Zeeland West football again has high expectations

In just 10 years, the Zeeland West football team has become a perennial powerhouse.

During that span, the Dux have won three state titles, five regional championships, five district titles and seven conference championships in only a decade of existence.

But this year is a new year, and after the Dux were handed their only loss of the 2014 campaign with a 20-0 shutout at the hands of Muskegon in the Division 3 state semifinals, Dux coach John Shillito said his team isn’t resting on its previous accomplishments heading into this season.

“We’ve been fortunate for really the last five years to be coming off a good previous season, but it really doesn’t have much to do with what goes on now,” Shillito said. “Right now, these guys are working for the here and now. We’ve got some parts back and we have some parts to replace.”

The biggest area the Dux will need to find some new pieces is on the offensive line, where Shillito said the Dux are looking to replace several key seniors from last year, including all-state honorable mention and All-OK Green offensive tackle Smith Saenbouttarath and standout tight end Trevor Raby.

As part of the rebuilding process, Shillito said there has been some shifting of positions between returning players, notably with Riley Brinks moving from running back to guard and Zach VanValkenberg kicking outside from guard to tackle.

“We kind of had to retool and rebuild the offensive line. We like where we’re going, but we have a lot of work to do there,” Shillito said.

But having a veteran quarterback leading the offense should help ease that transition, with Casey Brinks returning for his third year under center.

“He is as level-headed and consistent a guy I’ve ever had,” Shillito said. “It’s not going to be easy to replace him in the future, but right now we don’t have to worry about that. We’re very happy to have him back for a third year and we’ve seen his leadership develop over that time period.”

The Dux have considerably less holes to fill on defense, as their return their top four tacklers from 2014 in Riley Brinks, Dakota Geurink, Tyler Thompson and VanValkenburg.

That should help the Dux withstand the loss of Raby, who was an all-state defensive end last season.

“Our defensive puzzle is a little easier to fit together,” Shillito said. “Any time you have your top four tacklers coming back, that’s a good start.”