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South Christian escapes Edwardsburg; reaches D4 final
Jackson – Grand Rapids South Christian gained 282 yards from scrimmage and scored on all five of its first-half possessions and held on to defeat Edwardsburg 50-48 in a Division 4 semifinal on Saturday at Withington Stadium.
South Christian, the state champion in 2012, looked to be in cruise control after scoring on its sixth straight possession but Edwardsburg (11-2) put together a furious fourth-quarter rally that pushed South Christian to the brink of elimination.
South Christian (11-2), a state finalist last season, will play Lansing Sexton (13-0) in the title game on Friday at Ford Field at 7:30 p.m.
Senior running back Dustin Vires (14 carries, 210 yards) scored three of his four touchdowns in the second half to lead the Edwardsburg comeback. Vires’ fourth score on a 25-yard run with 3:02 pulled his team to within the final margin, but a failed conversion pass play prevented the Eddies from tying the score.
“Our guys never quit, they kept coming back for more,” said Edwardsburg coach Kevin Bartz. “At no point, no matter how far we got down, did I think we were out of it. South Christian is a great team and deserved to win but our guys have nothing to feel bad about – except that there had to be a loser in this game.”
Wassink rushed 17 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns and it was his second rushing touchdown that put South Christian ahead 50-34 with 4:40 to play. He was 11-of-15 passing for 148 yards and threw touchdown passes of 32 and 26 yards to receiver Eric VanVoorst, who caught six passes for 185 yards.
South Christian senior running back Geff Plasman rushed for 110 yards and scored three touchdowns while Edwardsburg sophomore running back Isaiah Miller carried 19 times for 235 yards and scored on a 66-yard run in the first quarter.
