ZEELAND, Mich. — “It was such a cool experience to win at Hackley Stadium. It was probably my favorite game I’ve ever played,” said Mattias Buter.
For just the second time in program history, Zeeland West beat Muskegon last season.
“It was a good feeling. There were a lot of things that went into it and having the outcome that we had, it was a good feeling,” said Parker Holman.
“We’ve been fortunate that we have been tied or ahead against Muskegon, I believe, in the last four or five times we’ve played them. And we’ve only won once so that speaks to who they are. It’s been a great rivalry and we really have a lot of respect and affection for that program,” said John Shilito.
That win against the Big Reds forced a three way tie between those two and Mona Shores for the OK Green championship. The Dux had 5 sophomore starters on defense and Coach Shilito says that year of experience will benefit them this season.
“It’s unique to have that many guys doing that. We didn’t have that at the start of the year, we had a couple of injuries. So those guys filled in and really did a great job. Again, they come in more like seniors than juniors,” said Shilito.
They’ve also got experience at running back. Senior Parker Holman rushed for over 1,500 yards and had 22 touchdowns last season. He says he put in a lot of work this off season to grow his game even more.
“I wanted to be better, faster, stronger. More agile. You know, being able to read the line and everything just so I can be a step ahead of everything else. We have a lot of returning backs this year. Obviously we’re all getting older, stronger, faster, so I’d say that’s what you should watch out for,” said Holman.
Senior quarterback Trenten Bolhouse will take over under center and we can expect to see much of the same hard hitting offense we know from West.
“Trenten can do some things that are different from what we had with Trevor for two years. And Trevor had some skills that Trenten isn’t quite there yet, but again, we’re going to be who we are. We’re going to try to get the ball to guys into places were they can be successful,” said Shilito.
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