After going 9-0 in the 2017 regular season, the East Grand Rapids football team took on Cedar Springs in the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Red Hawks defeated the Pioneers 41-40 in what was a hard fought game.

Even though they didn’t end the season the way they wanted to, the team had several great accomplishments, and they felt good about how they performed throughout the season.

“Going 9-0 and winning the conference championship is a big accomplishment,” Mike Malewitz ‘18 said. “But we obviously didn’t want to lose in the first round of the playoffs.”

Some of the highlight games this season were against big rivals. In Lowell, EGR won 16-14 on a game winning field goal in the final seconds of the game. This was a key win against a tough opponent. Another big win was at Grand Rapids Christian, where the Pioneers defeated the Eagles 28-7.

There were several exciting games throughout the season; some were close while others were huge blowouts. However, no matter the difficulty of the game, going undefeated is not an easy task and it can’t be done without talented players and a close team.

“Everyone on the team liked each other and the chemistry was always there,” Malewitz said. “There was no weak link on the team.”

Despite a disappointing ending, the team had an outstanding season and they should be proud of everything they accomplished.