GRAND RAPIDS - Griffin Leeuw had no regrets about how the final play of the game played out.
The Holland Christian quarterback said he’d do it again if he had another chance.
The Maroons took top-ranked Grand Rapids Catholic Central to overtime on Friday night but came up short, losing 21-20 in a thrilling finish on a very chilly, windy night.
The Cougars (7-1) are the No. 1 ranked team in the state in Division 5.
“I’m incredibly proud of the boys,” Leeuw said. “It’s a fight. No one had us even close to winning this game. We held them to just 14 points in four quarters. I don’t think anyone’s done that (to Catholic Central) all season. Our defense was awesome.”
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Both teams scored in overtime. Catholic Central scored first on a run by backup quarterback Brady Berkemeier. Holland Christian then scored on its first possession when Leeuw found Wyatt Shook in the end zone. But Holland Christian had no interest in heading into a second overtime. They decided to go for two. But Leeuw’s pass fell short.
“I loved it,” Leeuw said of the play call. “We’re an aggressive team. We want to win. That was our opportunity to do it. I liked the call.”
Holland Christian coach Dave Abberger loves to push the envelope. He wanted to go for the win.
“That’s been my motto since I’ve been head coach,” he said. “We got the field goal blocked (in the third quarter), which would have won us the game. So, I thought, ‘Let’s just go win this thing.’ I liked our call and our look. We were very close to winning that game.”
Catholic Central scored twice in the first quarter on touchdowns by John Superson and Carter Burgin. But they wouldn’t score again until overtime.
“It was not great, but we handled it,” Catholic Central coach Todd Kolster said.
Holland Christian (3-5) got its first score on an electric kick-off return by Eli Konfara with 40 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The score was 14-7 at halftime. The Maroons tied it up with 14 seconds left in the third quarter when Leeuw threw a 3-yard pass to Axton Arnoldink.
The Maroons had a shot to take the lead midway through the third quarter. Kicker Carson Borchert lined up for a 24-yard field goal, but it was blocked by the Cougars’ Jaxon Mileskiewicz.
“They played excellent,” Kolster said of Holland Christian. “Very tough, very physical. Good football team. They played their butts off tonight.”
Defense has some big moments
Early in the second quarter, the Maroons stopped the Cougars on a 4th-and-4 on the 20 yard line. They would stop Catholic Central at least three times on fourth downs.
Then Griffin Leeuw picked off a pass in the end zone and ran it 20 yards before time ran out in the first half.
“Credit to Colton (Grill), he’s the one who banged up the other (receiver). We needed that one.”
That gave the Maroons momentum heading into the locker room.
Abberger loved how his defense played, too.
“Super proud of our defense,” he said. “(Defensive coach Nate) Elzinga’s been doing a phenomenal job. I think we have two of the best linebackers (Wyatt Shook and Josh Capestany) in the conference. We’ve got eight sophomores starting.”:
Catholic Central QB goes down
Junior quarterback Odin Spencer, one of the better signal callers in West Michigan, was injured in the first quarter and never returned to the game. Brady Berkemeier, a junior, stepped in and played well.
“It’s tough,” Kolster said. “(Spencer) is a great kid and a great person. He’s our leader. But I’m proud of Brady for stepping up.”
Said Abberger: “They lost their quarterback when he went down. But their second-string guy was still really good.”
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: How Holland Christian football nearly upset No. 1 Catholic Central in overtime