East Grand Rapids students rushed to the field to celebrate the win over the “School on Plymouth”, Grand Rapids Christian High School. This game is always a good one, bringing out new levels of competition with all athletes on the field that Friday night.

Going into the game this past Friday, no one could have expected the finishing results: East Grand Rapids 28, Grand Rapids Christian 7. The Eagles (5-1), were undefeated going into this highly anticipated rivalry game. The Pioneers dominated the game the whole four quarters, allowing the Eagles to only score once, a touchdown in the second half of the game made by Eagles’ wide receiver Darius Barfield ‘18 in the third quarter. Key play makers kept the game exciting from the first kickoff to the final play of the game, including senior Pioneers Dakari Bickham, who plays defensive tackle, played exceptionally, including two big sacks and finished five tackles. Hub Hejna, who is running back, had an all-star game, rushing for 232 yards and two touchdowns.

It wasn’t the physical preparation that brought the Pioneers over the Eagles, it was the mental preparation. The projection for the game didn’t look so hot for the Pioneers: the Eagles were expected to win. However, this was nothing but motivation for the Pioneers throughout the week at practice and brought a lot of energy to the game.

“Our intensity and energy was most surprising. Before Friday, we had never had that much intensity invested in a game.” said Luke Elder ‘17, a member of the Pioneer football team.

The Pioneers are beginning to gain a lot of momentum, now embarking on a three game win streak. Only two games away from securing a playoff spot, the Pioneers are more determined than ever to have a long postseason. They look to continue to their winning streak against Wayland High School.