On Friday the boys varsity traveled to Grandville, a neutral site, to take on the Unity Christan Crusaders. The Rangers lost 40-23.
FHC received the first-half kick-off to begin their drive at their 20-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, the Rangers ran the ball right up the gut with QB, Nick Williams with no success. This has been a theme for the Rangers early in the season, as they love to try to open up the run game very early. However, on the next play, junior QB Nick Williams threw a screen pass intended for Ty Ryan, which was picked off and returned inside the Ranger’s red zone. Unity Christan then showed what the theme of the game was going to be: run the ball. Unity ran an overly unique offense that was familiar to the Rangers last year in the state semifinal game against Zeeland West—the infamous Wing T. This caused fits for the Rangers.
As the game progressed it seemed more and more clear that the Rangers would have to commit to the run, and the run only. What was so interesting about the Unity offense was that they didn’t even line up wideouts. It was exclusively 3 running backs and extra offensive linemen. Unity went up 8-0 early and then didn’t let up off the gas. The Rangers were able to score multiple times in the first half however they were able to get no momentum on the defensive side of the ball as Unity ran the ball right down the middle of the defense. Along with the adversity of being unable to get any stops on defense was the major injury to defensive and offensive lineman Orion Roskam. Roskam broke his hand during the game and will miss significant time.
The Crusader offensive line paved the way for a monumental day on the ground, Unity rushed for 364 yards averaging 8.4 yards per carry against a stout defense for the Rangers. Unity’s 43 points were the most that the Rangers had given up in a regular season game since 2013.
FHC never got close as the Crusaders dominated all facets of the game. The Rangers will host South Christan in a huge ranked matchup this Friday at 7 pm.
