Photo by Travis Smola.
“That’s history boys!” The words echoed from the players across Vicksburg’s home turf as the varsity football team secured the school’s first-ever district title.
The big win came in an unexpected second showdown November 7 between Vicksburg and Three Rivers. The Wildcats stamped their ticket to the game with a huge upset over Paw Paw the week prior. The Bulldogs got the chance to play at home one more time after defeating Edwardsburg for the second time this season in a 43-30 shootout the week prior.
Vicksburg chose to receive in the contest and punted their first drive. However, the Wildcats didn’t have much time to put something together. On their second play from scrimmage, the QB fumbled the ball away on what looked like a failed exchange. Michael Johnson made a heads-up play to recover the ball at the Wildcats’ 46-yard line.
Five plays later, Easton Moughton completed a pass to Maguire Bowles, who made a man miss and then ran the ball downfield. He was able to make a dive at the pylon that resulted in a 32-yard Bulldog touchdown. The extra point made it 7-0 early.
Three Rivers answered back on their next drive. They churned the clock and eventually scored to tie things 7-7. Their entire drive took place on the ground. The Wildcats chose to boot the ensuing kickoff high, which gave Johnson a chance to return it to Three Rivers territory.
Most of the ensuing drive was placed on the shoulders of running back Jayden Keiser. However, Moughton did make a 23-yard completion to Graham Kubiak. That play set Vicksburg up at the Three Rivers 11-yard line. Two plays later, Keiser broke a tackle and rumbled the ball into the endzone on a 13-yard scamper. The extra point made it 14-7.
Like the first drive, the Wildcats answered with a long, grinding scoring drive. They capped it off with a touchdown on the tush push. The Bulldogs’ next drive looked promising as they mixed it up with a series of Keiser runs and passes to Kubiak and Travis Hostetler. Unfortunately, the advance stalled when Vicksburg fumbled the ball away on the Wildcat 11-yard line.
Three Rivers started to move the ball on the subsequent drive. However, the defense stepped things up. Kameron Kessler batted down a pass at the line, and Korbin Dugan had a key sack to stall the drive. The teams went into the half tied 14-14.
Vicksburg needed a spark going into the second half. They got it on a surprise onside kick attempt, which they recovered. It ended up being a turning point in the game.
“I trust Coach (Mark) Blaesser, our special team’s coordinator immensely,” Head Coach Tom Marchese said. “We felt like we had to steal a possession because we had that fumble in the first half. It worked out perfectly.”
The Bulldogs started the drive at the Wildcat 46-yard line and promptly marched down the field. Seven plays later, Keiser carried the ball up the left side 14 yards for his second rushing touchdown of the night. The extra point made it 21-14.
While the Vicksburg defense has given up plenty of points this season, the second half of this game gave them a chance to shine. The Bulldogs forced a turnover on downs on their next possession. On the one after that, Kessler had another big tackle that forced a fourth-and-six. The Wildcats kicked a field goal to make it 21-17. Those were the last points scored in the game.
Eventually, Three Rivers got one more shot at a drive with 2:45 left in the game. They pushed the ball down to the Vicksburg 29-yard line. A pass interference penalty on the Bulldogs set up the Wildcats at the 18-yard line. The defense quickly stiffened, and put extra pressure on the quarterback, resulting in an intentional grounding penalty. Eventually, the Wildcats ran out of time as their last-ditch passing attempts failed.
“These last two weeks when the defense had to buckle down, they really did, especially in the second against Edwardsburg last week, and here again the second half they played a really good defensive game,” Marchese said.
Despite the chilly weather conditions, most of the fans stayed in the stadium for the trophy presentation. The student section rushed to the field afterwards in jubilation.
“I’m just so happy for the kids, happy for the community, happy for the school,” Marchese said. “I’m so thankful for my AD, the superintendent and the principal being in my corner, it’s just the way we envisioned this when I got here 18 years ago. It took a little longer than we thought, but they trusted that we were doing the right thing each year.
“You can see the community out here. We’ve had success in girls’ basketball and softball, but we’ve never had this success in football. So, I’m just elated for all the kids who are out here, the school, the town, it’s awesome.”
In the Regional round a week later, Vicksburg faced undefeated Portland, and it turned into another wild contest. The Bulldogs placed a close game that came down to the last play of the game. Moughton hit Kubiak on a touchdown pass that allowed Vicksburg to come out with a dramatic 42-41 victory. This was a huge win and maybe the biggest win ever for the Bulldogs! Portland was 11-0. This sets up a semifinal matchup with Hudsonville Unity Christian on November 22.
