Michigan High school football: South Christian Sailors sink gritty, gutty Edwardsburg

BATTLE CREEK — Kevin Bartz postgame message to his Edwardsburg football team late Saturday afternoon was a simple and heartfelt one.

"I just told them that I loved them," said Bartz.

A sentiment that was easy to understand coming from the classy, longtime coach of the Eddies.

Bartz saw his No. 5 team, which boasted 28 seniors, fall to No. 1 Grand Rapids South Christian 26-20 in the Division 4 semifinal game played at frigid Battle Creek Harper Creek High School.

The Sailors, now 13-0, advance to play Goodrich (12-1) in the state title game next Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Ford Field in Detroit.

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The Eddies, who beat GRSC in the regional finals each of the past two seasons, finishes another stellar season at 11-2.

It was a slow start that ultimately did the Eddies in on Saturday.

The Sailors built a 20-0 lead and then held on as Edwardsburg showed the guts and grit that this year's edition of the perennial powerhouse became known for.

The Eddies rallied to cut the lead to 26-20 on a Brenden Madison one-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown with 1:56 to play. The Sailors then recovered the ensuing attempted onside kick and held on the for the win.

"Our kids just did what they have done all season and that's battled," Bartz noted in a phone interview following the contest. "But it was a slow start today that did us in. It's kind of been like that all year for us.

"It just took us too long to get going today. We got in a hole and against a team like South Christian you just can't do that. It just took our defense a while early on. A lot of it was our fault early in the game as we had some miscommunication and some missed assignments."

The Sailors led 7-0 as star quarterback Jacob DeHaan raced 51 yards on the first play from scrimmage. South Christian made it 14-0 on the first play of the second period as DeHaan hit Seth Ritsema with a 21-yard touchdown pass and extended the lead to 20-0 later in the quarter on a six-yard run by DeHaan.

The Eddies, who beat the Sailors 28-14 last season before falling in the state semifinals, cut the lead to 20-6 as Brett Allen scored on a two-yard run on the final play of the opening half. Edwardsburg got within 20-14 in the third period on a nine-yard touchdown run by Brenden Madison before a 40-yard touchdown pass by DeHaan to Carson Vis of the Sailors made it 26-14.

"They have a tremendous defensive team and to get down three scores like we did was tough," Bartz remarked. "We were eating a lot of clock on drives to score."

The Eddies rushed for 267 yards Saturday, about 100 under their per game average entering play. Senior Allen led the ground game with 27 carries for 122 yards. Madison had 16 carries for 58 yards with Seabolt and Mikey Pryor each adding 36 yards rushing.

DeHaas was the man of the hour for the Sailors. The senior was 7-of-10 passing for 120 yards with his two TD passes. He also ran for 111 yards on 14 carries with two more scores.

The Eddies fought through adversity all season to make another late November run. Edwardsburg had several key players hurt two weeks ago versus Niles, including two-way star Andrew Colvin, who was sidelined with a separated shoulder. Colvin, one of the star running backs for the Eddies, did return to play defense Saturday and had three tackles after missing last week's game.

"The expectations of this group were high this year," recounted Bartz. "They just somehow, some way found a way to get the job done week after week for us. They just never quit. The more adversity we had the better they got."

The Eddies lost their season opener before winning 11 straight before Saturday.

Bartz noted too that the weather conditions had no impact on the outcome of the contest.

The Edwardsburg senior class of 28 strong, which went 45-6, is one very close to their coach. His son Zach was supposed to be the starting quarterback this season before suffering a broken leg during the summer. Zach was able to appear in a couple of games late in the season.

The end was difficult for Bartz, the man in his 28th season in charge of the Eddies. Bartz guided his team to a 102-11 mark the past nine seasons, with seven trips to the state semifinals. The highlight was the state championship back in 2018.

"I've known most of these seniors since they were 7 or 8 years old," said Bartz fighting his emotions.

"I've seen these guys grow up together. I just broke down after the game trying to tell them what they mean to me.

"The losing today was uncomfortable. But the knowing that this was the last time that I would be able to be on the field with them was the difficult thing."

That, and his love, was not lost on his team though for sure despite the tough ending.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: MHSAA football: Edwardsburg falls to South Christian in semifinals