Holland Christian Schools

September 5, 2008
Game of the Week Goes to HC
Holland Christian passed its first test of the season eight days ago when they hosted, and defeated, Cedar Springs to begin the start of their 2008 season.  Another test was on the docket in their first game under the Friday night lights.  This time the Maroons unveiled their new road uniforms at Thornapple Kellogg Middleville for their first contest away from the HC turf.  The game was another chance to showcase their offensive firepower in the WOOD TV-8 featured game of the week.  A.J. Westendorp hit Matt Mulder for a 28 yard pass on the first play of the game and the offense was at it again.  Westendorp would complete one more pass before tucking the ball down and taking a 25 yard run in for the first touchdown of the game.  Seth Broekhuizen (right), one of HC’s star soccer players, joined the football team this week and hit the point after and they led 7-0 with just forty nine seconds ticking off the clock.  The drive took only four plays.  The silent but deadly element of the team thus far has been the Maroons defense.  After not allowing a point last week (Cedar scored on a special teams play) the Maroons flexed their muscles dropping Middleville for -10 yards as Westendorp sacked the T.K. quarterback and forced the host to punt the ball.  Holland Christian got the ball on their 26 yard line and began to move the ball quickly.  Two passes to Matt Hochhalter (17 yards and 28 yards) and the team was in Middleville’s territory once again.  Kyle Boer took a thirteen yard pass into the right corner of the end zone and HC led 14-0 with 7:33 to go in the first quarter.  After Middleville was forced to punt, the T.K. defense held HC on their first three plays.  With fourth and eight, from their twenty five yard line, Holland Christian muffed a punt and was bottled up turning the ball over to the Trojans.  Middleville’s offense received a jolt of energy from their defense and they turned it into the first opposing offensive touchdown of the year nudging the score to 14-7.  That would be the only blip on the radar for the defense in the half as they showed their merit the next possession.  A T.K. screen pass looked to be developing as the defensive line blitzed the quarterback.  Troy Rietsma, however, split two blockers and picked the ball off, tucked it in and ran in for the pick six touchdown to put HC up 21-7 with 11:44 to go in the second quarter (above, left).  After a defensive stand, the offense rattled off 71 yards in a drive that lasted just over a minute.  The seven play drive was capped off on a 4 yard touchdown run by Matt Hochhalter and HC was up 28-7.  The Maroons got the ball back to end the half and in just 1:22 seconds they drove 78 yards in just five plays to make the score 35-7 at halftime.  Mulder took the ten yard pass and dove in for the touchdown (below, right).  After gathering themselves during the break, HC came out and forced a three and out.  Then A.J. found Hochhalter for a twenty seven yard pass to start the opening drive of the half.  Four plays later, the no huddle offense cashed in another touchdown on a six yard touchdown run off tackle by Hochhalter and the score ballooned to 42-7.  Cameron Kiekentveld opened up the hole as he pulled from the left side and pancaked the Trojans linebacker.  The defense got HC the ball back but the offense would not hold it for very long.  On the first play, Westendorp, who led the team in rushing, took the ball off the left side and weaved his way through traffic across the middle and down the right sideline.  With only one man to beat, the Maroons quarterback cut back in at the fifteen yard line (below, left) and beat the pursuing defenders for a 63 yard highlight reel touchdown run to push the score to 49-7.  As the margin grew between the two teams, the depth of the HC team was shown as plenty of players began to be subbed into action.  Middleville was able to march down and score to make it 49-13 at the end of three.  Two minutes into the fourth, Nic Kiekover made an acrobatic four yard diving catch over the middle for Westendorp’s third passing touchdown of the game.  The extra point was good by Broekhuizen, who was 8-8 on the night, and the score improved to 56-13.  The Trojans were able to put a final score on the board before the game concluded on a Phil Parker interception.  The 56-20 win moved the team to 2-0 on the season.  “I thought we played well, we just came out extremely fast and got out of control,” said head coach Willie Snead III.  “We had to regain our composure and that is a great for these kids to get that experience on the road.  It’s tough to play in someone else’s house and be as poised as we were.”  Westendorp had another strong contest amassing 533 yards of total offense (199 yards rushing, 334 passing) and five total touchdowns (2 rushing, 3 passing).  Matt Hochhalter led the team in receiving with 4 catches for 107 yards while Mulder brought in 5 passes for 89 yards.  “Every week we have someone step up and this week Matt was great for us” added Snead III.  “Everyone got to play as we count on every man on our roster so this was just another learning experience and great to get a road victory.”  The team outgained the Trojans by 415 yards (669-254).  With two tests under their belt, Holland Christian will begin its mission to bring home their first conference title in school history.  That process begins next Friday under the lights at home when the Maroons host the Bulldogs of Byron Center in the OK-Green opener for each school.  BC will bring a similar 2-0 record into the game.   Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.  PHOTOS COMING BY SATURDAY!

September 4, 2008
Strong Surge Not Enough for Maroons
The Maroons swimming and diving team hosted its second consecutive home match but their opponent had just as much home pool advantage.  The state swimming power that is Holland High, shares the Aquatic Center and is familiar with the surroundings.  They made that quite clear early as they were able to take three of the first four events.  The Maroons 200 Yard Medley Relay team was able to scratch out a third place finish in a state cut time of 1:59.82.  This was the second state cut for the team of Chelsea Konyndyk, Mackenzie Kuipers, Hope Mlynarek and Allison Boes.  The highlight for the Holland Christian team came in the 50 Yard Freestyle race.  With three heats involved in the race, freshman Kelsey Weener (right) was the swimmer who came out on top.  Winning the race in a time of 26.19 was not her only prize as she claimed a state cut tying the needed time for Division III.  After the Maroons win in the race the two teams switched ends and went to the 1 meter diving board.  With the team going through their six dives, the diving meet came down to the final dive.  Senior Samantha Klaasen (left) trailed entering her final dive and needed a strong dive to pull it off.  As Klaasen soared off the board, she twisted into the air and slipped into the water quietly.  When she came up for air she had claimed the narrow victory winning the meet with a score of 216.75.  The momentum kept building for the team as Hope Mlynarek came in with a state cut in the 100 yard butterfly in a time of 1:03.43.  Despite the valiant effort, the Dutch, and their large numbers, had surged out to a very large lead early and coasted home for the 113-72 victory.  This was the Maroons first defeat but it comes against a strong program and this will pay dividends down the road.  The girls will be back in action on Saturday at the West Michigan Relays.  PHOTOS

September 4, 2008
Defense Shines in Great Game
The grey skies and pouring rain became the backdrop for a tremendous freshmen soccer match between the Panthers of West Ottawa and the Maroons.  Holland Christian made the jaunt to the north side of Holland holding an undefeated record and they were hoping to keep a grasp on that despite the wet conditions.  West Ottawa made things difficult when they grabbed the early 1-0 lead with just five minutes off the clock.  HC continued to push the ball down the field and their aggressiveness paid off when they were awarded a free kick at the 22:00 minute mark.  Zach Wiersma, from just outside the 18 yard box, drilled an absolutely beautiful kick into the air and it did not stop until it came to rest in the upper left hand corner of the goal.  The goal tied the game at 1 and gave the Maroons some new life.  The defense for both sides continued to play solid until the aggressiveness of HC backfired.  They over pursued a ball and opened a lane for the Panthers and they scored to take the 2-1 lead.  That score would hold until halftime.  Out of the break, Holland Christian came out energized and began to execute much better.  The more fundamental play was seen when Alex Venlet put one in with eighteen minutes to go.  He brought the ball down the right side and lined a shot up from 30 yards away and HC got its second long range goal to knot the score up once again.  The defensive play for both teams was sparkling over the course of the game and big play after big play saved the game for both teams.  Lucas Dykstra was first on the highlight reel as he made a lunging attempt and tapped the ball over the crossbar to maintain the save.  Dykstra (above, left) also received great help from defenders Casey Doezema (right) and Troy Nykamp who were throwing their bodies around deflecting any shots WO was able to get on net.  Their actions gave HC some energy and Bryce VanDeWalker put that to use.  VanDeWalker beat the West Ottawa defenders and slipped a goal in with just under five minutes to play and HC took their first lead of the night at 3-2.  The Panthers would not back down and with :37 seconds left tied the game up at 3.  The teams agreed to play two five minute sudden death overtimes to determine a winner but the defense was spectacular and after ten minutes the teams tied 3-3 in double overtime.  “We played really well and our defense shined today” said head coach Greg Schemper.  “It was fun in the pouring rain and we had a great time.”  Still undefeated, at 4-0-2, HC will host Forest Hills Northern on September 8.

September 4, 2008
Weather Becomes Story of the Night
In last week’s 40-0 victory over Cedar Springs, the story of the day was the quality football that the Maroons played.  On Thursday night, in their home opener, the story of the night was not necessarily the game on the field, but the conditions surrounding the game.  After a long day of a constant rain, the field conditions at the turf field were less than ideal and both teams suffered the effects as the rain poured down (right).  Early on in the first quarter, the Maroons were able to put together a strong drive punishing the ball on the ground behind the running of Jeff Vroon and quarterback Trevor Brewer.  Vroon was able to find room off the left tackle and broke a 36 yard run for the first score of the night with 5:20 left in the first.  He then followed it on a draw up the middle for the two point conversion to put Holland Christian in the lead 8-0.  The remainder of the first half, the defense became the story.  Middleville was able to use a turnover and turn the field possession into their first score and the game was tied at 8-8.  As each offense tried harder and harder to get down the field, the more the ball kept squirting out.  Twice in the half, one team would recover a fumble and seem to grab the momentum.  The funny thing with momentum is it is a fickle element of the game.  That was seen the very next play when the defense would strip the ball loose and recover the fumble to give their offense the ball immediately back.  With the ball changing hands so much, neither offense got much going in the second quarter until T.K. Middleville put one in before the end of the half to take a 16-8 lead into halftime.  That is the way things would stand throughout the entire third quarter.  Middleville had drove down the field slowly at the end of the quarter and just as the fourth started, the Trojans put one in to take a 24-8 lead.  The Maroons offense sputtered for much of the second and third quarter as starting quarterback Trevor Brewer had to leave the game with an ankle injury.  Gutting it out, Brewer re-entered in the fourth and gave some life to the offense but again the wet football played tricks with the team.  Midway through the fourth the ball was stripped and the Trojans recovered the ball.  Seemingly ready to end the game, inside the Maroons twenty yard line, the defense bowed its back and got the ball back on the first play of Middleville’s drive.  The Trojans defense then came up big holding HC and getting the ball back.  One of the few passes completed was a pretty fade pass to the corner of the end zone that the Middleville receiver went up and got for the touchdown.  The score gave them the 32-8 lead.  HC had one more grasp at coming back and that they did.  Brewer found room on the right sideline as he ran for a thirty five yard gain.  After two more run, Brewer (above, left) found Kevin Edewaard in the end zone for the touchdown.  Vroon’s two point conversion moved HC to only trailing 32-16.  After recovering an onside kick, the offense stalled and time ran out on the comeback attempt as Holland Christian fell 32-16.  The loss dropped the JV to 1-1 on the year.  The team will now travel to Byron Center on Thursday, September 11 for their OK-Green opener.  PHOTOS

September 4, 2008
Trojans Scoring Run Drops HC
Over the past month, the West Michigan area has been basked in the summer sun without much precipitation.  On the day of the Maroons freshmen football home opener the skies opened up and the rain came.  Throughout the day, the rain intensified and created a grey and wet atmosphere.  Despite the weather, HC came out and brightened their fans outlook with a fourteen point first quarter.  After winning the toss, the team made it down to the five yard line, after a thirty yard pass to Justin Bouma (right), before turning it over on downs.  The defense answered the bell though holding T.K. Middleville to negative yards and forced a punt.  With the ball on the thirty three yard line, quarterback Luke Brower took the snap and rolled right.  Just as he was about to be wrapped up he flipped a perfect option feed to running back Austin Rietveld who scampered around the corner.  Spinning between two defenders, Rietveld rumbled to the ten yard line before being brought down.  Three plays later, he was rewarded with the ball and he hammered it into the end zone for the early 6-0 lead.  Brower then hit Rietveld in the flat for the two point conversion and HC led 8-0.  Another tremendous defensive stand was capped off when Kyle Britton scooped up the ball and gave the offense great field position.  With less than a minute remaining, Rietveld (left) scored again, from two yards out and HC led 14-0.  At the end of the first, Middleville had -20 yards of offense.  After having a strong first quarter, the rain began to come down harder and the Maroons suffered under the conditions.  Middleville was able to use three turnovers, an interception return for a touchdown and a punt return to score 35 unanswered points and took a 35-14 lead into halftime.  Unfortunately for the Maroons fans in attendance, T.K. Middleville continued its scoring run ad at the end of the third it was 50-14.  The Trojans extended their lead to 57-14 before Rietveld scored with two minutes remaining to bring the score to 57-22.  That would be the way the game concluded with the Maroons dropping to 0-2 on the season.  The OK-Green season begins next week when HC travels to Byron Center on Thursday.  PHOTOS

September 3, 2008
Maroons Make Themselves at Home
A strong non-conference showing got the Maroons ready to go for their conference-opening jamboree.  In the four tournaments that HC played, they finished no worse than third in them and won the Zeeland East Invitational.  On Wednesday, the girls traveled to Wyoming Park to play in the OK-Green Opening Jamboree.  The OK-Conferences redid how golf would be played and this was the opening of eight jamborees that the team would play in.  Now the format is that each match the team plays in conference, they will face all seven other conference teams and points are awarded for the finish.  The first place team receives eight, second place receives seven and so forth.  The dual matches are now out the window and that puts more pressure on teams to be consistent against one another more often.  Maple Hill Golf Course was the setting for the first jamboree where all eight teams would be playing against one another for the first time.  This was the home course of the Wyoming Park Vikings but the Maroons wasted no time in settling right in.  Behind freshman Libby Berens (left) best round of the season, Holland Christian took first place gathering eight points with a team score of 186.  The next closest teams were thirteen strokes away (Byron Center & Zeeland East).  “Libby played really solid golf today and was the first time she was our top scorer” said head coach Sherry Velthouse.  Berens shot a round of 42 to lead the team.  Allison DeKock (right) and Jenna Wyrick came into the clubhouse tied for the second lowest score as they carded a pair of 47’s.  Kristina Bosch tallied a 49 to round out the top four golfers on the match.  “I am very pleased with how well we played,” added Velthouse.  “It was a total team effort and it was a great start to our conference season.”  The Dux of Zeeland West placed in fourth followed by Unity Christian, Hamilton, Rogers and Wyoming Park.  Not having much time to enjoy the first place finish, the team will be back in action at Winding Creek Golf Course tomorrow as Zeeland East hosts the second jamboree of the season.  PHOTOS

September 3, 2008
HC Ends it Early in OT
Head Coach Tom Strikwerda wanted his team to build up as much momentum as possible heading into their contest with Zeeland East.  The team started that defeating Calvin Christian yesterday 8-0 and need every ounce of it in the first half in their OK-Green opener.  Holland Christian dodged a few bullets in the first half as East was able to get eight shots on net but the defense (David Blystra, Seth Broekhuizen, Joe Kraker, & Christian McNally), and goalie Ben Lemmen (left), denied each and every shot shutting down the Chix in the half.  However, HC was unable to use the cushion that the defense was giving them as the Zeeland defense was just as stout stopping thirteen Maroon shots on net and at half the game was tied 0-0.  Out of halftime, the team played with even more intensity and the defense continued to be the story of the game.  Neither team could make anything stick until East took advantage of HC’s intensity.  The Maroons were called for a foul with fifteen minutes to go in the half and that would be the break the host would need.  The Chix lofted the ball into the goal box and as the ball kicked around, a Chix forward was able to make solid contact and get it past Lemmen for the first goal of the night.  Down 1-0 with fifteen minutes to go in the half, in their conference opener, was not a great scenario for Holland Christian to find themselves.  The team would not break though and following their coach’s energy, the team continued to fight hard.  That fight was rewarded just nine minutes later when Jon Israels put in a bouncing ball outside the Chix net to tie the game at 1.  The play of the half, and what Strikwerda called “the game changing play,” was a breakaway for Zeeland East.  With the Chix best player steaming down on Lemmen things did not look the greatest for the maroon and white.  Lemmen turned the tides though as he refused to sit and let the forward make the decision.  He left the goalmouth and went hard at the ball and won it making an awesome play that kept the tie intact.  This was one of Lemmen’s eight save son the night.  The game remained tied at the end of regulation and the teams went to overtime.  In the Maroons huddle Strikwerda harped on only one thing, “End it early boys.”  Talk about answering their coach’s call.  Jeff Ekdom won the ball and flipped the ball down to Jon Spoelhof.  After initially losing the ball, Spoelhof fought and won the ball back and delivered a pretty crossing pass to Ross Kammeraad (right).  Kammeraad put his foot to the ball and it clanged off the goal post and ricocheted and hit the goalie.  The ball then glanced off the goalie and came to rest in the net just twenty four seconds into OT (VIDEO).  As soon as the ball crossed into the net, the HC bench exploded onto the field in jubilation of their 2-1 victory.  The win moved the team to 4-1 on the year and 1-0 in the OK-Green.  The Maroons will move onto Saturday’s contest when they travel to Caledonia for an 11:45 a.m. start time.

September 3, 2008
Shutout Victory Opens Conference for HC
A strong first half surge, scoring four goals and leading 4-0 at half, captivated the JV soccer team’s fans in yesterday's 4-0 win, but head coach Brian Lemmen saw a different game.  “I thought we played very well in the first half” Lemmen noted, “but we just were too goal happy and that caused our game plan to break in the second half.”  Looking to make a key adjustment, the team made halftime adjustments in their conference opener against Zeeland East and they paid off.  In the first half, the team again put together a solid effort playing very well and took a 1-0 lead into the halftime intermission.  With thirteen minutes to go in the half, freshmen Toby Blom took a Grant VanPutten (right) assist and drilled it into the net for the lone goal of the half.  Zeeland East’s freshmen goalie was really the story of the half as he saved shot after shot against the Maroons to keep his team in the game.  Noticing an opportunity to pounce, Lemmen pushed his team up to not only defend East’s main forward, but also create more shot opportunities on net and on rebounds.  Out of the break, the speed of VanPutten, Mitch Barry and Macall Smith slowed down the Chix’s offensive attack and HC capitalized on the other end of the field.  Ryan Jacobs, who was flying all over the field in the first half putting shot after shot on net to no avail, found Zach VanWyk (left) for a nice goal to give HC the 2-0 lead.  Shortly after the goal, the team gathered the ball on a dead ball.  Off the play, Matt Garvelink popped the ball up into the air to Jon Bosma who smoked the ball into the crossbar.  What looked like a near miss suddenly became the team’s third goal as the persistent Bosma took the rebound and knocked it in for the 3-0 lead.  That would eventually stick to be the final score.  The defensive line was again solid and Nate Dykstra was solid in net again gathering his second shutout of the year, and the third combined of the early season.  “That first conference victory is very, very delightful,” said a jubilant Lemmen.  “We hung in there against a good team (3-1 entering the game) and played very well in both halves.”  The Maroons, now 3-2 (1-0), will go back out of conference on Saturday when they travel to Caledonia for a 10:00 a.m. contest.  PHOTOS

September 3, 2008
Doubles Play Earns HC Victory
Coming into Wednesday's match, head coach John Knoester had been pleased with his team's performance this season.  He appreciated their effort a bit more Wednesday evening after their match against local rival Zeeland East.  In their conference opener the team got the challenge it expected from Chix.  The Maroons held off their O-K Green Conference rival for a 5-3 victory Wednesday by sweeping the four doubles flights.  “We knew they were going to be strong in singles,” Knoester said.  "Our doubles players really stepped up and played solidly."  Holland Christian, the defending O-K Green champion, improved to 2-1-1 overall, 1-0 in the OK-Green.  Knoester was pleased with Jarrod Brower’s (right) 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 win over Zeeland East’s No. 2 singles.  “Jarrod’s win was the highlight of the day,” Knoester said.  Zeeland East senior Aaron Niemiec got the best of Holland Christian junior David Buursma at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 6-2.  Jeremy DePree then defeated Ben Seabolt 6-2, 6-0 at No. 3 singles, while Dan TerHaar got the best of Adam Boes at No. 4 singles, 6-3, 6-0.  Holland Christian’s No. 1 doubles team of John Strikwerda and Kyle Weener won 7-6, 6-3 over Zeeland East’s Mark Donkersloot and Kevin Lambert.  Eric Edewaard and Tyler Bratt of Holland Christian bested Tim Bajema and Dennis TerHaar at No. 2 doubles 6-2, 6-2.  At No. 3 doubles, the team of Micah Kooyers-Adam Zwier beat Ben Lievense and Alex Prange, 6-0, 6-2.  Joe Geenen and Jacob Lambers (left) won at No. 4 doubles for Holland Christian with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Zach Prange and Peter Ta.  SENTINEL

September 3, 2008
Maroons Take Conference Opener
Playing only one match prior to their conference opener, the very deep JV tennis team was forced to use its practice time efficiently to get themselves ready.  HC must have been using the much used cliché “practice makes perfect” as the Maroons defeated Zeeland East rather easily 7-2.  With a very deep roster, the teams played nine matches, which were all doubles.  Kyle Bratt and Steve Steggerda got things rolling for the Maroons taking a hard fought first doubles match.  After the Chix took the first set 6-1, Bratt and Steggerda bounced back to win 6-4 in the second and took the tiebreaker 7-5 for HC’s first victory.  The Chix got on the board with a win in second doubles winning 0-6, 7-6, 7-2 over Conner Carbanaro and Andrew Bonzelaar.  Zach Vanderberg and Nick Everse (left) got the team back ahead winning 6-4, 6-3 and the Maroons would not look back.  Zeeland East fought back in fourth doubles but the tandem of Reed Jerow and Owen Tanis were too much winning a third set tiebreak to take the match 5-7, 7-5, 7-2.  Leading 3-1, East got one back when they won the fifth doubles (Jeremy Lorence and Mike VanWyngarden) 6-3, 6-3.  Holland Christian would sweep the remaining four doubles flights though to put their second victory to bed.  Ross VanPeursen and Chris Bosgraaf won solidly 7-5, 6-4 and were followed up when the seventh doubles (Adam and Jon Knott) claimed a 6-2, 6-2 win.  Another strong 6-2, 6-2 win was achieved in eighth doubles by Jason Curnick and Jeremy Eekhoff.  The match was closed off by Nick Pikaart and Owen Tanis, playing for the second time on the day, as they gathered the only straight set victory of the day winning 6-2, 6-0.  "We played very solidly and I think we improved since our last match" said head coach Andy Phillips.  Now 2-0 on the year, and 1-0 in conference, Holland Christian will travel to the Grand Rapids Christian Invitational on Saturday morning.

Recent Headlines
Boys' Cross Country--Brutal Conditions Meet Maroons on Trail Run  (August 23, 2008)
Girls' Cross Country--Brutal Conditions Meet Maroons in Trail Run  (August 23, 2008)
Freshmen Football--Freshmen Football Defeated   (August 27, 2008)
JV Football--Maroons Defense Shines in Opener   (August 27, 2008)
Varsity Football--Maroons Dazzle in Debut   (August 28, 2008)
Girls' Varsity Golf--Back to Back Performances  (August 27, 2008)
Boys' Freshmen Soccer--Freshmen Get Character Revealing "W"   (August 27, 2008)
Boys' JV Soccer--Momentum Has Team Feeling Green  (September 2, 2008)
Boys' Varsity Soccer--Offense Routs Its Way to Mercy Win  (September 2, 2008)
Girls' Swimming & Diving--Orioles Wings Clipped in First Meet   (August 26, 2008)
Boys' JV Tennis--Depth Aids JV Tennis   (August 26, 2008)
Boys' Varsity Tennis--New Facility Welcomes State's #1 Team; Maroons Split  (August 26, 2008)
Freshmen Volleyball--Day of Firsts for Freshmen Volleyball   (August 26, 2008)
JV Volleyball--Strong Play Continues for JV  (August 26, 2008)
Varsity Volleyball--HC Stands Out Amongst Elite Programs  (August 29, 2008)