HUDSONVILLE – Following a 20-8 defeat against Unity Christian Friday night, there was only one thing left for Zeeland West coach John Shillito to do in the handshake line.
“I took my hat off to shake hands because my hat’s off to them,” he said. “They were physical, they were tough, they were disciplined."
There was plenty of reason for the gesture. In the matchup between two unbeaten teams, the Crusader defense was stifling all night, leaving a powerful Dux rushing attack spinning its wheels for much of the evening.
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The Dux offense has been anything but a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust sort of attack all year, but they could never find the big plays against a stout UC defense.
It started early, where Zeeland West faced a fourth-and-two from its own 38. The play was broken, with quarterback Trey Sloothaak bumping into a running back and getting swallowed up in the backfield. It never got easier from there.
“Their (linebackers) were terrific, they got downhill on us,” Shillito said. “I thought the edge guys were really good. I thought it’s about as well as anyone’s defended us in a long time.”
Despite the struggles, the Dux were in it for most of the contest. Following the turnover on downs, Unity marched down a short field and scored on a one-yard run by Isaac Stienstra.
The Dux got into Crusader territory on the next drive, but on a third-and-five, Sloothaak fumbled in the backfield and the ball kicked back 21 yards, ending any hope of converting. Stienstra took the next play 74 yards to get into scoring position, and rumbled in from three yards out to go up 14-0.
Zeeland West got on the board with 18 seconds left in the first half. Facing fourth and nine, Sloothaak hit Isaac VanderZwaag for a first down on a wheel route, and he broke a tackle for a 27-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-8.
Coming out of the break, the Dux got a stop, and were driving heading into the fourth. Facing fourth and five at the UC 46, the Dux lined up in the shotgun. Sloothaak kept it on an option play and was stopped behind the line of scrimmage.
Stienstra would put the game away from there, scoring on a three-yard touchdown run with 6:39 left.
The loss isn’t a backbreaking one for the Dux, losing to an unebeaten team and holding them to their lowest point total of the season. Things have been harder in recent memory and turned around.
“We’ll look at film, see where we are,” Shillito said. “Obviously, we’re disappointed. I just told the kids, we’ve been lower than this. Last year, we lost three in a row at the end of the year and went to the semis.”
The Dux will look to pick it back up next week, hosting defending state champion Forest Hills Central.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Zeeland West football stunned by Unity Christian in battle of unbeatens
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