Constantine football grabbed a 43-28 road win against Kalamazoo United Friday evening. The win clinches a share of the SAC Lakeshore division title for the Falcons and ends KU’s undefeated season.
In the first half, all five Constantine drives ended in touchdowns. The opener went 75 yards, capped off by a two-yard Boe Eckman rush. The Titans matched on their opening drive with a 25-yard fourth down TD pass from Will Zuiderveen to Steven Widger.
Falcon quarterback Caden Hetmansperger scored on a sneak for the final play of the first quarter. After forcing a punt, Constantine scored on a 20-yard TD run on fourth down by Hetmansperger. United’s third drive got them back within a score; a nine-yard Zuiderveen rush with 1:48 remaining in the half.
The Falcons scored with 65 seconds left on a 64-yard pass from Hetmansperger to Brayden Clark. Constantine then took the ball right back with a surprise onside kick. They drove and scored with 19 seconds remaining on another Hetmansperger sneak, then punched on a two-point conversion via Davonte Conley for a 36-14 halftime lead.
KU’s defense would crack down on the Falcon run attack in the second half, but Constantine’s defense would get a Lukas Hagenbuch interception and a fumble recovery on a bad snap. Clark took off on a 48-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to seal the win. United’s Drew Finley and Zuiderveen added rushing TDs in the waning moments.
Both teams move to 4-1 overall with the win. The Falcons are now 4-0 in divisional play with United dropping to 3-1. Constantine now has back-to-back wins over KU and leads the series 4-3 over the co-op. Falcon head coach Shawn Griffith also hit a milestone with his 130th victory, passing Tim Baker for the program record.
Constantine closes the regular season at home next Friday against Coloma (4-1) with a chance to clinch the division outright. United is scheduled to host Fennville in week six, but the Blackhawks have forfeited their last two games, meaning KU may end up with a forfeit win or a new opponent come next Friday.
Listen back to Friday’s broadcast here.
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
Kalamazoo United | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
Constantine | 14 | 22 | 0 | 7 | 43 |
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
CO: 2 yard run Boe Eckman, Kylie Roberts PAT (5:38)
KU: 25 yard pass Steven Widger from Will Zuiderveen, Charlie Prom PAT (1:50)
CO: 1 yard run Caden Hetmansperger, Roberts PAT (0:00)
Second Quarter
CO: 20 yard run Caden Hetmansperger, Roberts PAT (6:00)
KU: 9 yard run Will Zuiderveen, Prom PAT (1:48)
CO: 64 yard pass Brayden Clark from Caden Hetmansperger, Roberts PAT (1:05)
CO: 1 yard run Caden Hetmansperger, Roberts PAT (0:19)
Fourth Quarter
CO: 48 yard run Brayden Clark, Roberts PAT (7:13)
KU: 17 yard run Drew Finley, Prom PAT (6:03)
KU: 27 yard run Will Zuiderveen, Prom PAT (0:36)
Total Yards: Constantine 459, United 321
Passing Yards: Constantine 67, United 83
Rushing Yards: Constantine 392, United 238
Turnovers: Constantine 0, United 2
Constantine Passing: Caden Hetmansperger 2-4, 67 yards, 1 TD
United Passing: Will Zuiderveen 10-20, 83 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Constantine Rushing: Ty Dumm 101, Brayden Clark 100, 1 TD; Caden Hetmansperger 94, 3 TD; Davonte Conley 89, Isaac Hall 7, Boe Eckman 2, 1 TD; Owen Griffith -1
United Rushing: Drew Finley 122, 1 TD; Will Zuiderveen 110, 1 TD, Chris Terpstra 6
Constantine Receiving: Brayden Clark 1-64, 1 TD; Owen Griffith 1-3
United Receiving: Steven Widger 1-25, 1 TD; Lucas Dommer 4-22, Wyatt Steensma 2-11, Peter Dragan 1-11, Kyle Hoogenboom 1-8, Chris Terpstra 1-6
Constantine Defense: Boe Eckman 6 tck, 1 sack, 3 TFL; Davonte Conley 2.5 tck, Isaac Hall 3 tck, Owen Griffith 3 tck, Carson Platz 5 tck, Heston Wiggs 3 tck, Ryan Doty 1 tck, Gage Ensign 1 tck, Ty Dumm 0.5 tck, Lukas Hagenbuch 2 tck, 1 INT, Carter Bates 1 tck, Ryan Davidhizar 1 FR
United Defense: N/A
Records: Constantine 4-1 (4-0 SAC Lakeshore); United 4-1 (3-1 SAC Lakeshore)