Strength in the Gold: 2 Teams From the OK Gold That Could be New 2025 League Champions

Photo by Lenny Padilla via Sentinel Contributor

As ultra-competitive as the OK Gold league is, especially 1-5 in the standings, it was hard to come up with just two teams to put here. The schools listed, I have as potential contenders to knock off the 2024 champions, Unity Christian, next season.

Forest Hills Central Rangers: Last Season (9-3) OK Gold Standings: 3rd

After the retiring of long-time Zeeland West Head Coach John Shillito, the unpredictability of next season for the Dux leaves FHC as my top contender for next year's OK Gold title. Not only did Zeeland West lose their coach, but they also lost four Division Three All-State players.

As for Forest Hills Central, the Rangers will come into next season with some momentum. Last year, they made it to the third round of playoffs before losing to the Dux, 36-20. The Rangers themselves were division three state champions in 2023, and they look to go back to Ford Field in 2025.

FHC returns quarterback Nick Williams for his senior season. Having an experienced starter under center is a huge advantage in a league that is seeing many QBs graduating this May.

The Rangers also return, arguably their most impactful player, Matthew Sexton. Sexton, a 6'4", 235 lb., linebacker and tight end, recently committed to Central Michigan. With his big frame, he offers a large target for his quarterback in the pass game. Defensively, he is excellent against the run and is able to track down opposing QBs escaping the pocket.

Sexton leads a defensive unit that is the strength of their football team. Last season, the Rangers played in 9 games in which they kept the other team to 17 points or less. Over the last 9 seasons that FHC has made the playoffs, this has been a usual occurrence and most likely the expectation for former and current head coaches, Tim Rogers and Dave Fortino.

Look for Forest Hills Central to make another deep push in the playoffs this upcoming season. They open on August 29th with Muskegon Reeths-Puffer.

South Christian Sailors: Last Season: (8-5) OK Gold Standings: 5th

The 2022 division four state champions are my "sleeper" pick to win the gold in 2025. The Sailors saw an influx of division three teams into their league this year in which they did not perform well against. South Christian had a record of just 1-4 against other OK Gold schools in 2024. However, Head Coach, Danny Brown, will look to have his team ready to play against the higher competition this upcoming year.

South Christian loses some key players this next season. Quarterback, Carson Vis, a Western Michigan basketball commit, was a Division Four First Team All-State player. Tight end, Tyler Brinks, a Grand Valley State commit, and linebacker, Rowan Dekam, who led the team in tackles with 120, will also not be returning.

This leaves SC with rostered quarterback, incoming junior, Austin Burgess. While new quarterbacks can take time to get comfortable playing varsity football, the good thing is that most other schools in the OK Gold are going through the same process next season.

The Sailors return WR Owen Burgess for his senior campaign. Owen had 85 receptions and 1,296 all purpose yards in 2024. South will hope for many Burgess-Burgess completions and touchdowns next season whilst competing for first place.

South Christians last time missing the playoffs was in 2015. The last time they did not make it past the first round of playoffs was in 2017 when they lost to Plainwell 24-13. The past two seasons, the Sailors have won due to their offensive production scoring 391 points last year and 502 in 2023. They will need to tighten up defensively especially with a new quarterback to keep afloat as contenders in the gold.

If they can have steady quarterback play and decrease their points against, SC will be a tough out next fall. They begin their season with Grand Rapids Christian August 29th.

Honorable Mention- Zeeland West: Last Season (13-1) OK Gold Standings: 2nd

While stating earlier there is an unpredictability within the future of the program, I would be foolish to not quickly mention Zeeland West as a potential contender. Winning the division three state title a year ago, the Dux are obviously another school that can take the OK Gold. They hired their new head coach from within, promoting Jeff Bolhouse after head coaching their junior varsity team and assisting with varsity for the last twenty years.

Brody Maas, Trey Sloothaak, Isaac VanderZwaag, and Keaton Hendricks are all graduating in May. Will the Dux be able to replace all of these star players? It is going to be a tall ask. Returning players will have to step up into bigger roles and try to fill the shoes these First Team All-State players left behind.

While Zeeland West could easily be just as dominant as they were last year, it is more of a wait-and-see than in years prior. The Dux open the 2025 season with Old Redford Academy, August 29th.