on one of his touchdown runs.
“We have been fighting the rain all season,” South Christian coach Mark Tamminga said. “The weather tonight made it hard to throw.”
The weather may have worried Wassink, but it didn't pester Plasman.
“I told our guys at halftime that our offensive line and defensive line were controlling the line of scrimmage,” Tamminga said. “That's why Plasman had the night he had.”
Plasman carried the ball 17 times Friday night, averaging more than 10 yards per carry in lousy conditions. He scored on runs of 59, 15 and 2 yards.
South Christian's veteran offensive line features 6-1, 300-pound senior Brendan Huyser, 6-2, 220-pound senior Casey Elzinga, 6-2, 230-pound senior Nate VanSolkema, 6-3, 235-pound Mitch Quakkelaar, 6-1, 240-pound senior Dalton Brummel and 6-2, 230-pound junior Josh Ezinga.
“This gets us in the playoffs and its gets us the Gold for sure, which was the first goal we set for ourselves early in the season,” Tamminga said. “That's what we wanted, we wanted to keep the OK Gold championship at South Christian. Middleville is a great team though. (Trojans head coach) Chad (Ruger) has his boys playing really hard.”
For all the stories and box scores from every football game in the OK Gold, check the links below.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central vs. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills
Click here for conference standings.
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