Zeeland West rallies to tie, only to fall to South Christian on last-second field goal
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HUDSONVILLE - Being a second-half team has its advantages.
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But it didn’t work in Zeeland West’s favor on Friday Sept. 25.
The Dux football team lost to South Christian 19-16 on a last-second field goal during a game at Hudsonville High School.
"We’re definitely a second-half team,” Zeeland West quarterback Drew Albrecht said. “Sometimes we just start of slow. But we’re always going to be a second-half team, and we come out hot (out of the locker room).”
The Dux (4-1) trailed 13-0 at halftime, which is pretty rare territory for a team that is used to scoring a lot of points. They were averaging 43.5 points per game through the first four weeks.
South Christian (4-1) opened the second half with a 25-yard field goal by Hudson Kerstetter to make it 16-0.
Albrecht’s legs got finally the Dux on the scoreboard. He scored on a 4-yard run with 2:51 remaining in the third quarter. A pass from Albrecht to Kenny Howe was good for the two-point conversion. Then they tied the game when Brandon Holman scored on a 4-yard run with 6:43 to go in the fourth quarter. An Albrecht run was good for the two-point conversion.
“It was a great matchup,” Dux coach Jeff Bolhouse said. “We knew that going in. They’re big, they’re physical and they really made us work hard in the first half. It got us on our heels. I loved how we responded in the second half. We got some momentum back. I thought Drew did a great job tonight. He made some plays with his feet and he put the ball where he needed to in the passing game as well.”
But South Christian had the ball last.
With two seconds left on the cock, Kerstetter, a senior kicker, booted a 19-yard field goal to win it.
“It was unbelievable,” Kerstetter said. “I got a chance early in the first half. To kick another one to end it … it’s the best feeling of my life. I knew from the start that I’d be kicking it if the game got close. So to get a chance to kick it was amazing.”
Bolhouse said he didn’t expect South Christian’s kicking game was going to decide it. Kerstetter’s main sport is soccer, not football.
“You hope that’s not the case,” Bolhouse said. “But give them credit. They drove down to the 2-yard line and gave him a chance. We tried to ice him with a timeout. But he made it.”
Albrecht said he enjoyed the matchup with South Christian.
“They are one of the best in the area and the state,” he said. “It was a great challenge for us. We definitely wanted to win this one, but it was a great challenge. We’ll be back better next week.”
South Christian scored first on a 1-yard run by Brody Shilts with 6:35 to go in the first quarter. The point-after was blocked. Jesse Vandegriend caught a 19-yard pass from Houston Wildeboer for a touchdown with 27 seconds left in the half to make it 13-0.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Zeeland West rallies to tie, only to fall to South Christian on last-second field goal