Week 3 high school football scouting reports
Week 3 of the high school football season kicks off on Friday, and it is rivalry week in the Holland area.
Three of the top rivalries in the area all square off on Friday.
The biggest rivalry is one of the biggest rivalries in the entire state: The Bird Bowl. Zeeland East vs. Zeeland West.
The other rivalries are Hamilton facing Holland Christian, which has also become one of the top rivlaries in West Michigan, if not the state, in all sports.
The last rivalry is West Ottawa hosting Rockford at the new West Ottawa Stadium, a new era on the matchup.
The other games are Holland at Mona Shores and Brandywine at Saugatuck.
Bloomingdale at Fennville has been canceled with Bloomingdale forfeting to the Blackhawks.
Here is a look at each of the matchups for Week 3:
Zeeland East at Zeeland West
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Zeeland Stadium
RECORDS: Zeeland East 0-2, Zeeland West 2-0
LAST WEEK: Zeeland East lost 21-14; Zeeland West beat Cedar Springs 28-0
SERIES RECORD: Zeeland West leads 14-7
LAST MEETING: Last year, Zeeland West won 48-21
SCOUTING REPORT: The Dux have won four consecutive matchups of the Bird Bowl and are off to an incredible start this season. Huge wins over Stevensville Lakeshore and Cedar Springs, both perennial playoff powers, have seen Zeeland West outscore both opponents by a stunning combined 94-15. The Dux have been nearly impossible to stop, even by Cedar Springs, another elite Wing-T team. Teams know what is coming, but cant stop it. Even more impressive has been the Dux defense, allowing just 15 points in two games combined - against two elite opponents. … Meanwhile, Zeeland East has struggled to start the season. The Chix have also played two perennial playoff teams to start the season, but have come up short 30-12 to Williamston and 21-14 to Spring Lake. The Chix have showed moments of promise, but will need a consistent performance start to finish to contend with the Dux. But this rivalry brings a lot to the table and anything can happen. … The student sections should be in full force and the atmostphere is not quite like any other.
"Last week we lost a close game to Spring Lake. The defense played well for most of the game. Our offense came alive in the fourth quarter before losing 21-14. This week we play a very, very fast Zeeland West team. We need to continue to improve on defense and play disciplined football. On offense, we need to turn out 6-7 yard gains into explosive plays." - Joe Woodruff
Hamilton at Holland Christian
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: Holland Christian High School
RECORDS: Hamilton 2-0, Holland Christian 1-1
LAST WEEK: Hamilton defeated Benzie Cenrral 42-12, Holland Christian lost 27-10 to Wayland
SERIES RECORD: Holland Christian leads 11-3
LAST MEETING: Last year, Holland Christian won 27-21
SCOUTING REPORT: Holland Christian started the season with an impressive 58-0 win over Holland before struggling to keep the offense going with a 27-10 loss to Wayland. The Maroons need to find some consistency on the offensive end to get back on track. Easier said than done against a Hamilton defense that has allowed just 12 points in two games, while scoring 104. The Hawkeyes have always been a strong defensive team, even in down years, but the offense has proved to be up to the challenge so far this season. This week will be the biggest challenge for the Hawkeyes, facing a team with a ton of offensive firepower in the Maroons. If Hamilton can put it all together as it has in the past two weeks, it will be halfway to the playoffs. If not, the Maroons could be in for another rivalry win.
"They are a spread team and they do a good job of getting the ball to their athletes in space. Screens, Draws, Hitches, Fades, etc. Not a super physical team on offense but they play to their strengths. We will have to make their QB uncomfortable to be successful. Defensively they play hard and have the advantage of having just played against Wayland who runs the same offense that we do. We will look to get Ben Boehm going, he has nine TDs in the first two games, so I'm not very smart if the offense doesn't flow through him. Ben has something like 313 yards on 20 rushes this season, which is a credit to him and his offensive line. We need to stay in navigable down and distances to be able to get Ben the touches we want him to have but also to involve the rest of our skill guys who can take advantage if someone focuses too much on him. This is a rivalry game and we always get their best effort. We expect a good game at their field on Friday night." - Phil Koops
Rockford at West Ottawa
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: West Ottawa Stadium
RECORDS: West Ottawa 2-0, Rockford 2-0
LAST WEEK: West Ottawa beat Portage Northern 21-10, Rockford beat Mona Shores 31-27
SERIES RECORD: Rockford leads 43-12-1
LAST MEETING: Last year, Rockford won 62-14
SCOUTING REPORT: At times, this rivalry can seem more like a nemesis than a rivalry, but when it is on, it is one of the best rivalries around. The Panthers haven't had much to cheer about the past few seasons, but that all changed this year. In Week 1, they snapped their 26-game losing streak, and in Week 2 opened the brand new West Ottawa Stadium with a stunning win over Portage Northern to improve to 2-0. Now this is one of the most anticipated matchups of late in the rivalry, but it won't be easy for the Panthers by any means. Rockford is coming off of an impressive comeback win over Mona Shores in a battle of state powers. The first edition of this rivalry at West Ottawa Stadium looks to be one of the best battles in the teams' history.
Holland at Mona Shores
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Mona Shores High School
RECORDS: Holland 0-2, Mona Shores 1-1
LAST WEEK: Mona Shores lost 31-27 to Rockford
SERIES RECORD: Mona Shores leads 26-16
LAST MEETING: Last year, Mona Shores won 76-24
SCOUTING REPORT: The Dutch have struggled this season, being outscored 121-8 and announced for player safety (nearly all of the starters are sophomores), the team will play two more games this season and then cancel the rest of the season. The J.V. season will continue, allowing the younger players to develop against players of similar size and age.
Brandywine at Saugatuck
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Saugatuck Stadium
RECORDS: Saugatuck 1-1, Brandywine 1-1
LAST WEEK: Saugatuck beat Lakeview 20-7, Brandywine beat Cassopolis 46-0
SERIES RECORD: Saugatuck leads 2-1
LAST MEETING: Last year, Saugatuck won 42-20
SCOUTING REPORT: After a season opener with a few bumps in the road, the Trailblazers bounced back and put together a strong performance to beat Lakewood in Week 2. Matt Hartgerink led the Saugatuck offense with two touchdowns and the defense didn't allow Lakewood to get anything going. Another performance like that should add up to another victory for the Trailblazers.
"Brandywine will challenge our defense with the split veer system for a second week in a row. We have to play disciplined football. They will challenge us with some size upfront. So playing at a low pad level is a must on both sides of the ball. And ball security must improve this week." - Bill Dunn
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Week 3 high school football scouting reports
