Kalamazoo United at Portland – – Football Division 5 Regional – – The Bleacher Denizen – – November 12, 2021 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the Bleacher Denizen is at Portland High School where the Raiders will host the Titans from Kalamazoo United. Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic and Kalamazoo Christian have join forces to put together a combined football team; they made up Kalamazoo United. Kalamazoo United enters the game with an 8-3 record where Portland is at 9-2. The Raiders have a big win against Division 3 Power DeWitt.

I was delighted to learn that Dave Pettit, former Portland High Coach whose games I have covered a number of times, will be using his dulcet tones to do the announcing! Also, Doc Love and Brock Palmbos are here from AM-730 to cover the game! They always do a fine job and it’s great to see them again.

It’s now time to look at the results of this game through the eyes of a Bleacher Denizen whose football career was severely curtailed when he learned that tasers are not permitted to be held by offensive or defensive linemen under ANY circumstances.

Evan Wurtz’ opening kickoff went to the 15 yard line. It was ruled that the Portland returner touched his knee on the ground when he caught it; the Raiders started their opening possession on their own 15 yard line.

Caden Galey went to the right for a one yard gain before he ran into Dawson Zuiderveen. Haden Getchell’s second down run to the left netted four yards before he was tackled by Collin Durian. On third down, Haden Getchell completed a pass to Aiden Marowelli for a 27 yard gain. Unfortunately, for the Raiders, he tripped as he caught the ball, but they still advanced to their own 47 yard line and got a first down.

Collin Durian stopped the Raider first down run for a one yard gain. Caden Galey went to the right for a seven yard second down gain; Willem de Jong made the Titan tackle. Caden Galey’s third down run went to the right side for an eleven yard gain; Willem de Jong got the stop for United. Portland had a first down on the United 34 yard line.

Drew MIller went to the left for a seven yard first down gain; Liam Mann and Willem de Jong teamed up to take him down. Caden Galey went to the right for a two yard gain; Collin Durian stopped him. Haden Getchell ran a third down quarterback keeper; he earned two yards necessary to get a first down before he stepped out of bounds.

On the next play, Portland fumbled and Collin Durian picked it up for United. He gained about 20 yards, but a holding penalty pulled the ball back to the United 30 yard line, where the Titans started their first series.

United gained five yards on a first down run to the right. Alas, your aging Bleacher Denizen’s notes fail to reveal the Titan who made this nice run. Brady Krause got the Raider tackle. Drew Finley went to the right for a two yard second down gain. Branson Goodman and Trent Trierweiler got the tackle for Portland. Caden Thelen, Dalton Becker and Branson Goodman teamed up to stop the Titan third down run for a one yard loss. Will Zuiderveen punted on fourth down; Titan teammate Lucas Dommer downed the ball on the Portland 18 yard line. (This was a fifty yard punt!)

Drew MIller went around the left end for a sixteen yard gain; Willem de Jong made the tackle for United.

Reis Phillips gained one yard on a first down run; Reid Stilson made the tackle for the Titans. J.J. Manion and Willem de Jong covered on the Raider incomplete second down pass. Aaron Graves pressured the Raiders into throwing an incomplete third down pass. Dalton Becker’s fourth down punt was fielded by Willem de Jong at the 35 yard line; he gained seven yards before Drew Miller took him down. United had a first down on their own 42 yard line.

Brady Bush stopped the Titan first down run for no gain. Will Zuiderveen gained eleven yards on a run to the left before he ran into Trent Trierweiler to earn a first down for United.

Dalton Becker, Brady Krause and Baron Seal teamed up to stop Will Zuiderveen’s first down run to the left for a two yard gain. Will Zuiderveen faked a second down handoff and gained fifteen yards to the right. Trent Trierweiler and Reis Phillips teamed up to make the tackle. United had a first down on the Portland 30 yard line.

MIchael Keckler’s first down run to the right netted eight yards before Trent Meyers tackled him. Will Zuiderveen broke several tackles and fought for extra yards on second down. He ended up gaining nine yards before Trent Meyers stopped him.

On the final play of the first quarter, Michael Keckler gained two yards on a run to the left. Dalton Becker got the tackle for Portland.

The score was tied at 0-0 after one quarter. United had the ball; it was second down and eight yards to go on the Portland 11 yard line.

On the first play of the second quarter, Ethan Patrick recovered a fumble to give Portland the ball on their own 6 yard line.

Haden Getchell gained ten yards on a first down run to the right to earn a first down. J.J. Manion made the tackle for the Titans.

John Dodson gained seventeen yards on a run up the middle. Willem de Jong tackled him from behind to prevent a much longer gain. Portland had a first down on their own 33 yard line.

Drew Miller gained four yards on a first down run to the left. Willem de Jong got yet another tackle for the Titans. Haden Getchell gained three yards on a run to the right before he ran into Dawson Zuiderveen. Caden Galey’s run to the right on third down gained fifteen yards before Willem de Jong and Nate Buchmann to earn the Raiders a first down in Titan territory on the 45 yard line.

Caden Galey’s first down run to the right gained four yards. Nate Buchmann and Brandon DeVries teamed up for the Titan tackle. Reis Phillips took a pitch to the left for an eight yard gain to earn a first down before he ran into Willem de Jong. Portland was now on the United 33 yard line.

Dawson Zuiderveen and Jacob Munson teamed up to stop the Raider first down run for a two yard gain. Haden Getchell bolted out of the pocket for a twenty-four yard gain before Jacob Munson pushed him out of bounds. Portland had a first down on the United 7 yard line.

Drew MIller got six yards on a first down run around the left end. Nate Buchmann got the stop for United. The Titan line rose up and stopped the Raider second down run up the middle for no gain. Haden Getchell pounded his way into the end zone for a touchdown on the next play. Colton Summers snapped the ball, Trent Meyers held the ball and Madison Luxmore booted it through the uprights for a successful extra point. With 6:27 remaining in the first half, Portland had a 7-0 lead.

Dalton Becker kicked the ball to the 18 yard line where Willem de Jong snared it and gained about nine yards before Branson Goodman and Brady Krause took him down. United had a first down on its own 27 yard line.

Reis Phillips and Trent Trierweiler teamed up to stop the Titan first down run for a one yard gain. Seth Eckstein gained three yards on a second down run up the middle before he ran into Brady Krause and Branson Goodman. Baron Seal covered on Portland’s incomplete third down pass.

Will Zuiderveen’s fourth down put went out at the Raider 44 yard line. Portland started its series there.

Laim Mann covered on Portland’s first down incomplete long pass. Caden Galey gained fifteen yards on a second down run to the right before J.J. Marion knocked him out of bounds.

Caden Galey gained four yards on a first down run before Jacob Munson and Reid Stilson stopped him. Drew MIller gained four yards on a second down run up the left tackle before Collin Durian stopped his progress. Caden Galey gained three yards on a third down run to the right; Dawson Zuiderveen and Collin Duriann teamed up to make the tackle for the Titans. Portland had a first down on the United 30 yard line.

Caden Galey gained two yards up the middle on first down before Reid Stilson and Dawson Zuiderveen tackled him. Caden Galey’s second down run to the right gained four yards before Dawson Zuiderveen and Nate Buchmann tackled him. Caden Galey got five yards and a first down on his third down run to the right. Jacob Munson stopped him.

Reis Phillips gained two yards on his first down run. Nate Buchmann and Reid Stilson made the stop for United. On second down, Caden Galey gained four yards to the right; Collin Durian made the tackle for the Titans. A false start penalty pushed the Raiders back five yards. J.J. Manion covered on Portland’s incomplete third down pass. Ethan Patrick gained eight yards on a fourth down reverse play to the left; J.J. Manion tackled him just short of a first down. United took over the ball on downs on their own 10 yard line with just thirteen seconds remaining in the first half.

Branson Goodman stopped Will Zuiderveen’s first down run up the middle for a short gain on the final play of the first half.

Portland took a 7-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. If normal football procedures are followed, they should continue to have this lead at the start of the third quarter.

Drum Majors Abby Davidson and Preston Dibean led the Portland Band, which is directed by Mike Sulecki during their halftime show. They highlighted some numbers by Billy Joel.

They started with “We Didn’t Start the Fire”, “Piano Man”. (Your Bleacher Denizen is a professional singer/keyboard guy and loves to do that one!) Next they went on to a medley of “My Life” and “Only the Good Die Young”. This piece featured Tyler Thelen on the trumpet.

They went on to play “Just the Way You Are” featuring Olivia Hogan on the trumpet. They finished up with a medley of “Zanzibar” and “You May Be Right” arranged by Alec Ashburn specially for the Portland Band. The band did a fine job on all the songs.

As I’m a professional musician, I always love to salute a musical job well done. (For those of you who may be curious, here is a video from my “Chuck Krafft” You Tube Channel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3482fQh0Rdo

Sure enough, the 7-0 Portland lead was still up on the board when the teams came out to play the second half!

Dalton Becker kicked off for Portland. The kickoff was fielded by Willem De Jong at the 18 yard line and returned about twenty-one yards before Aiden Marowelli stopped him. United started its series on its own 39 yard line.

Will Zuiderveen’s first down run to the right gained three yards before Trent Meyers stopped him. Will Zuiderveen faked a handoff on second down; he took off to the right for a twenty-two yard gain before Trent Trierweiler and Braden Kehr tackled him. United had a first down on the Portland 36 yard line.

Trent Myers dove to knock the United first down pass out of the air. On second down, Will Zuiderveen faked a handoff and went for a nineteen yard gain before he stepped out of bounds.

Will Zuiderveen faked another handoff and made another run to the right for a ten yard gain before he ran into Trent Meyers. The Titans had a first down on the Raider 7 yard line.

Ethan Patrick knocked the Titan runner out of bounds for no gain on first down. Trent Meyers and Ethan Patrick teamed up to stop the second down run to the right for a one yard gain. Reis Phillips stopped the United third down run for a one yard gain. On fourth down, Will Zuiderveen ran out of the pocket and gained four yards before Reis Phillips made a great tackle to prevent a touchdown. Portland took over the ball on downs on their own 3 yard line.

Nate Buchmann stopped the Portland first down run for no gain. Liam Mann covered on the Raider long, incomplete second down pass. Haden Getchell went to the right on third down and gained nine yards before Liam Mann tackled him just short of a third down. Dalton Becker’s fourth down punt went out of bounds on the Raider 41 yard line, where the Titans started their next possession.

Reis Phillips and Marc Nobis stopped the Titan first down run for no gain. Brady Krause stopped the Titan second down run for a one yard loss. John Dodson and Ethan Patrick covered on United’s incomplete third down pass. Will Zuiderveen punted on fourth down; his teammate, Lucas Dommer downed the ball on the Portland 15 yard line. The Raiders started their next series there.

Caden Galey gained two yards on a first down run up the middle before Aaron Graves tackled him. On second down, Reis Phillips’ run up the middle was good for two yards. Reid Stilson made the tackle for United. Haden Getchell went out of the pocket for a four yard third down run to the left; Collin Durian made the Titan tackle. The Titan line played big (ok, cheap pun, but intentional) on fourth down to stop the Raider run up the middle short of a first down. The Titans took over the ball on downs on the Raider 24 yard line.

Will Zuiderveen passed to Willem de Jong for an eighteen yard gain before Ethan Patrick knocked him out of bounds to prevent a touchdown. The Titans advanced to the Raider 6 yard line.

Drew Finley powered up the middle for three yards on first down before he ran into Branson Goodman and Baron Seal. On the next play, Trent Meyers recovered a fumble for Portland to give his Raiders the ball back in a crucial situation. Portland had a first down on their own 3 yard line.

Trent Trierweiler went up the left tackle for a seven yard first down gain. Reis Phillips blasted his way through the middle for a fifteen yard gain. J.J. Manion and Willem de Jong teamed up to make the Titan tackle. Portland had a first down at their own 25 yard line.

Reid Stilson stopped the Raider first down and second down runs for no gain. Isaac Backman covered on Portland’s incomplete third down pass. Dalton Becker punted on fourth down; Willem de Jong dove on the ball at the United 26 yard line, where the Titans started their next series. (That was a fifty-one yard punt by Mr. Becker!!)

On the final play of the third quarter, the Titan runner slipped and fell for a five yard loss.

After three quarters, Portland had a 7-0 lead. United had a second down with 15 yards to go on their own 21 yard line.

Baron Seal covered on United’s incomplete second down pass. Baron Seal and John Dodson covered on the Titan incomplete third down pass. Will Zuiderveen punted on fourth down; the ball took a great roll for the Titans. J.J. Manion downed the ball on the Portland 28 yard line, where the Raiders started their next series. (This was a fifty yard punt by Mr. Zuiderveen!)

Drew Miller gained ten yards to earn another first down for his Raiders. Willem de Jong (I’ve typed that name so much today that I don’t even have to look at the roster to see who #22 is for United any more!) made the tackle for United.

On the next play, Haden Getchell broke several tackles on his way to a twenty-six yards gain before Collin Durian knocked him out of bounds. Portland had a first down on the United 35 yard line.

Reid Stilson stopped the Portland first down run to the right for a one yard gain. Drew MIller gained three yards on a second down run to the left before Collin Durian pushed him out of bounds. Haden Getchell went up the middle for a two yard gain before Nate Buchmann tackled him. On fourth down, Drew Miller earned a first down with an eleven yard run to the left. Brandon DeVries got the Titan stop.

Willem de Jong stopped the Portland first down run for a one yard gain. On the next play, Drew Miller gained sixteen yards before Willem de Jong tackled him on the 1 yard line to prevent a touchdown.

On the next play, Haden Getchell followed the Raider line into the end zone for a one yard touchdown. Colton Summers snapped the ball, Trent Meyers held the ball and Madison Luxmore booted it through the goalposts for a successful extra point. With 7:36 remaining in the contest, Portland held a 14-0 lead.

Dalton Becker’s kickoff was fielded by Willem de Jong on the 24 yard line. He gained thirteen yards before Andrew Maynard and Marc Nobis tackled him. However, a holding penalty on the Titans pushed the ball back to the Titan 24 yard line where they started their next possession.

Will Zuiderveen ran to the left for a four yard first down gain before Dalton Becker tackled him. On second down, Marc Nobis pressured the Titan quarterback into throwing and incomplete pass. Trent Meyers knocked United’s third down pass out of the air. On fourth down, Will Zuiderveen went out of the pocket to the right, but Marc Nobis came from behind to stop him for a one yard gain. Portland took over the ball on downs on the United 25 yard line.

Haden Getchell gained five yards on a first down run. Reid Stilson made the tackle for the Titans. On the next play, Reis Phillips plowed through the middle for a twenty-yard touchdown run. Colton Summers centered the ball, Trent Meyers held the ball and Madison Luxmore kicked the successful extra point to give Portland a 21-0 lead with 5:49 left on the clock.

(I should thank Brock Palmbos for the “left on the clock” line I use sometime in nearly every article. It works well. As this is a play by play blog, I’m always looking for alternative ways to describe basic situations to hopefully keep the articles flowing. At least that is the hope – – – -)

Dalton Becker’s kickoff was fielded by Willem de Jong on the 17 yard line; he gained about eighteen yards before Aiden Marowelli tackled him. United started its series on its own 35 yard line.

Michael Keckler went to the left for an eleven yard gain to earn a first down before Drew Miller tackled him.

On first down, Will Zuiderveen faked a handoff and gained two yards on a run to the left. Trent Trierweiler and Ethan Patrick covered on the Titan second down pass; Ethan Patrick actually tipped the pass. Braden Kehr sacked the United quarterback for a four yard third down loss. Trent Trierwiler covered on the United incomplete fourth down pass. Portland took over the ball on downs on the United 44 yard line with 3:57 remaining in the gain.

Haden Getchell gained nine yards on a first down run up the middle. Willem de Jong made the tackle for United. On second down, Reis Phillips ran for seven yards to earn a first down. Brandon DeVries made the tackle for United.

Drew MIller went to the left for a five yard first down gain. Collian Durian made the tackle for United. Drew Miller earned five yards and a first down on his second down run to the left. Nate Buchmann made the Titan tackle.

On the final three plays of the game, Portland’s quarterback took a knee.

Portland finally built a lead in the fourth quarter to win this defensive battle by the score of 21-0. Portland will play in the State semifinal game next weekend!!