The GRC football team traveled to East Grand Rapids High School to take on the Pioneers in a cross-town rivalry game that did not disappoint. The Eagles came in eager to continue competing as they look to develop and improve as a team. The boys in Blue and Black showed a truckload of guts as they overcame several key mistakes to secure a dramatic victory in the final minutes of the game. In a game that went back and forth, the defense pitched a shutout in the second half and the offense continued to show improvement - but it was the special teams that proved incredibly clutch. Sophomore kicker Jordan Rodgers stepped to the tee with just over two minutes to play and the Eagles down by 1. A soccer player by trade, Rodgers calmly stepped into the spotlight of a tremendous high school football moment and calmly knocked the game-winning 27 yard field goal straight through the uprights. Not to be overlooked, sophomore Jude Klunder also delivered in the big moment with a great snap and Alek Wickstrom, also a sophomore, excellently secured the hold for the kick.

Defensively, the Eagles were opportunistic against a powerful Pioneer run game - forcing two fumbles in critical situations, and recovering both. CJ Jones lead the way for the Eagles with 7.5 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and very physical play. Noah Funk stepped into a new role in the secondary and performed especially well alongside Amir Nixon, who showed up big time in his return from injury. Alec Koval and TeQuan Culbreath both played the role of hero at the end of the night by snuffing out EGR's final gasp of offense with a pass break up and big time sack on 3rd and 4th down, respectively.

The offense showed progress as well, amassing a solid 287 yards of offense against a very good EGR defense. Buddy Hogan continued his strong play with 117 yards on 16 carries, CJ Jones was the leading receiver with 7 catches (and several key plays on the final drive), and Ace Thomas was dynamic in scoring the lone GRC touchdown of the game. Sophomore quarterback Alek Wickstrom played his best game to date, efficiently completing 12 of 16 passes for 157 yards, 1 touchdown, and no interceptions. In the trenches, the play of linemen James Baker, Ahmon Parks, Luke Selfe, Jaylin Garcia, and Scott Stockwell was the engine that drove the Eagle's success!

The team will look to continue to improve through hard work and mental toughness as they take on conference opponent Greenville High School this Friday at 7:00 PM in Eagles Stadium.