JENISON – Ethan Albrecht was getting frustrated with how his team started games.
The Zeeland West football team seemed to take a while to get going.
“We were just a second-half team before,” Albrecht said. “But we turned that around. We came out hot and put it all together tonight.”
Brandon Holman scored on a 65-yard run on the very first snap of the game and Zeeland West, No. 9 in Division 3, crushed Unity Christian, No. 7 in Division 4, 38-0 on Friday night at Jenison High School.
“Against South, we didn’t come out hot,” Holman said of a 19-16 loss to South Christian in Week 5. “And in this game we came out hot. We had a great week of practice and we came together as a team. I feel like no one can stop us.”
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The Dux (6-1) got touchdowns from Holman, Albrecht, Cam Brouwer, Kenny Howe and Niko Moungkhoun. They led 20-0 at halftime.
“We’ve been trying to beat Unity because the past two years we’ve had tough losses to them,” senior lineman Ethan Malec said.
Unity Christian (4-3) had beaten Zeeland West each of the past two seasons.
Holman gave Malec credit for his big touchdown to open the game.
“It was big to get that momentum rolling,” Holman said. “But it wasn’t just me. There was a great block by Ethan Malec, number 55. He got up on the safety and I just kinda jumped outside and then back inside and it set that run up.”
Holman was part of the second-biggest play of the game, too.
In the second quarter, he caught a long pass from Albrecht and ran 50 yards to about the Unity 20-yard line. Four plays later, Albrecht scored on a 1-yard run.
“We knew we had to loosen them up a little bit because they were coming down so hard (defensively on the run),” Dux coach Jeff Bolhouse said. “You have to get those big chunk plays and that was a big one.”
Injuries compound tough loss for Unity
“That was by far not our best performance,” Unity Christian senior Josh Bremer said. “That was surprising. We have to keep our heads up. We’re better than that. It’s tough seeing that score on the scoreboard.”
In the second quarter, Unity Christian’s Neal Nikkel was injured while playing defensive back. During a play, he came down hard and appeared to injure his arm or shoulder. There was a 15 minute delay in the game while he was taken off the field in a cart.
The Crusaders best offensive weapon is done for the season, too. Jack Portenga, a senior running back, broke his collar bone against Zeeland East in Week 3.
“We lost a lot when we lost Jack,” Bremer said. “He’s a good runner and linebacker. He’s a great leader on the team. So it’s tough losing him.”
Homecoming for the Crusaders
After the game, Unity Christian celebrated homecoming by introducing the court.
There were three football players on the court: Bremer, senior Hudson Dierks and senior Austin DeJong.
But no king or queen was crowned. Apparently the school doesn’t do that.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Zeeland West races to stunning rout of Unity Christian in state-ranked battle