By Sue Moore
“Everything clicked,” said Coach Tom Marchese in explaining his Bulldogs huge win over the South Haven Rams on Thursday, 45-7. “We had a nice block to spring Nick Wallace loose on the first play of the game for a TD. That’s how you draw it up, but it seldom happens.”
The Bulldogs never let up, scoring early and often. Another deep pass from quarterback Dalton Ketelaar to wide receiver Hunter Van went for the second score in the first quarter. A blocked punt was recovered by Vicksburg on the 40 yard line, early in the second quarter, then the same two connected up with a lateral for a touchdown by Van. In the next possession, Ketelaar scored on a keeper to put Vicksburg up by 28 and then he ran right on a sweep for the final TD of the half to make it 42-0 at halftime. Keenan Erb was perfect with five PATs.
Invoking the mercy rule, the clock ran nonstop during the second half with Vicksburg’s only score coming on a 35 yard field goal by Erb, who was recruited from the soccer team. South Haven scored with 2:43 left in the game to make the final count 45-7.
Wallace had ten carries for 150 plus yards, Ketelaar had three TDs, and Jared Whited played with great emotion at defensive end, the coach said. Blake Rankin, a sophomore who was on the varsity as a freshman, played well on defense, Marchese noted. “We rotated a lot of players and most everyone got to play. The team was ready to hit someone else, besides our own guys, so it turned out well [for the first game].