Calvin football wins first game in school history, with first points coming from safety

GRAND RAPIDS - Luke Michmerhuizen had been dreaming about this moment all summer.

The Holland Christian graduate scored a touchdown on Saturday in the first-ever football game in Calvin University history. Calvin has been a powerhouse in a lot of NCAA Division III sports over the years, but it has taken the school more than a century to begin a football program.

“It feels good,” Michmerhuizen said. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. I was thinking, ‘You could score the first touchdown in Calvin history .’ But to actually score in the first game ever means a lot.”

He wasn’t the first, but that doesn’t matter. The 6-foot-7 freshman used his big frame to leap in the air over his defender to haul in a 2-yard pass from Chase Bradman in the second quarter as Calvin went on to beat Oberlin College 50-6 at Grand Rapids Christian High School.

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“It’s nice for all the older guys who have been here from the start,” Michmerhuizen said. “This was two years in the making. It feels really good.”

Calvin got two touchdown catches by Hunter Hogan (Ravenna), one by Michmerhuizen and Jackson Cook (Whitehall) and a touchdown run from Hayden Slagers. Bradman, who went to South Christian, had four touchdown passes.

But the first points in school history weren’t on offense. It was a safety.

With 2:18 to go in the first quarter, when Isaac Northouse tackled the Oberlin quarterback in the end zone for a 2-0 lead.

“Our offensive and defensive coordinators have argued for months about who would score the first points,” Calvin coach Trent Figg said. “And we said we didn’t care, as long as we got points. That was unique to start the game with a 2-0 start.”

Hogan, a 5-foot-9 receiver, had four catches for 52 yards and two touchdowns, including the first in school history with 13:33 to go in the second quarter.

“I’m truly blessed to be here playing football,” Hogan said. “I didn’t know if I’d play football after high school.”

Henry Steenwyk, who graduated from Holland Christian, is a 6-foot-4 tight end. He was excited to play in the first game.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “There’s not really a good way to describe it. Maybe excitement and joy. We’ve been working so long to get to this moment.”

Last fall, during a football scrimmage, Steenwyk caught the first touchdown. It wasn’t technically a game, but still special.

“It feels like forever ago,” he said. “We’ve been putting in so much work since then.”

Carter Bylsma, a Unity Christian grad, caught four passes for 51 yards and Michmerhuizen had four catches for 28 yards. On the ground, Jaier Harden had 15 carries for 98 yards.

“Luke’s a huge part of our offense,” Figg said of Michmerhuizen. “Really, you hate to single out just one guy. You look at Hunter Hogan, you look at Chase Bradman and our entire offensive line and our running corps ran so hard today. Every player did their job today.”

Calvin’s next game is at Concordia (Wisconsin). They host Hope College on Saturday, Nov. 9.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Calvin football wins first game in school history, with first points coming from safety