Edwardsburg football's Dan Purlee era opens with a thud

EDWARDSBURG — The Dan Purlee era began like a smooth handoff from the Kevin Bartz era, with the Edwardsburg Eddies crisply marching 77 yards for a touchdown on their opening possession of Friday night’s high school football season opener against Grand Rapids West Catholic, but it all went haywire from there.

The defending Division 6 state champions responded to that initial TD from the Eddies with 56 consecutive points of their own. They led 49-6 by halftime on their way to posting a 56-12 win.

MHSAA football 2023 preview: Who will be good from southwest Michigan? A breakdown of the area teams

“They’ve got big, physical kids and great team speed,” Purlee said of the Falcons, “and I thought we wore down pretty quickly.”

West Catholic — with seven starters back on each side of the ball to Edwardsburg’s three on defense and none on offense — scored touchdowns on all six of its offensive possessions in the first half and mixed in a 38-yard interception return for a TD by two-way star Charlie DeBruyn as well.

Purlee, an Eddie assistant the last two years, succeeded Bartz following last season. Bartz went 216-78 in 28 years with a state title.

Edwarsburg’s 10-play, game-opening possession was capped by Ezekiel Pegura’s 17-yard TD pass to tight end and fellow junior Grant Griffin.

With a running clock kicking in for the second half based on margin, senior Keegan Parsons ran 35 yards late in the third quarter for the Eddies’ other touchdown.

Parsons finished with 68 yards on six attempts. Junior teammate Carson Cebra added 59 yards on 12 carries, while senior Parker Hankins netted 44 on six.

Player of the game

DeBruyn, besides making that pick six from his linebacker spot, riddled Edwardsburg with speed and elusive moves offensively.

He rushed just four times for 147 yards, all in the first half, including touchdown runs of 53 and 45 yards.

What they saisd

“We faced a really good football team tonight, and we’re not where we need to be from an execution standpoint or even an effort standpoint. I was a little disappointed with that, but we’ll get better. It was a tough Week 1 game for a young football team, but that’s OK. It’s a measuring stick for us and we’ll have a lot to learn.” — Dan Purlee, Edwardsburg coach.

Up next

The Eddies (0-1) hit the road next Friday, visiting Chelsea (0-1). West Catholic (1-0) hosts nearby Grand Rapids Union (0-0), which was off Friday and opens Saturday afternoon against Ottawa Hills.

Grand Rapids West Catholic 56, Edwardsburg 12

FIRST QUARTER

E: Grant Griffin 27-yard pass from Ezekiel Pegura at 5:54 (kick failed).

WC: Charlie DeBruyn 53-yard run at 5:35 (Landon Smith kick).

WC: Mike Murphy 3-yard run at 2:04 (Smith kick).

SECOND QUARTER

WC: Connor Olszewski 10-yard run at 11:26 (Smith kick).

WC: DeBruyn 38-yard interception return at 9:28 (Smith kick).

WC: Murphy 3-yard run at 6:36 (Smith kick).

WC: DeBruyn 45-yard run at 3:43 (Smith kick).

WC: Carter Perry 5-yard pass from Alek Wickstrom at 0:17 (Smith kick).

THIRD QUARTER

WC: David Britenfield 15-yard run at 9:23 (Smith kick).

E: Keegan Parsons 35 run at 2:31 (run failed).

Up next for Edwardsburg

At Chelsea on Friday, Sept. 1

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Edwardsburg thumped by GR West Catholic in Dan Purlee's first game