'Soccer School' Cheers Best Football Run
November 16, 2016
By Dean Holzwath
Special for Second Half
HUDSONVILLE – When people mention Hudsonville Unity Christian, the first thing most think about is the unparalleled success the school has experienced in boys and girls soccer.
The two programs have combined to win 14 MHSAA Finals with the girls capturing a remarkable 10 from 2005-2016.
However, another sport at the Ottawa County school is beginning to make a name for itself and gain attention.
The football team collected its first Division 4 Regional title last Friday with a 36-16 victory over Lake Odessa Lakewood.
The Crusaders (10-2) will appear in their first MHSAA Semifinal on Saturday against Grand Rapids Catholic Central (11-1).
This is their Unity Christian’s eighth appearance in the postseason, and their 10 wins thus far is a school record.
“Football is getting more of a notice now,” Unity senior quarterback Mitch Dykstra said. “Soccer has always been good at Unity and always will be, but football is becoming more prominent. It’s good to see.”
Unity’s deepest run in the MHSAA tournament wasn’t necessarily expected, especially after the team dropped two of its last three games to end the regular season.
The Crusaders won a school-record six straight games to open the season, but lost to Zeeland East (12-7) in Week 7 and Ottawa-Kent Conference Green champion Byron Center (40-19) in the regular-season finale.
Unity tied for second in the conference standings.
“We played hard, and in both games we battled,” said the Crusaders’ Craig Tibbe, the only head coach the program has had since its inception in 2003.
“We did some OK things, and took a few positives from that. We played one of the better teams (Byron Center) in the area that last week, but we gave good effort and moved the ball.”
The postseason started with a 24-6 victory over Three Rivers and a trip to the District Finals, but that’s where most prognosticators thought Unity’s season would end.
The Crusaders clashed with unbeaten Benton Harbor, a team loaded with size, speed and athleticism – and a mismatch in most people’s eyes.
“We were a little nervous about the unknown,” Tibbe said. “How good are they?”
Unity pulled off perhaps one its biggest wins in school history, a 35-34 overtime thriller. The Crusaders were moving on.
“It was a great game, and they were tired when we got home, but what a fun night,” Tibbe said. “They had a lot of skilled athletes, but we hung on and walked out of there with the W. Going forward, that definitely showed them that we could play with these guys. Even though we didn’t have the speed and size, we could go in there and battle.”
Last season, Unity possessed one of its better teams. It advanced to the Regional Finals for the first time before succumbing to eventual Division 4 champion Zeeland West.
The Crusaders lost several key starters from that squad, but found capable replacements. Still, Tibbe was unsure how this season would unfold.
“This season has been very special and a lot of fun,” he said. “You just never know from year to year how it’s going to go and these kids have surprised us, but what’s not surprising is how hard they’ve played week in and week out to survive.
“We look at it as why is it this way this year and not other years? We felt like we had a couple teams in the past that were pretty solid, but we ran into eventual state champs early.”
What hasn’t been mentioned is the Crusaders’ lack of numbers and depth. Throughout the season, they’ve dressed only 22 or 23 on the varsity.
Six starters and eight in all, including Dykstra and running backs Parker Scholten, Alec Headley, Austin Shaban and Luke DeGroot, play both offense and defense.
“They’ve been thrown into the fire and forced to do that when they start in our program,” Tibbe said. “It carries over, and they learn to take a little pride in the fact that this is what we do and we try to do the best we can with it.”
Unity senior tight end/linebacker Cole DeVries said there were doubts as to whether this team could surpass last year’s win total.
“We lost our whole lines, and not a lot of people believed that we could go as far as last year,” he said. “It’s been a journey, but definitely my favorite year. It’s the farthest we’ve ever been at Unity, and we’re making history. We’re doing a lot of things that Unity hasn’t done, and it’s been a blast for me.”
Added Dykstra: “I can’t describe how amazing this season is. No one believed in us, and it has pushed us to strive for greatness and that’s what we’ve done. We’re always undersized, and other teams have more players and athletes, but we work well together and we want to work hard for each other.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at[email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Hudsonville Unity Christian players celebrate during a game this season. (Middle) The Crusaders' Alec Headley (5) finds an opening during the playoff win over Benton Harbor. (Photos by Larry Treece Jr./LTpics.com.)
After Finding Fame on 'The Voice,' Lape Making Name at Home as Grass Lake's QB1
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
September 12, 2023
GRASS LAKE – Brayden Lape made a national name for himself while competing on Season 22 of “The Voice” on NBC.
On Friday nights in south-central Michigan, the Grass Lake junior is becoming Mr. Quarterback.
“I’ll kid with him all of the time,” Grass Lake head coach Randy Cole said. “I tell him, ‘I want you to be known as a quarterback.’ He’s off to a good start.”
Lape has directed the Warriors offense during a 3-0 start to the season. In his second as the Grass Lake starting quarterback, Lape is more confident and ready for the heart of the schedule in the expanded Cascades Conference.
“He’s kind of your classic, tall quarterback with a big arm,” Cole said. “He can move and is athletic, but he’s mainly a pocket passer.”
Through three games, Lape has thrown for 729 yards while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes. Ten have gone for touchdowns. His favorite targets have been Bryant Cook (13 receptions for 263 yards) and Robert Anderson (14-190). He’s completed passes to six receivers.
“I think this year is a year that we have taken pride in our offense,” Lape said. “We have a lot of threats. It’s hard to stop.”
Playing football is more than a side gig for Lape, a three-sport athlete at Grass Lake. Cole watched him grow up from a tall, lanky kid with a rocket arm in middle school to a more mature passer in high school. Lape took a lot of snaps as a freshman and moved into the starting role as a sophomore.
This year his confidence level is at an all-time high.
“I have my guys now, the guys I’ve played with since I was little,” Lape said. “In my freshman and sophomore years it was awesome to play with older kids, guys who were bigger, faster, and stronger than me. You know you are getting better with every snap. Being able to play a little bit as a freshman helped me. I was able to get the varsity experience.”
Grass Lake has a rich football tradition with 16 playoff appearances over the last 18 seasons including 12 straight from 2005-16, a Division 7 runner-up finish in 2006 and five more District titles over the last two decades plus more recently finishes of 8-2 in 2018 and 9-2 in 2019.
The last couple of years, however, Lape said, the Warriors weren’t playing as well as they should have.
“The past two years we weren’t as good as we should have been,” he noted of the team’s 2-7 and 5-5 finishes in 2021 and 2022, respectively. “Last year we lost a game we probably shouldn’t have in the first round of Districts.”
Grass Lake started this season with wins over Royal Oak Shrine Catholic, Hanover-Horton and Jonesville. The schedule coming up looks daunting, however, with 2-1 East Jackson this week 3-0 Napoleon the next, and 3-0 Manchester down the road.
The Cascades Conference has expanded to 12 teams and split into East and West divisions. Grass Lake is in the East, which currently has three undefeated teams – the Warriors plus Napoleon and Manchester.
Lape said the different look to the conference has added something fun to the schedule.
“It’s something new. We get to play some new teams we haven’t seen before, but we still have our rivals,” he said. “It gives us some different looks. The end goal is to go far in the playoffs. You can go undefeated and lose the first round of Districts and that’s that. You’re out.
“We have to step up, especially in these next few games,” Lape added. “We cannot settle right now with being 3-0.”
Lape has done an amazing job balancing high school sports with his other passion – music.
While home during COVID-19, he picked up the guitar and began performing. His family encouraged him to audition for “The Voice” and he earned a spot on the show, eventually becoming part of Blake Shelton’s team. After finishing fifth in the competition and capturing the attention of fans nationwide, Lape released his debut single, “Hand It to Ya.”
This past summer he went on a mini tour of the Atlantic Coast, including a stop in Maine, and played locally at venues like Meckley’s Farm and the Jackson County Fair. He released his second single, “Feels Like the First Time,” just before football practice started in August.
The son of Kari Ann and Bryan Lape said he has found a way to balance music with sports – all while remaining focused on schoolwork at Grass Lake.
“This summer I got to play some great gigs,” he said. “My family has really helped me with that. We’ve built out a schedule. I’m busy, but I still have a chance to be a kid.”
Lape draws parallels between football and music, especially the hard work and dedication it takes to be successful at both.
“One thing that I’ve realized is singing is not something that is easy,” he said. “It is something that has a lot of tiny things that you don’t see on the outside. If you are pursuing a career, there’s a lot to do.”
One of those things is being active on social media and engaging with fans. He does that himself.
Lape said his Grass Lake teammates are his best supporters.
“They have their little funny comments, but they are just messing around,” he said. “The guys on my team are wanting what is best for me. They really want me to succeed. They listen to my music and let me know things they like and things they thought would be cool. For me, a guy starting his musical career, it’s really helpful.”
Lape has no plans to give up sports or music. He’s found a way to make both work.
“You only go to high school once,” he said. “I can only play high school football for these four years. You only get this high school experience once. I am going to continue my music, post as often as I can and play sports. I’m still a kid. I’m still a high school kid.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Brayden Lape takes the field as Grass Lake’s quarterback. (Middle) Lape performs this summer at the Jackson County Fair. (Top photo by Austin Childs, middle photo courtesy of Brayden Lape.)