The final game of the Division 3 football season went down to the wire, but the result wasn’t what the DeWitt Panthers wanted. DeWitt’s bid for that elusive state title fell short short at Ford Field with a 34-27 loss to Zeeland West.
Both teams ended their years at 13-1. Zeeland West built a 28-7 halftime lead, but DeWitt fought back with a 20-6 scoring edge in the final two quarters.
“It was tough to lose a game like this,” said DeWitt coach Rob Zimmerman. “We played our hearts out tonight.”
“We completely dominated the second half,” he continued. “I can’t believe there’s a better group in the state of Michigan than these kids.”
Late in the game, Zeeland West punted in DeWitt territory The punt was nearly blocked. If it had been, DeWitt might have been able to go for the tying or go-ahead score. But the Panthers missed the block and were called for roughing the kicker.
Zimmerman noted that going for the block nearly worked. “We had 48 seconds left and had no time out, so if they punted and we get it at our 10, it’s a long way to go,” Zimmerman said. “It obviously didn’t turn out in our favor. But you have to take chances when you’re in that situation.
“We had to make a choice. If they punt and it pins us, we have to go 80 or 90 yards with no timeouts. So we decided to go after it. Obviously, we didn’t have a very good angle on it. I would call the same thing every single time in that situation.”
DeWitt is now 0-5 in state title games.
“I’m really proud of these kids and the season they had,” Zimmerman said. “That’s the most important thing. They did a great job. It’s about our kids and the program.
“We made some adjustments at halftime that I think really helped us defensively. We tweaked something offensively to get some things going. They’re a very good football team. We had to play our best football game tonight. We didn’t play our best game. But I’m proud of our kids’ effort. It wound up being a great football game after it started out looking like it was going to get ugly.”
Zeeland West was able to take advantage of DeWitt mistakes in the first half.“We had two turnovers in the first half, which hurt us,” Zimmerman said. “We traditionally don’t turn the ball over a whole lot. Those were significant. I thought we moved the ball in the first half, too. We had two turnovers. Thought it was the tale of two halves. They got the better of us in the first half. We definitely outplayed them in the second half.
“They’re physical and execute the offense extremely well. You can’t make mistakes against them. There’s a reason they beat everybody as bad as they did during the season. They’re pretty doggone good. They’re a senior-laden team. They execute well. Doggone, I would have liked one more possession.”
It appeared that Zeeland’s misdirection plays were giving DeWitt troubles early in the game.
“You have to pick your poison when you play that offense,” Zimmerman said. “You take one thing away, they’re good enough to adjust and play something else. It’s cat-and-mouse when you play the Wing T. [Danny Bauder] is a heckuva back with his speed and presents some problems. You take one thing away and you’ll get something else.”
DeWitt was down 22-0 when it scored in the second quarter on a 4-yard pass from Jake Johnson to Justice Shankel.
Chris Ruby had a 56-yard run and Jake Johnson threw scoring passes of 29 and 75 yards to Josh Borta. “Josh had a ridiculous game,” Zmmerman said of his leading receiver, who caught five passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns.
“Jake struggled a little bit early, but he made some great throws,” Zimmerman said.
Johnson was 15 of 24 for 289 yards.
“I’m extremely proud of our kids,” Zimmerman said. “I thought our defense played extremely well. We dug ourselves into a little too deep of a hole. With one more possession, who knows what might have happened?”
Despite the Panthers inability to win the state title, they may have enough talent to make a run next season.
“We’ll be very good next year. We return seven guys on offense and have five underclassmen on defense,” Zimmerman said. “I expect us to be very good. But right now all that matters is our seniors. The character they have displayed, the team unity these guys exhibited, and how hard they work…I wouldn’t trade them for any team in America. They’re great kids.”