The Schoolcraft Eagles football team is under new leadership this season with the appointment of Dan Devries as head coach. The season opened by taking on the Bulldogs at Centreville, where a new coach and a fresh style of play were put to the test. Despite all the nerves and struggles of the first game, the Eagles secured the win, beating the home team 14-13.
Division 4 Powerhouse, Number 1 Hudsonville Unity Christian, came to Roy Davis Field for the first home game of the 2025 season. Schoolcraft was ranked 5th in Division 7. The visitors’ numbers are big enough to have a separate defensive and offensive lineup. At the final horn, the Eagles fell at home 19-40. The Eagles’ loss helped them gain some confidence by scoring 19 points and holding them to 40. No other team so far has scored more than the Eagles against Unity Christian.
The next challenge was the Battle of the Birds on US 131. The Eagles traveled south to Sweetland Stadium in Constantine. The Eagles entered at 1-1 while the Falcons were 2-0, beating Delton Kellogg 40-6 and Waverly 36-6.
The Eagles hit paydirt first when Cooper Howard took the rock in from 10 yards out. The 2-point conversion by Cooper was good, putting Schoolcraft up 8-0. The Falcon fans got a chance to cheer when Brody Godfrey broke away and took the ball 44 yards to score. The 2-point attempt failed leaving Schoolcraft up 8-6. During the 2nd quarter, the Eagles started to fire on all cylinders with Evan Feller taking a Jack DeVries pass 77 yards, weaving and dodging his way into the end zone, and Cooper Howard got the 2-point conversion. Then Howard scored again from 4 yards out and earned his 3rd 2-point conversion of the night, putting the Eagles up 24-6. Constantine’s Brody Bienz dove from 1 yard out and took the 2-point attempt in himself, making the score Schoolcraft 24-Constantine 14 at the half. In the end, Schoolcraft earned a huge road win 32-14.
Schoolcraft’s Homecoming was held on September 19 against Galesburg-Augusta. The Eagles had to punt on their first 2 drives, and the Rams were the first to score. Home team then took off when Jack DeVries hit Drew Enright for 3 straight touchdown passes: first one 44 yards, the next 63 yards and the 3rd 35 yards. At the half, the Eagles led 20-8. During the third quarter, the Eagles scored 3 more times: Jack DeVries hit his cousin Landon DeVries on an 18-yard pass, Brayden Boyes took a 7-yard pass into the endzone, and Boyes then carried the ball again 8 yards into the zone to put the score 39-8.
The Rams were able to put the ball into the endzone 3 times during the 4th Quarter, but the Eagles also added to their score, and when the clock ran out, the Eagles secured a 53-28 win and held a 3-1 record. The Rams had more plays from offense with 76 while the Eagles had 54. The Rams had 312 total yards of offense 72 passing yard and 240 rushing, while the Eagles had 551, 316 through the air and 235 on the ground.
