Weekly sports update

Football

What happened: On Friday, Sept. 12, the Bucs football team traveled to Reeths-Puffer for a non-conference game. Each team started out slow on offense, remaining scoreless until the second quarter when the Rockets ran it in for the first touchdown of the night. But the Bucs quickly answered when junior Trey Bledsoe broke a 60-yard return off the Rocket kickoff which set junior Joey Zelenka up for a Buccaneer touchdown knotting the game up 7-7 at halftime. The game remained tied until the fourth quarter when senior quarterback, Levi Overway, ran it in for a touchdown. The lead was short-lived however, a Puffer touchdown tied the game back up with seven minutes left in the game. But Overway lead the drive to set up an easy field goal for junior Brady Jonas with just seconds to spare. The Bucs defeated the Rockets 17-14. Last Friday at the first conference game of the season the Bucs traveled to Hudsonville to face the Eagles where they lost a tough one. Zelenka carried it in for the Bucs lone touchdown with in the first half. The Bucs fell to the eagles 49-7

They said it: “As we are looking ahead to Lowell we are focusing on getting better and making practice more physical,” Zelenka said. “We are confident (about upcoming Lowell), but we know we have to work hard if we want the win.”

Key moment: At the game against Brady Jonas kicked a 20– yard field goal as time expires to beat the Rockets, 17-14.

Key player: Junior Logan Taylor had three of the Buccaneers five first downs at the game last Friday. Taylor is a consistent offensive player for the Bucs.

Record: 2-2 overall, 0-1 in the O-K Red conference

Up next: The Bucs will face the Lowell Red Arrows this Friday at home. Lowell is 3-1 on the season overall and 1-0 in conference play.

Boys soccer

What happened: On Thursday, the Bucs battled perhaps their biggest conference rival, the Rockford Rams. With an incredible effort from goalkeepers Garrison Mast and Max Anthes, Grand Haven shutout the Rams and came out on top 3-0. Later that week on Saturday, the Bucs played against the Spring Lake Lakers, their rival from across the bridge. With goals by junior forward Mason Harloff and junior center midfielder Drew Van Andel enabled the Bucs to take a 2-1 victory.

They said it: “We are going to keep working hard and try to accomplish our team goals,” Mast said. “Right now all we are focused on is our next game ahead of us.”

Key player: Van Andel scored goals against both Rockford and Spring Lake, proving himself to be a lethal defensive midfielder that somehow always finds a way to put the ball in the back of the net.

Key moment: Senior David Krapohl floated a free kick into the box to set up a game winning goal by Van Andel against the Lakers.

Record: 6-2 overall, 2-0 in the O.K Red

Up next: The Bucs will play the East Kentwood Falcons this Thursday, Sept. 24 at home, making it their first conference home game.

Girls golf

What Happened: The Grand Haven girls varsity golf team traveled to Rockford on Friday, to play in the O-K Red mid-season tournament. The Bucs went into the day on a high after shooting their lowest team score of the year against Grandville last Wednesday. The Bucs had plenty of positives from the match, including a fourth place finish in the conference which will help instill confidence as the team moves forward. Team results were as follows:

1st Place: East Kentwood (Team score 345)

2nd Place: Hudsonville (Team score 367)

3rd Place: West Ottawa (Team score 379)

4th Place: Grand Haven (Team score 383)

5th Place: Rockford (Team score 403)

6th Place: Grandville (Team score 467)

They said it: “There’s some little mistakes that we make as individuals, where one girl will have a bad round, and another girl will have a good round, so it’s just having that good day as a team at the same time,” Schrader said.

Key player: Sophomore Bekah Schrader shot an 89, leading her to a fifth place finish as an individual.

Key moment: The Bucs have steadily improved as the year has progressed, and they are now 4-7 on the season, with their sights set on Regionals in a few weeks.

Up next: The Bucs will face off against West Ottawa on Sept. 29.

Boys water polo

What happened: The Bucs hosted the top-ranked powerhouse, the Rockford Rams on Monday night. The Bucs came out firing, scoring two quick goals to start the game, but in the third period the Rams started pulling ahead. The Rams kept the lead into the fourth quarter as they sneaked past the Bucs to come out on top 10-7, in a close battle.

They said it: “We knew how big a game this one was so we were trying our best to compete,” senior Jason Long said. “If they did one thing, we managed to do the same thing back. We kept fighting and fighting but in the end they came out on top.”

Key player: Mason Fritz led the Bucs with a trio of goals and was a major contributor to the Bucs second half push. Netting two goals to tie the game up at 6-6 midway through the third period.

Key moment: The Bucs strung together a strong push nearing the end of the game, with several possible scoring chances, but the Rams defense proved too solid.

Up next: The Bucs travel to Ann Arbor this weekend to play in the Birmingham Grove Tournament, then host East Kentwood, Monday, Sept. 28.

Volleyball

What happened: The Bucs currently have a 1-0 record in the O-K Red conference. In the latest Class A State Rankings the Bucs showed up at fourth after defeating Novi last weekend. On Thursday, the Bucs defeated Hudsonville 3-1.

They said it: “I think this year we have the potential to go far,” junior Cassidy Shumacher said. “I can see the growth in our team every week, that we are getting better and better. So depending on what we do with that work, it’ll be a positive outcome.”

Key player: Senior middle Ally Knoll was out with a shoulder injury for the first few weeks of the season but is now back. Knoll has been practicing but has yet  to participate in a game. The team is looking forward to her return because of her leadership on the court and accuracy in the middle-hitter position.

Key moment: The Bucs traveled to the Novi Invitational and finished 3-0 in bracket play with wins over Dakota, Churchill and Salem. The Bucs go 4-1, losing in the semis to number two, Lake Orion, 20-25, 23-25.

Record: The Bucs’ are 23-3 overall,  1-0 the O-K Red conference.

Up next: There is a home match on Thursday night against Rockford. The Rams are 10th in the latest Class A State Rankings.

Girls cross country

What happened: The Bucs cross country team traveled to East Lansing on Saturday, for the State Invitational. The Bucs ran hard and finished 14th out of 41. Freshman Gabby Hentemann lead the way for the Bucs followed by seniors, Audrey Boersen and Hannah Kenny. The Bucs then traveled to Rockford on Tuesday to open conference play. They ended with a third place finish behind Rockford and Grandville.

They said it:  “To beat Rockford we need to have a strong pack in the lead will small gaps between the runners,” junior Olivia Buitenhuis said.

Key player: Hentemann has stepped into a key runner position for the Bucs. She has finished first for her team to meets in a row.

Key moment: During the State Invitational, Freshman Abby Buitenhuis stayed close with the Buccan eer’s top runners, this gave a burst of energy to the team.

Up next:The girls cross country team will compete on Oct. 9, at Allendale High School.

Boys cross country

What happened: Last Friday, the boys cross country team traveled to East Lansing for the Spartan Invitational. Coach John Tarr was pleased with his team’s performance compared to last years times, having several runners improve at this elite meet. Teams all across the state came to compete in this event and the Buccaneers’ raced among the best in the Spartan Elite division. Yesterday, the Bucs attended their first O-K Red conference jamboree at Rockford, finishing second overall.

They said it: “It was my first time running varsity in such a big race, everyone ran super dirty,” Couvelaire said. “The first mile was really fast, fortunately I hit the time I was supposed to and that led me to passing a lot of people in the second mile. For my third mile I just hammered it in and ended up doing pretty well. I ended up around the time I was expecting”

Key runners: Sophomore Jack Nicholson ran an incredible time of 16.26. He lead the Buccaneers charge finishing 28th out of 200 plus runners. Some other notable runners are,  juniors Quentin Couvelaire and Dominic Hentemann finishing with times of 17.11 and 17.29 respectively.

Up next:The boys cross country team will compete on Oct. 9, at Allendale High School.

Girls swim and dive

What happened: The Bucs swim and dive team faced off against Hamilton at a home meet on Thursday night. The Bucs defeated Hamilton in a close 94-90 meet. Sophomore Stephanie VanNuil took first place in the diving competition giving the Bucs that four point lead.

They said it: “Grandville has always been a tough team to beat,” junior swimmer Sophie Kleyla said. “However if we train hard this week we have a good chance keeping up with them.”

Key player: VanNuil takes first place in the diving competition and is now one meet away from qualifying for the regionals.

Key moment:  Going into the final event the Bucs were ahead by two points. Coming down to the last event the where the victory was sealed by a second and third place finish.

Up next: The Bucs will face off against Grandville tomorrow night at home.