Whitehall (1-1) vs Zeeland West (2-0)
- Game Time: 7:00 PM
- Venue: Whitehall Athletic Field
The Whitehall Vikings host a top-ranked Zeeland West squad in their home opener. Both teams are coming off a week two victory on the road. Two head coaches with a prestigious history, Whitehall’s Tony Sigmon and Zeeland West’s John Shillito, go head-to-head for the first time.
Whitehall hadn’t lost a regular season game in two years until falling to Hudsonville Unity Christian. Turnovers derailed the Vikings’ success in week one. Whitehall bounced back in week two with a blowout win over conference foe Orchard View 54-7. The Vikings are led by Senior quarterback and Western Michigan commit Camden Thompson, a sparkplug on any given down.
“Playing Unity has a direct connection to getting ready for Zeeland West, to see where we’ve grown as a team” coach Tony Sigmon remarked. “We need to make sure we play mistake-free football by limiting the turnovers and penalties.”
In the past two seasons, the Vikings have scheduled non-conference opponents such as Hudsonville UC, Tecumseh, and Hastings. Coach Sigmon challenged his guys even harder this season by scheduling Zeeland West and Portland. “We need to make sure we are always trying to challenge ourselves in the non-conference games; I also think part of it is just a nature of the time; it’s very difficult to schedule in football right now compared to other sports,” Sigmon stated.
As for Zeeland West, they have had a picture-perfect start to the 2024 campaign. In week one, the Dux traveled to the historic Hackley stadium to take on the defending Division 2 champs, Muskegon Big Reds. The Dux won that game 28-13, led by an all-around offensive effort, scoring 4 TDs on the Big Reds’ defense. Holland West Ottawa played Zeeland West tough a week ago, with the score being 22-22 at halftime. However, the Dux pulled away in the second half, putting up 20 unanswered points.
Players to watch:
- Whitehall senior Camden Thompson: The do-it-all QB for the Vikings has no shortage of athleticism; he can beat you on the ground and burn you in the air.
- Whitehall senior Abram Stoudt: The WR/CB played a vital role in the Viking’s win last week on both sides of the ball, jumping a pass and taking it the house for a pick-six, and catching a pass from Thompson for a TD.
- Zeeland West senior Trey Sloothaak: The Hybrid Dux standout and 2023 All-state Safety, Sloothaak is a big-time piece for this Zeeland West squad.
- Zeeland West senior Keaton Hendricks: The senior running back is dynamic out of the backfield. Hendricks scored two of the Dux touchdowns against Muskegon.
