Zeeland East High School

Zeeland East Football Varsity vs Flushing High School (29 - 21) Win The 1-0 Chix hosted the 1-0 Raiders from Flushing High School Thursday night at Zeeland Stadium on a beautiful evening for football in the home opener of the 2026 football season. In exciting fashion, the Chix pulled out a 29 to 21 win in Double OT to improve 2-0 on the season. The Chix defense came out strong right from the start, forcing a Raiders punt and the Chix took possession of the ball in Raiders territory to begin their first drive. The Chix marched 40 yards on 7 plays and scored on a 1 yard run by senior Will Drnek. After sophomore John Jeffries knocked the extra point through the goal posts, the Chix led 7-0. The score remained 7-0 until late in the first half, when Flushing marched the ball down the field and tied the score on a 11 yard run. The Chix got back on the scoreboard on their 2nd possession of the 2nd half, marching 64 yards on 11 plays behind their power running game. Senior Payton Sackett powered in from 3 yards out and the Chix led 13-7. The Chix defense continued its strong play keeping the Raiders out of the end zone in the 2nd half and with 4:04 left in the 4th Qtr., the Chix extended their lead to 14 points as Senior Zeek Ramadhani found the endzone from 33 yards out and after Will Drnek converted the 2-point try, the Chix led 21-7 But the Raiders were not done yet. The ensuing kickoff was returned 85 yards and the Chix lead was trimmed to 21-14. The Raiders defense held and forced a Chix punt, which was returned 66 yards deep into Chix territory. 2 plays later, the Raiders scored on a 9 yard pass and the game was tied at 21 with 1:03 seconds left in the 4th quarter. The Chix received the kick and marched the ball down to the Flushing 9 yard line with 6 seconds left and attempted a 26 yard field goal to win the game, but it missed wide left and the game moved to Overtime. In OT, the Raiders got the ball first and fumbled the ball away with the ball recovered by sophomore Hunter VanZyll and the Chix were in position to win the game. The Raiders defense held the Chix out of the endzone, so the Chix attempted a field goal from 22 yards, which missed wide right and the game went into the 2nd OT. In the 2nd OT, Senior Isaiah Boonstra scored from 10 yards out. Boonstra converted the 2 point conversion and the Chix took a 29-21 lead, forcing a Raiders score to continue the game. But the Chix defense held firm and stopped the Raiders and the Chix held on for the big non-conference win. The Chix are back in action next Friday night in the 2nd game of a ZW / ZE Varsity doubleheader, taking on the Unity Christian Crusaders in the opening game of OK Gold conference play. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm. Unofficial stats for the game for the Chix: Offense Team rushed for 307 yards on 57 carries Sr. Payton Sackett carried the ball 22 times for 129 yards and 1 TD Sr. Zeek Ramadhani carried the ball 13 times for 101 yards and 1 TD Sr. Isaiah Boonstra rushed for 33 yards and the game winning score. Sr Will Drnek rushed for 29 yards & 1 TD and passed for 21 yards on 3 completions. Sr. Coby Miller had 3 catches for 21 yards Defense: Held Flushing to 216 yards of total offense, forcing 2 fumbles, 3 sacks, and 5 tackles for loss. Sr. Zeek Ramadhani with 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 4 QB pressures & 1 pass defensed Sr. Kalob Willis recorded 11 tackles Sr. Josiah Norman recorded 6 tackles and 1 tackle for loss Jr. Max Gomez recorded 3 tackles, with 1 sack and 3 QB pressures Sr. Coby Miller had 2 pass defensed in critical late game situations.