The magic just keeps flowing for the Cardinals! After a thrilling OT win at Spring Lake to open the playoffs, Big Rapids upset the #4 ranked Whitehall Vikings at Holton High School last Friday night, 28-27. They are District Champs for the 1st time since 2003 and move on to play the Grand Rapids South Christian Sailors in the Region 1 Finals Friday night at Byron Center High School.
LAST WEEK
The District Final vs Whitehall came down to 2 field goals for the Vikings; 1 extra point and 1 32-yard attempt as time expired. Riley Vennix, known for his QB play, almost blocked the extra point and clearly influenced the kick to go wide opposite his direction of attack. He then fully blocked the 32-yard attempt to end the game. During pre-game Whitehall kicker Kyler Frees proved he had the leg and accuracy to make that kick, but on the game ending attempt Coach Selzer and staff noticed a favorable matchup and moved Vennix from the far side (where he almost got the XP) to the near side. Vennix went untouched and the Cardinals won.
Senior Riley Vennix had the game of his life. With college coaches on hand, Riley completed 24 of 36 for 222 yards and 3 TDs. He added 30 yards on the ground and, like the OT touchdown at Spring Lake, rumbled his way through defenders and into the end zone to go ahead late in the 4th.
“He’s a playmaker” one of the recruiting coaches remarked after the game.
All game long, Vennix was ‘playmaking’ when the Cardinals needed them most. His offense converted 8/17 3rd downs and 5/5 4th downs. In Round 1 of the Playoffs, Allendale went 0-6 against Whitehall on 4th downs. They outgained the Vikings but couldn’t convert on the big downs when they needed it most. Riley Vennix did convert, and the Cardinals scored 14 points in the 1st half on a team that had given 14 points total since week 3.
The Cardinals held possession for almost 70% of the game running 68 plays to Whitehall’s 42.
BR knew that Whitehall had an explosive offense with QB Kyle Stratton, RB Darnell Mack, and CMU commit WR Camden Thompson. The Viking’s averaged 9.1 yards per play to the Cardinals 2.7. But football games are coached against the clock and the efforts of Riley Vennix and the offense proved instrumental in helping Coach Selzer and staff own those seconds. When you only have 30% of the time to score all the points, even the most explosive offenses will struggle.
HISTORY
There is no history between these teams. Big Rapids has never played GR South Christian. In Big Rapids history, they are 9-9-1 versus private schools. The last time BR played a private school was 1999 when they lost to Saginaw Nouvel Catholic 34-18.
The closest we can get to a similar matchup is South Christian playing Whitehall in the Regional last year and winning 28-21. They’re 2-0 all time versus the Vikings with the other win coming in the 2014 Regional, 49-14. The Sailors have matched up with school’s BR has played such as Coopersville, Paw Paw, and Spring Lake however the last game with any of them was in 2012 against Paw Paw.
This is the 2nd time in school history the Cardinals have been in the Regional. The 1st being the historic 2003 team that went to the Semis with Three Rivers and lost 28-17. The Three Rivers Wildcats won the whole thing that year.
This is the 4th consecutive season the Sailors have been in the Regional with last year being their only win in that span. Since the program’s inception in 1965, they’ve made it to the Regionals 14 times. They won the State title 4 times (2002, 2012, 2014, 2022) with 8 Finals appearances.
MATCHUP
The Sailors will spread it out on offense and use junior QB Carson Vis’s arm. Vis is not a football player first. He’s one of the state’s top basketball recruits after taking the Sailors to the Finals in 2022. Every regional MAC school has offered him as well as numerous GLIAC schools including Ferris’ own Coach Bronkema. Bronks tried to lock up Vis before he even started his sophomore year at South Christian.
As a football player, Vis is a dynamic 1st year QB who will push the ball down field while on the run. The Sailors will throw the ball 43% of the time compared to BR’s 29%.
Vis accounted for 44% of all rushing attempts this season. Coming into last Friday, he was 113/180 (63%) passing for 2,083 yards and 26 TDs. That’s good for 208 yds/gm and a Passer Efficiency of 200.98 (LSU’s Jayden Daniels has the highest rating in the NCAA at 198.85).
While all football offenses run through the QB, 73% of all of SC’s yardage is off the legs and arm of Carson Vis. To compare, 53% of the Cardinals total offense depends on Riley Vennix.
The other problem for the Cardinals is Vis’ connection to senior WR Jake Vermaas. In their final game of the regular season (a loss at Wayland), Vermaas caught 16 passes for 298 yards and 2 touchdowns. This will put Vermaas just behind Brant Athley’s 300 yard game in 1999 in the MHSAA record book. Vermaas is averaging 126 yards receiving a game and has 16 total TDs. He’s being recruited by Ferris, GVSU, Western Michigan, and more.
Coach Fricke’s defensive unit has put together the best season in the Mike Selzer era. They surrender only 13.3 points a game including only 27 to a Whitehall team that scored 46 a game. Vennix, Heck, and Dubowski will continue to minimize damage in the air while Cheese, Foster, and Bollman shut down the 2nd level. The key will be for the defensive line, led by Caiden ‘Earl’ Schuberg, to get pressure on Vis and contain him to the middle of the field. “[We] must contain [the] QB as much as possible and not let him scramble” said Coach Selzer. “Designed runs and QB scrambles. WR has good size, speed, [and] hands. Favorite target.”
The key to the defense will be the offense. The Cardinal offense, also the best of the Mike Selzer era, will look to repeat the time destroying effort they accomplished at Whitehall. The Sailors will score, and they will do it quickly.
“O-line is probably the biggest we have seen. Keeping our offense on the field and limiting their possessions will be huge.” Said Coach Selzer.
South Christian’s #77 OT/DT Camren VanSolkema is another individual to focus on. The GVSU commit plays tough on both sides of the ball and his 6’2” 275lb frame with create holes in the offense and walls in the run game for BR.
“He’s pretty solid, they will put him at multiple positions on the d-line. [He] has good range for a bigger guy.” Coach Selzer added.
Despite the players noted, South Christian is not as deep as Whitehall. They do have some serious playmakers and game wreckers. If the Cardinals execute their gameplan of dimnating possession, then they will have a good shot at matching the 2003 Big Rapids team.
The stars have aligned in these tight games for Big Rapids so far. I’m knocking on wood as this is written that the stars stay that way for at least another week.
NUMBERS
Since 2019 the Sailors have been coached by Danny Brown. A South Christian Alum, Coach Brown is 42-16 overall, 26-5 at home, 13-3 in the playoffs, and 7-0 at home in the playoffs. Coach Brown’s ‘23 Sailors is his worst defense by points surrendered (-23.3/gm). They have their 2nd best offense (+36.2pts/gm) next to last year’s state champion offense led by current Toledo Rocket Jake Dehaan (+37.8 pts/gm).
Coach Mike Selzer has run the Cardinals since 2015 compiling a 45-42 overall record. He’s 29-24 on the road, 4-5 in the playoffs, and 3-5 in road playoff games. He’s won 18 of his last 21 games outscoring opponents 38 to 20. The 2023 season has been his most dominant with a career best +35 -13 point split (+22/gm).
1st year Varsity QB Senior Riley Vennix is the primary artery of the offense. Vennix is 78/126 of the season passing for 1,007 yards and 11 TDs. He’s rushed 93 times for 636 yards and 9 TDs. Ruley season passing efficiency rating of 149.91 puts him on par with SMU’s Preston Stone (150.25). As noted, the Cardinals do not rely on him as much as the Sailors, but that’s because of the abilities of the supporting cast namely Garret Foster, Jack Bollman, and Kaleb Dubowski.
Junior Garret Foster totaled over 100 yards for the 6th time this season when he strung together 120 all-purpose yards vs Whitehall. Garret leads everyone not named Vennix with 1,026 all-purpose yards. His 18 TDs are 2nd only to Vennix’s 20 as well. Foster was the go-to guy when the Cardinals needed short yardage in the air. He will motion all over the place to mix up coverages and get open. Look for more of the same from OC Scott Pedigo.
Sophomore Jack Bollman displayed more of his dynamic athletic ability last Friday. Jack only tallied 1.15 yards per carry, but he matched his week 1 season high of 4 receptions for a season high 39 receiving yards. If Bollman also joins the passing game, the offense takes another step.
Senior Kaleb Dubowski had 9 targets last Friday. This matched his season high from week 1. Dubo brought in 7 of the 9 for 56 yards. While those stats don’t explode off the page, his efficient route running off the ball and at the top of his route created significant separation from defenders that allowed Vennix to hit him open in big down situations. If the Cardinals need to throw the ball, he’s the deep threat with explosive down field speed.
BRACKET IMPLICATIONS
With a win, Big Rapids would move into the Final 4 and play the winner of #6Niles and #10Portland. The fields move to neutral sites after this week. An expected Niles win may result in a Northern Kalamazoo location or somewhere similar to Byron Center. A Portland win could be in the Greenville area.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Big Rapids at South Christian kicks off at Byron Center High School Friday (11/10) at 7:00pm on Big Country 1009.
You can listen online at WWBR Big Country 100.9 or via the WWBR mobile app.
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