these are the ONLY photos I have of ME playing football at Grand Rapids Christian High, 1983-84 and/or 1984-85 . These may be from '83-84 , in fact, because they must have been taken by my dad...and that would have been before we moved to California before my senior year of '84-85.I actually returned from a summer in California to finish my senior year in Michigan with the friends & classmates & teachers & coaches I loved & cherished so much. So, as you can see, I am #31, and played strong safety. I played football in Grand Rapids from rockets thru metro to jv & varsity, and made All-city Honorable Mention. I was a decent player but poor vision (and lack of contact lenses or glasses at the time) hampered my ability. Our team was also decent, not great, but not lousy either. We won more than we lost, and knocked off a few favorites a couple of times, much better than the senior team a few years prior that went without any victories. Our coach was Bill "Moose" Holwerda (RIP) who was also the owner of a sporting goods store (Holwerda Snoap), and assistant coaches Pettinga, Vanderkamp,Frieswyk, et al. Our starting QB was Jim Timmer (his dad was a PE prof at Calvin, maybe that helped him get the nod). OUr starting tailback was Steve Griffeon (star athlete, 3 sports) who lived a few blocks from our house in Alger Heights. Our fullback for a while was Eric Spearman...tough kid, I think he got injured halfway thru the season. Steve Korhorn was our biggest player , and played both ways...noseguard & center...our only teammate to make all-state, but he never played beyond high school.And lots of other good teammates...Scott Brill, , Dave Engelhard, Shane Holwerda, Rick Byle (RIP), Paul Laninga (RIP),Doug Kosters (RIP), Kurt Jelsema (RIP) and the list goes on (and too many rip's :( . Here's to '85 !
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