West Michigan Report w/ Kyle Mills: Week 1

Summer is slowly changing to Fall and that means it's time for football season again.

Being conveniently located in Grand Rapids along with working for FOX17 to help produce a show called The Blitz, I am directly in the center of what is going on in high school football in West Michigan.

I will try to post a new update on various games from West Michigan each and every weekend, highlighting the top performances and notable scores.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter at: @generalmills101

Make sure to follow The D Zone on Twitter at: @TheD_Zone

Walled Lake Western shocks Lowell

The Red Arrows aren't accustomed to losing, let alone losing at home. They did just that as the Warriors came out on top 42-40 in a crazy back and forth game that featured 34 points scored in the 4th quarter alone. Lowell's star QB Ryan Stevens had an individual night to remember as he threw for over 400 yards and 5 touchdown passes in the losing effort. His and WR Gabe Steed's connection doesn't end on the basketball court as Steed was able to haul in 3 TD's of his own through the air.

East Kentwood defeats Harrison

The Falcons made major waves a season ago but some worried about the QB position this season. Junior signal-called Evan Maday didn't have his most accurate game but was clutch when it counted, leading EK down the field with 3:30 left on the clock to throw the game winning touchdown pass. This was a huge win for East Kentwood against a top-notch opponent.

Muskegon Oakridge vs Muskegon Catholic Central

Oakridge's WR James Cooper III 6 touchdowns is 2nd all-time in TD's during a single game, 7 is record. pic.twitter.com/eJ01e05Bd6
— The D Zone (@TheD_Zone) August 29, 2015

Meeting for the first time in history, Oakridge's high powered offense established itself as a force to be reckoned with on the shores of Lake Michigan. 2017 Oakridge QB Brady Luttrull threw for an amazing 6 touchdown passes on the first 6 drives of the game. Even more shocking, they all went to senior WR James Cooper III, who's ability to go up and high-point the ball is a scary mix with added with his size, speed and athleticism.

Muskegon Big Reds lose a heart-breaker

Two perennial title-contenders in their respective divisions faced off when Muskegon and Detroit Catholic Central took the field in Detroit. The Big Reds defense was stout as usual as they help Catholic Central to under 50 yards of total offense in the 1st half. Perhaps the most impressive player on the field was newly minted starter, junior QB Kalil Pimpleton, who rushed and passed for over 100 yards each. This game came down to the wire as the Big Reds had a controversial call go against them that would have been a touchdown and a field goal blocked in the final two plays of the game.

Stevensville Lakeshore vs Battle Creek Central

Although Battle Creek Central has a fearsome trio of linebackers, including MSU commit Brandon Randle, Lakeshore was able to rip off 20 straight points in the 4th quarter for a 34-26 victory. RB Corey Hampton is definitely someone to keep an eye on for Lakeshore, as he scored on a 2 yard TD plunge to give the Lancers the lead and then followed it up with a 60 yard burst to essentially seal the game in the 4th quarter. BC Central has several basketball players on it's team, which was cool to see how they performed in a setting different from how I'm used to watching them.

East Grand Rapids "Must Win" against rival GR Catholic Central

East Grand Rapids has to play 6 teams that made the playoffs last season, so each and every win is huge for the Pioneers. They were able to knock off one of their biggest rivals, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 28-14 on Thursday night in a marquee game. The story of the game was EGR RB Bryce Henkey who rushed for 138 yards and 3 TD's, including 2 scores with under 4 minutes left in the game. Basketball standout Jon Olsson is also the team's starting QB and contributed with a touchdown on a quarterback sneak near the goal-line.

Forest Hills Northern tops Kenowa Hills

Jake Martin does it all for the Huskies and continued to do it all on Thursday night as he scored a touchdown, had a few electric runs and intercepted a pass in a 20-13 win. The senior QB/SS/KR is going to have to perform at a high level each and every game if FHN wants to make the playoffs this season.

Muskegon Mona Shores dominates

Although contrary to popular belief, the Sailors aren't going to just quietly disappear after QB Tyree Jackson graduated and committed to Buffalo. They showed off their speed and insane depth at the skill positions as new QB Tyler Trovinger, who holds a scholarship offer for baseball from Oakland University, showed that he is an extremely good athlete in his own right, busting out several long TD runs of his own. They destroyed West Ottawa, 55-0 on Thursday night.

Rockford Falls

Rockford was no match for Saline and stud QB Josh Jackson as he sat back and picked apart the Rams defense all night long, accounting for close to 400 yards through the air to go along with 4 TD's. The rushing attack again looks like it will be Rockford's bread and butter as they were able to account for 213 yards on the ground.

Hudsonville doesn't miss a beat

Although stud QB Mason Opple graduated and is now playing at Davenport University, the Eagles used a two QB system which featured Bryce Elliot and Jack Mandryk running wild all over the field in the first half. Mandryk was injured in a nasty fall that is lucky isn't on video and then H-Ville turned to sophomore RB Michael Ouding to carry the team, as he accounted for 2 TD's in the 28-14 win. Holt's basketball-football standouts RB Trent Stone and WR Quinton Armstrong both had TD's in a losing effort.

Grand Rapids Christian sneaks by South Christian

Both having to replace major Division 1 type losses to graduation the last several years, this is always a much anticipated season opening matchup between teams that are usually very good. GR Christian jumped out to a 25-6 lead at halftime before the Sailors came charging back, scoring 22 points in a row, to take the lead on a pick-6. They ended up pulling the game out thanks to the contribution from RB Jordan Smith, who scored the game winning TD in the last minute of the game and also added 2 more TD's on the ground. Senior WR Lukas Thompson, who had 176 yards receiving to go along with a touchdown. Grand Rapids Christian will play Muskegon next week and can't ease up in the 2nd half like they did in this game.

Caledonia Rolls

The Fighting Scots had a great season last year but lost most of their starters to graduation. That didn't seem to phase them as they rolled over Harper Creek 40-3 in a game that was out of hand at the start of the 2nd quarter. Their front 7 is big and physical and senior QB Tanner Christian showed he could make plays happen on the ground and through the air.

Historic Day for Grand Rapids Union

The Red Hawks were tired of hearing about their 25 game losing streak and they won't have to hear about it anymore as they destroyed Wyoming Lee by a score of 60-0 at Houseman Field on Friday afternoon. Senior leader TE/DE Keidren Davis, who committed to play football at Toledo, was the catalyst on offense as he caught a pair of touchdown passes and has provided Union with a sense of hope for the future. The good feelings might all go away quickly, as they take on 2 time defending Division 5 State Champion West Catholic next week.

West Catholic has win streak snapped

Although they had a streak snapped on Friday night, it wasn't in the win column like it was for Grand Rapids Union. West Catholic lost a heart breaker against Jackson Lumen Christi after being up comfortably 21-6 with 3:40 to play in the 3rd quarter and along with it had a 23 game winning streak snapped as well. Both teams struggled with their quarterback play but one of the bright spots for the Falcons was junior RB Zach Zenner who had 3 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Unity Christian defeats Allendale

The Bos twins are the heart and soul of the Unity Christian team and both proved their worth on Thursday night. Senior twins RB Christian and QB David Bos each accounted for multiple TD's as the Wing-T showed once again why it is so successful on the high school level.

Baldwin Struggles

Baldwin has had the legs and the powerful arm of Brandon Childress to ride on the past couple of years. The stud QB racked up the numbers and provided wins and excitement to the small town but has since moved on, as he is now at CMU playing football. They got smacked around by Reed City, 58-18 in Week 1.