By Judy Reed

Cedar Springs ended an amazing football season last Saturday on the field at Grand Haven, where they took on not only the top-rated high school team in Michigan but one of the top rated teams in the nation—Muskegon. 

Cedar Springs marched down the field with their usual confidence and speed, scoring first with only 8:17 on the clock in the first quarter when Aiden Brunin ran 5-yards into the end zone for the touchdown. The point after kick by Owen Sweezer was good.

Muskegon then battled the Cedar Springs defense to get down the field and scored with 2:41 left in the first on a 3-yard touchdown by Julian Sims. The point after kick by Jose Guitterez was good, tying the score at 7-7.

Cedar Springs scored again with only 36 seconds left in the first on a 29-yard field goal by Sweezer, making the score CS 10, Muskegon 7.

However, Muskegon then scored 15 seconds later on a 52-yard run by quarterback Cameron Martinez, and the point after was good, leaving the score Muskegon 14, CS 10 at the end of the first quarter.

Cedar Springs did not score again. Muskegon scored five more times during the game, winning 48-10.

So what does Coach Kapolka think happened to the Red Hawks after the first quarter?

“I thought our guys came out ready to play and for the first 10 minutes or so, we played well. After that point, Muskegon wore us out and we couldn’t hold up,” explained Kapolka. “We had opportunities to make plays in the last 4 minutes of the first half and the first 4 minutes of the second, but we just couldn’t make enough plays when the score was close.”

Cedar Springs gained 158 yards on the ground, with Aiden Brunin getting 92 yards of that on 11 carries. Muskegon had 427 yards, with Martinez earning 219 yards on 19 carries.

Brunin led in tackles for Cedar Springs with 11. Tarran Walker led in tackles for Muskegon, with 13.

Despite their loss at District Finals, Cedar Springs has nothing to hang their head about. They ended their season as OK White Champions for the second year in a row, with a record of 6-0 in conference, and 9-2 overall.

“I’m extremely proud of this senior class, and in my 25 years of coaching, it’s one of my favorite groups. They were unselfish, hard working, and fun to be around everyday,” remarked Kapolka.

“I’m appreciative of their contributions to the program, and they have left their mark on our program in a positive manner. They leave with a 26-8 record and 2 OK White Championships in the last two years, and a 17-1 record in the OK White during that time.”

Next fall, Cedar Springs will leave the OK White and join the OK Gold conference, along with Ottawa Hills, as part of OK Conference realignment that happens every four years. Besides Ottawa Hills, they will face teams such as Kenowa Hills, Middleville, Forest Hills Eastern, Wayland, Catholic Central, and South Christian.

How does Coach Kapolka feel about the move? “We are excited about the move to the OK Gold, but we will miss the rivalries that we’ve developed with FHN, FHC, Northview, and Greenville,” he said.

Congratulations on a great season, Red Hawks!

Congratulations to all the Cedar Springs High School athletes who made all conference or honorable mention in their fall sport.

By Judy Reed

For the second year in a row, the Cedar Springs Red Hawks faced the Mount Pleasant Oilers in the playoffs and walked away winners. 

Last year, Cedar Springs won the district championship at Mt. Pleasant; this year, Mount Pleasant visited Red Hawk Stadium for the first round of playoffs and faced a tough group of Red Hawks who were determined to win.

“I’m extremely proud of our guys’ efforts on Friday night,” remarked Cedar Springs Coach Gus Kapolka. “We had some guys fill in due to injury and play great games. Connor Ellison made his first ever Varsity start and had two interceptions; freshman Josh Kreikaard and sophomore Blake Scheer filled in at Left Tackle. Ben Shaw played through a very painful hip pointer to score two touchdowns. It was a team effort and everybody stepped up to make it happen.”

Cedar Springs took the lead early with 8:46 on the clock in the first quarter when Aiden Brunin ran 36 yards for the touchdown. Quarterback Jeremy Campione then passed to Kaden Liggett on the two-point conversion, making the score 8-0, Cedar Springs.

They scored again about a minute later, after a Mount Pleasant pass was intercepted by senior Red Hawk Connor Ellison and returned to the 36 yard line. Ben Shaw then ran it 28-yards for the touchdown, with 7:45 left on the clock. Da’montae Barnett then ran in the two-point conversion. The score was now 16-0.

Mount Pleasant scored their only touchdown of the game with 4:02 left in the first quarter, when Mark Goenner ran in a 12-yard touchdown. The point-after kick by Andrew Funnell was good, making the score CS 16, MP 7.

Cedar Springs scored two more times in the second quarter, on a 17-yard run by Aiden Brunin, and 35-yard run by Ben Shaw. Their last touchdown came with 3:04 on the clock in the third quarter with a 43-yard run by Landon Totten. Campione’s run for extra points was no good, making the score CS 34, MP 7.

Cedar Springs gained 341 yards on the ground, and eight in the air. Mount Pleasant had 96 on the ground, and 79 in the air. 

Aiden Brunin was the leading rusher for the Red Hawks with 109 yards; Ben Shaw had 82; Landon Totten 53; Jeremy Campione 28; Nathan Elliston 27; Da’montae Barnett 22; Zack Schmid 21; and Nathan Male 1.

Defensively, Seth Almas led in tackles with 7; Kaden Liggett had 5; Nate Webb had 4, and the rest of the team had 3 or less. Connor Ellison had two interceptions.

This Saturday, Cedar Springs (9-1) will face the Muskegon Big Reds (10-0) at 1 p.m. at Grand Haven Stadium for the District Championship. What is Coach Kapolka doing to get his team ready to face the number one ranked team in Michigan? 

“We are excited to get the opportunity to play the #18 ranked team (USA Today) in the USA on Saturday,” said Kapolka. “It is a great challenge for our program, and we will have to play our best football to win a district championship. With the extra day of preparation, we are going to practice light on Monday then resume our regular practice schedule for the rest of the week.”

The fan theme for Saturday’s game is a RED OUT, so they are asking everyone to wear red. High school student fan buses are being offered for the game on Saturday. Students must sign up by the end of the day Thursday in the Athletic Office. It is $7 to sign up for the bus, but that includes your $6 ticket to the game. Student bus will leave the front of Cedar Springs High School precisely at 11:15 a.m.

Anyone can buy tickets at the gate to the game on Saturday, or on Thursday and Friday during normal school hours in the Athletic Office at Cedar Springs High School.

The Cedar Springs High School Marching Band had their final performance of the season, for state competition in the Michigan Competing Band Association, at Ford Field on Saturday, November 2, 2019. The band placed 10^th in Flight III with a score of 83.075.  

The band boosters would like to thank the directors and all the band parents that have helped during this marching season. This year wouldn’t have been such a success without your help and support! Also a huge congratulations to all the kids for performing at state finals, you are all winners!

For five months, the Cedar Springs boys cross country team prepared for Michigan International Speedway and the state finals. The time came on Saturday, November 2, to show what they could do, and they came away with a 17th place finish in what was a very strong year in Division 1.  

“I could not be more proud of the way these boys prepared for this day and competed once the gun went off,” said Coach Justin Jones.  

Junior Corey Bowers led the Red Hawks and placed 37th in a time of 16:12. Senior Jaydon Moleski ran a strong first half of the race leading him to a finish in the top half of the race placing 109th at 16:43. Senior Daniel Vermulm ran another smart race with a conservative start and a strong finish putting him in the 132nd spot in a time of 16:54. He passed a net total of 24 racers after the 2-mile mark. Seniors Dilan Sargent and Gavin Braciak ran nearly side-by-side the entire race finishing 153rd (17:02.0) and 154th (17:02.8). Junior Austin Mann passed a net total of 10 runners after the 3-mile mark adding another race to his amazing finish to the season placing 169th in 17:09. Sophomore Carter Moleski came through the mile in 234th and finished in 232nd (18:13), which is a testament to his training and fitness.  

“This was a strong finish to a historic season for our team,” said Jones. “Our senior group leaves our program with countless accolades and all-time great performances under their belt. Their presence on the team and performances on the scoreboard will be missed in the coming years, but the bar has been set for our future. I look forward to seeing our younger runners follow in their footsteps and achieve some of the same things that these four boys have.” 

Cedar Springs Varsity volleyball closed out the season with a crushing loss to Forest Hills Northern in the home District quarterfinal match Monday, November 4th, 19-25, 11-25 and 19-25. 

In the week prior to the district match the Lady Red Hawks took 2nd place at the Central Montcalm Hornet Invite on Saturday November 2 losing to Cadillac in the Championship match (20-25, 11-25). The team beat Central Montcalm (25-12, 25-20), Pellston (25-21, 25-11) and tied Grant (20-25,25-17) placing them in the Gold semi finals where they beat Tri County 15-25, 25-14, 15-12. On October 29th Cedar Springs lost at Forest Hills Northern in their final conference match (10-25, 25-22, 12-25 20-25). 

Leaders for the District home match included senior Grace Pavelka with 5 kills and 3 service points. Arianna Rau tallied 3 kills and a block while Kayla Andres recorded 3 kills and 4 digs. Outside hitter Grace Wilcox contributed 2 kills and 3 digs while Libero Kyla Andres had 9 digs and 25 serve receptions. Senior setter Madison Outwin put up 14 assists, while Kallie Green had 2 kills.

“We are so proud of the girls for their growth from beginning to the end of the season. They laid a solid foundation for our program to build on next year and many years to come,” stated Varsity Coach Ashley Lowing.      

Varsity Volleyball ends the season with an overall record of 26-23-4 and conference record 5-7.

by Judy Reed

For the second year in a row, the Cedar Springs Red Hawks faced the Mount Pleasant Oilers in the playoffs and walked away winners.

Last year, Cedar Springs won the district championship at Mt. Pleasant; this year, Mount Pleasant visited Red Hawk Stadium for the first round of playoffs and faced a tough group of Red Hawks who were determined to win.

“I’m extremely proud of our guys’ efforts on Friday night,” remarked Cedar Springs Coach Gus Kapolka. “We had some guys fill in due to injury and play great games. Connor Ellison made his first ever Varsity start and had two interceptions; freshman Josh Kreikaard and sophomore Blake Scheer filled in at Left Tackle. Ben Shaw played through a very painful hip pointer to score two touchdowns. It was a team effort and everybody stepped up to make it happen.”

Cedar Springs took the lead early with 8:46 on the clock in the first quarter when Aiden Brunin ran 36 yards for the touchdown. Quarterback Jeremy Campione then passed to Kaden Liggett on the two-point conversion, making the score 8-0, Cedar Springs.

They scored again about a minute later, after a Mount Pleasant pass was intercepted by senior Red Hawk Connor Ellison and returned to the 36 yard line. Ben Shaw then ran it 28-yards for the touchdown, with 7:45 left on the clock. Da’montae Barnett then ran in the two-point conversion. The score was now 16-0.

Mount Pleasant scored their only touchdown of the game with 4:02 left in the first quarter, when Mark Goenner ran in a 12-yard touchdown. The point-after kick by Andrew Funnell was good, making the score CS 16, MP 7.

Cedar Springs scored two more times in the second quarter, on a 17-yard run by Aiden Brunin, and 35-yard run by Ben Shaw. Their last touchdown came with 3:04 on the clock in the third quarter with a 43-yard run by Landon Totten. Campione’s run for extra points was no good, making the score CS 34, MP 7.

Cedar Springs gained 341 yards on the ground, and eight in the air. Mount Pleasant had 96 on the ground, and 79 in the air.

Aiden Brunin was the leading rusher for the Red Hawks with 109 yards; Ben Shaw had 82; Landon Totten 53; Jeremy Campione 28; Nathan Elliston 27; Da’montae Barnett 22; Zack Schmid 21; and Nathan Male 1.

Defensively, Seth Almas led in tackles with 7; Kaden Liggett had 5; Nate Webb had 4, and the rest of the team had 3 or less. Connor Ellison had two interceptions.

This Saturday, Cedar Springs will face the Muskegon Big Reds at 1 p.m. at Grand Haven Stadium for the District Championship. What is Coach Kapolka doing to get his team ready to face the number one ranked team in Michigan?

“We are excited to get the opportunity to play the #18 ranked team (USA Today) in the USA on Saturday,” said Kapolka. “It is a great challenge for our program, and we will have to play our best football to win a district championship. With the extra day of preparation, we are going to practice light on Monday then resume our regular practice schedule for the rest of the week.”

The fan theme for Saturday’s game is a RED OUT, so they are asking everyone to wear red. High school student fan buses are being offered for the game on Saturday. Students must sign up by the end of the day Thursday in the Athletic Office. It is $7 to sign up for the bus, but that includes your $6 ticket to the game. Student bus will leave the front of Cedar Springs High School precisely at 11:15 a.m.

Anyone can buy tickets at the gate to the game on Saturday, or on Thursday and Friday during normal school hours in the Athletic Office at Cedar Springs High School.

By Judy Reed

The Cedar Springs Red Hawks ended their time in the OK-White Conference with a bang last Friday night, when they earned their second consecutive OK-White Conference Championship outright with a win over Forest Hills Northern 42-0, on the Huskies’ home turf.

“Our kids and coaches are excited to win our second consecutive OK White Championship,” said Coach Gus Kapolka. “It is a credit to this team and their hard work, that we were able to repeat this year.”

The Red Hawks went 6-0 in conference and 8-1 overall in the regular season. They scored 374 points on their opponents and allowed only 134. Coming in second in the OK-White was Forest Hills Central (5-1, 7-2); in third was Lowell (4-2, 5-4); then Northview (3-3, 5-4); Forest Hills Northern (2-4, 3-6); Greenville (1-5, 1-8); and Ottawa Hills (0-6, 1-8). 

The Red Hawks were in command of the game from the first whistle. They scored with 10:12 on the clock in the first quarter on a 39-yard run by Ben Shaw, and quarterback Jeremy Campione’s run for extra points was good. They then scored three more times in the first quarter, on a 51-yard touchdown run by Zak Schmid; on a blocked punt where they scored a safety; and on a 29-yard field goal kick by Owen Sweezer. At the end of the first quarter it was Cedar Springs 19, Forest Hills Northern 0.

The Red Hawks scored twice in the second quarter. With 6:29 on the clock, Campione ran left for a 13-yard touchdown, and Schmid’s run in for extra points was good. They scored again with just 35 seconds left in the first half in what could be called one of the highlights of the night, when FHN fumbled the ball and it was picked up by Red Hawk Seth Almas, who ran it back 68 yards for the touchdown. Aiden Brunin’s run in for extra points was good, and Cedar Springs led 35-0 at half.

Neither team scored in the third, and Cedar Springs came back in the fourth quarter to score one more time on a 23-yard touchdown run by Da’montae Barnett. The point after kick by Owen Sweezer was good, and the Red Hawks were winning 42-0 with 10:55 left in the half. FHN did try a 32-yard field goal right at the end of the quarter, but it was no good. Cedar Springs won 42-0, and earned the OK-White Championship outright. 

Kapolka was proud of his team. “We played extremely well in all three phases of the game and our offensive line really set the tempo early with some key blocks up front,” he said.

The Red Hawks racked up 331 yards on the ground. Schmid had 78 on four carries; Barnett had 77 on six attempts; Brunin had 47 on five carries; Campione had 45 on 4 attempts; Ben Shaw had 42 yards on two carries; Landon Totten had 27 yards on three; Nathan Elliston had 15 on three; and Nathan Male had 1 yard on two attempts.

FHC netted 136 yards on the ground.

What’s next for the Red Hawks? For the fifth time in the last six years, they will be moving on to the playoffs. They will host Mount Pleasant (7-2) in a pre-district game at Red Hawk Stadium this Friday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $6. The ticket booth will open at 5 p.m. and the gate at 5:45 p.m. Tickets will not be sold during the week. The game is a BLACK OUT so all fans are encouraged to wear black. They faced Mount Pleasant last year in the second playoff game at their stadium, and beat them 44-14. That ended their season last year at 10-1.

What do the Red Hawks need to do to win this game? “Mt. Pleasant is a big, strong, physical team that will try to come right at us,” said Kapolka. “We have to be ready for the physical challenge and continue to execute well, especially defense.” Whichever team wins this Friday’s game will go on to face the winner of the Muskegon (9-0) vs Marquette (5-4) game. 

When the season started out with a move to Division 1 and with a last minute coaching change, the odds were stacked against the Red Hawks. Their response?  Challenge accepted. That was made clear last weekend when they traveled to Benzie Central High School for the Division 1, Region 1, regional meet where they finished 3rd, just 5 points shy of 2nd place, securing a spot in the State Finals at Michigan International Speedway.   

Corey Bowers placed 3rd overall with a huge PR of 15:38 earning all-regional honors and moving up to the number five spot on the school’s all-time record board.  Jaydon Moleski gave everything he had finishing 16th in a time of 16:12. Dilan Sargent ran a strong race from start to finish placing 19th and earning a new lifetime PR of 16:21. Daniel Vermulm made his move the second half of the race and was just shy of a lifetime PR with a time of 16:38 and placing 30th. Austin Mann was the 5th man to score for the team, stepping up in a huge way for struggling teammates, running a new lifetime PR of 16:40 and placing 35th.  Gavin Braciak placed 60th in a time of 17:26 and Carter Moleski placed 63rd in a time of 17:32 earning himself a new lifetime PR.  

“Not every meet goes exactly as you plan it, and this was a great learning experience for our team in that regard. A few of our guys were a little off, and their teammates were there to see it through and make sure that we still accomplished our goal of earning a bid to State Finals. That ‘next man up’ mentality separates the good teams from the great ones and we showed that we are capable of succeeding even when we aren’t firing on all cylinders,” said coach Justin Jones. “I’ve said it all year—this is a special group capable of great things and I look forward to going to battle with them next weekend at MIS.”  

Following the varsity race was the Post Regional Open Meet (PROM) where the JV team got to run one final race on a flat and fast course. Those individuals who ran included Clayton Akerman, Cayden Steinebach, Espen Wood, Ben Mallory, Caleb Menefee, Gabe Minnich, Justin Voskuil, and Matthew McQueen. Seven out of these eight individuals ran lifetime personal bests.  

The Red Hawks will continue the 12-year streak of sending a boy and/or team representative to compete in the state meet. This will be the third consecutive year a boys team has ran at the State Finals, which will be held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, on November 1 with a 3:30 p.m. race time.

On October 26, the girls’ cross country team traveled to Benzie Central High School where they competed in the regional meet as a Division 1 team for the first time. Each girl on the team ran a strong last race earning either a lifetime best or season best.   

“With this being our first year as a Division 1 team, we did a tremendous job of competing against some really good teams in the state,” said Coach Melinda Stressman. “At this level, everything is different, from how the competition goes out in the race, and how they ultimately compete throughout the entire race. The girls finished 11th out of 13 teams. Again, not too shabby, and they are only going to get better from here.”

Freshman Danika Fessenden was the leader for the squad finishing 46th in a time of 20:34 giving her a new 30-second lifetime personal best. Molly Bentley ran a smart race and finished strong and made her way under the 22-minute mark for the first time this season coming in at 21:24 in the 57th spot.  Right beside her the entire way was Isabel VanDusen, who also ran a new lifetime best of 21:27 in the 59th spot. Next up was Senior Tonya Tepin who ran a smart race running her season best of 21:43 finishing 63rd. Coming in 70th place was Paige Marsman, who has had a great season running a new lifetime PR of 22:21. Rounding out the varsity squad was Lily Howland (72nd) and Alexis Wood (75th) who both ran a great race earning themselves lifetime PRs finishing 22:47 and 23:04 respectively.  

JV runner Madison Golliver ran in the Post Regional Open Meet. She has had a very consistent season and finished 48th with a time of 24:06. 

“Words cannot describe how proud I am of these ladies!” remarked Stressman.  “They are only going to get better from here. As a group, we have come more together, working on our mindset and positivity, and realizing the importance of off-season training. I just know this team is going up from here.”