Second half defensive shutout propels Coldwater to 27-14 win over Grand Haven

GRAND HAVEN — A cancellation due to fear over COVID and a last second addition to the schedule led to the Coldwater Cardinals making the trip to beautiful Buccaneer Stadium in Grand Haven to take on the Grand Haven Buccaneers Saturday afternoon for a non-conference varsity football showdown.

Per the norm, Coldwater controlled the ground game, putting together a big second half on their way to defeating Grand Haven 27-14 in the 2020 regular season finale for both teams.

This was an impromptu meeting for both teams, as the game itself materialized in just a matter of hours late Friday. Coldwater found an opening in week six early Friday when the Cardinals opted to pull out of their scheduled game with Interstate 8 opponent Parma Western after concerns relating to positive COVID-19 cases in the Param Western school district became known. It was announced Thursday night that the Parma Western School District will switch to distance learning for two weeks due to these tests. That was too much for the Coldwater football team and athletic director Todd Farmer who released a statement in regards to pulling out of the Parma Western game.

“The varsity football game (versus Parma) will not be played due to the abundance of concern for the health of the Coldwater players,” the statement read.

Grand Haven’s schedule opened up for the Saturday meeting as the Buccaneers found themselves with a new opponent for the second time in three days. Originally Grand Haven was scheduled to host Holland West Ottawa who canceled because its football team is under quarantine because of COVID-19 contact tracing mandated by the Ottawa County Health Department of Public Health. Grand Haven then managed to strike a deal to host the Battle Creek Central Bearcats who originally were scheduled to face Mattawan, who not only cancelled the game midweek, but announced they will not be competing in the MHSAA playoffs because of concerns with the virus.

Grand Haven and Battle Creek Central then made a deal for the Bearcats to travel to Buccaneer stadium, however the Calhoun County Public Health Department made the decision to not allow the Bearcats to make the trip, causing Battle Creek Central to drop out. That’s when the athletic directors from Coldwater and Grand Haven got on the phone and struck a last minute deal for their Saturday battle.

When the two football teams finally were able to take to the field, it was vintage Coldwater, as the Cardinals used a dominating ground game and a big second half to take the victory.

Grand Haven got on the board first thanks to a 14-yard touchdown run by quarterback Owen Worthington. The point after kick was good, giving the Buccaneers a 7-0 lead with 6:42 left in the first quarter.

Coldwater answered right back, using a long and grinding drive of their own to eat up clock and yardage. The Cardinals found pay dirt on a Cam Torres 4-yard touchdown run. The point after kick was good, tying the game up at 7-7 with :59 seconds to go in the first quarter.

Grand Haven went on to add to their lead just before the half as Worthington found Jack Bewalda through the air for a 6-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was good, giving Grand Haven the 14-7 lead at the half.

Coldwater dominated the second half and that domination started early, as the Cardinals scored on the first play from scrimmage. On the first play of the third quarter it was the speedster Torres running away from the Grand Haven defense for a 50-yard touchdown run. The extra point was good, tying the game up once again at 14-14 with 11:40 to go in the third quarter.

Coldwater took their first lead of the game on their next possession as senior DeAndre Douglas, who had a career game, found the end zone on a 2-yard touchdown run. After the extra point it was Coldwater leading 21-14 with 3:58 to go in the third quarter.

The Cardinals officially put the game away with just under two minutes remaining in the game, as quarterback Aiden Marsden scored on a 10-yard keeper. The extra point was no good but the damage had been done as Coldwater had managed to build a 27-14 lead with only 1:48 left in the game.

The Coldwater defense came up big in the second half, pitching the shutout and helping the Cardinals improve to 4-2 on the season.

DeAndre Douglas led the Coldwater offensive out put, rushing the ball 22 times for 168 yards and one touchdown.

Sophomore Cam Torres also had a huge game, carrying the ball 15 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Junior quarterback Aiden Marsden had three carries for 17 yards and the final score of the game.

No defensive stats were made available at press time.

With the win Coldwater improves to 4-2 on the season while Grand Haven falls to 0-6. Both teams will now await their MHSAA postseason fate, with Coldwater awaiting their scheduled opponent in the Division Three District 19 bracket while Grand Haven will await their opponent in the Division One, District One bracket. Preliminary calculations have the Cardinals as the number three seed in their District, with St. Joseph drawing the one seed and Stevensville Lakeshore drawing the two seed. If those standings hold and are correct, that means Coldwater will host long time rival Sturgis in the first round of the MHSAA playoffs. (Again, this is just a projection, schedules and matches will be released early Sunday afternoon per the MHSAA).