The Zeeland West football team once again proved that rankings don’t matter.
The Dux were the fourth-ranked team in their district and went out and knocked off top-seeded Niles after the hour-and-a-half trip down, winning 30-21.
It already seemed silly to have the defending Division 3 state champion facing a 9-0 team and the previous year’s Division 4 state runner-up play each other in the first round.
But that is what is going to happen now that everything is calculated by playoff points.
Let’s remember that both Zeeland West and Zeeland East were 6-3. Both lost to Unity Christian. The Dux lost to Whitehall and West Catholic, both Division 5 perennial powerhouses, which were great teams to play, but playing down divisions doesn’t help playoff points.
Meanwhile, the Chix lost to South Christian, a team that Zeeland West beat, and lost to the Dux themselves, 38-14 but the Chix somehow had more playoff points and were seeded higher than a Dux team that was clearly better.
It all added up to a long road trip and an “upset” win over Niles. It is a tough break for Niles because the matchup with the Dux could have been several rounds down the road. And the game was great, showing two of the best teams in the state.
“I can complain about the draw, but we would’ve had to play them at some time,” Niles coach Scot Shaw said. “… Let’s face it, (Zeeland West) doesn’t lose many football games. They’ve established themselves as being pretty big coming off the ball. It’s a shame that two teams who played on the same weekend of Thanksgiving last year have to meet in the first round.”
Now, the Dux have to travel again down to St. Joseph, a team that lost to Niles, but beat Zeeland East in the first round of the playoffs last year. They have the same record at 6-4, but again, have more playoff points.
The coaches get it. St. Joseph coach Andrew Pratley, formerly Holland’s coach, knows even though they are home, they are probably considered the underdog.
“We have to hold them down and out-physical them,” he said. “We have to be better at reading and playing physical football. It is survive and advance, and if you are going anywhere in D3, you have to go through them, and it is great to have it at home.”
Every coach, even of elite teams, knows they have to go through the Dux to make a run in Division 3.
Usually that means at Zeeland Stadium. But this year, it means the Dux have to make another long road trip to prove what everyone but the computer rankings seem to know.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Zeeland West football proves what state coaches know, but playoff points didn’t show
Reporting by Dan D’Addona, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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