For their final game of 2024, the Eagles took their show on the road to face Holland Christian on
a crisp fall evening in front of a good crowd. Holland Christian took the opening kickoff and, on
their second play from scrimmage, Eagle DB Eli Clark stepped in front of the intended receiver
and made a diving catch for the interception. This gave the Eagle offense great field position
and Justin Davis hit pay dirt just three plays later, running it in from 17 yards out. Kicker Easton
Howe put the extra point kick through the uprights for a 7-0 Eagle lead less than 2 minutes into
the game. The Eagle Defense, riding the momentum pushed the Maroons backwards on their
next possession with a sack by Easton Howe and a pass breakup from Davis forcing Holland
Christian off the field on 4 th down with a bad punt snap deep in their own territory. A couple of
penalties pushed GRC backwards before HC intercepted an Eagle pass at the 5-yard line.
Holland Chr then ground down the field on a 15-play TD drive and 2-point conversion to go
ahead 8-7. On the ensuing kickoff, Elden Grover caught the ball on the 10 and sprinted up the
middle, veered left, and then cut back behind good blocking all the way to the right before
outrunning all the Maroons down the sideline for a 90-yard TD return! HC executed two more
TD drives, sandwiched around another Eagle turnover and the score was 20-14 with just 59
seconds left in the first half. QB Bradley Nuiver worked the ball down the field, using passes to
the sidelines caught by Brieon Walton and throws over the middle to Elden Grover, along with
strategic timeouts, to get all the way down to the 3 yard line. With only 11 seconds on the
clock, fought across the goal line for the TD! The extra point was good by Howe giving GRC a 21-
20 halftime lead – a lead which they would never relinquish!
Coming out of halftime with momentum, running by Davis and Grover and passing by Nuiver to
Mason Abbot and Leatherman got GRC down the field before Nuiver found Walton again for a
beautiful 22-yard TD! Holland Christian tried to respond but consecutive pass breakups by
Yohannes Rock forced a Maroons punt. GRC was pushed back by a penalty and faced 3 rd and 18
when Elden Grover darted, juked, spun, and then sprinted down the right sideline for a 66-yard
touchdown. HC wasn’t ready to quit and orchestrated a long TD drive of their own to get the
game back to within one score early into the fourth quarter.
After a nice kickoff return by Felipe Martinez, the Eagles, relied on the elusive and powerful
running of Grover and Davis behind strong blocking from the offensive line and receivers. Davis
eventually dashed across the goal line from 6-yards out. With just under 7 minutes left in the
game, HC dropped back to pass time after time. Leatherman got a sack and the defense created
a couple of near-interceptions before Mason Abbot stepped in front of an HC receiver at the 15
yard-line and returned the ball back out to the 40 effectively ending the Maroons’ chances for a
comeback. More runs by Grover and Davis moved the ball and used the clock before Nuiver set
up the Victory Formation and knelt out the final 30 seconds.
It was a great team win for the Eagles with the Defense getting stops and turnovers and the
offense having great success on the ground and answering every early score by Holland
Christian. On the night, GRC forced 2 turnovers (interceptions by Eli Clark and Mason Abbot)

and tallied 5 sacks (Xander Leatherman and Sam DeYoung each had 1 and Easton Howe
rampaged around the Maroon backfield for 3! Strong tackling by Arie Tietsma (5) and Wyatt
Stuit (4) and deft play by Kayden Buyck and Yohannes Rock with 2 pass breakups each helped
get the Eagle Offense back onto the field.
Offensively, it was a big day for the running game - 8.7 yards per carry!) behind the offensive
line quintet of Micah Bergin, Javi Cummings, Jacob Bierling, Sam DeYoung, and Easton Howe,
along with TE Xander Leatherman. Elden Grover had 13 carries for 146 yards and a TD and
Justin Davis added 10 rushes for 76 yards and 2 TDs. Bradley Nuiver completed 10 of 14 passes
for 107 yards and 2 TDs, one to Brieon Walton and one to Xander Leatherman. The extra point
connection of long-snapper Tyler VanderPloeg, holder Nuiver, and kicker Easton Howe were a
perfect 6 for 6 on the evening as well. On a special note, the big day by Elden Grover put him
over the milestone of 1000 all-purpose yards (yards rushing, receiving, and punt/kick returns)
for the season which is a memorable achievement both for him and also for the whole offense
and special teams units.
The 2024 Eagles JV team ends with a final season record 3 wins and 6 losses. The growth in skill,
execution, grit, and teamwork demonstrated by these young men from Game 1 to Game 9 was
exciting and encouraging to watch! Thank you to all the parents and fans for coming out to
support the team on game-days this year and, as always, Roll Eagles!