WYOMING - Starting on both offense and defense for Tri-unity Christian, Max Conklin and Nic Wedeven are a pair of ironmen on the football field.
Unlike most high school players, however, the pair also puts in plenty of time commuting to and from the football field.
Nic Wedeven provides Tri-unity Christian with impact plays on both sides of the ball with 10 touchdown receptions on offense and two interceptions returned for touchdowns on defense (Photo by Jarred Chrapek).
The Tri-unity Christian football team is a co-op program with Holland Calvary High School and Conklin, and Wedeven makes the close to 70-mile round trip to get to practices and games.
That dedication is appreciated by Tri-unity Christian coach Tim Heath.
Playing 8-man football, Tri-unity has a roster of just 13 players, so having a pair of two-way starters like Conklin and Wedeven, who are willing to go the extra miles to be a part of the team, is a huge help.
"These two guys really help make us go," Heath said. "They drive every day from the south side of Holland to the Wyoming/Grandville area to play football. That is a long way to commute."
Tri-unity is three years into its co-op with Holland Calvary, and Conklin and Wedeven, both juniors, have been a part of the varsity all three years.
Conklin (5-foot-10, 190 pounds) is a center and anchor of the offensive line, and plays middle linebacker on defense. Along with collecting over 70 tackles this season, Conklin has also recovered five fumbles.
"Max is a workhorse for us," Heath said. "He is involved in physical contact on every play. He is pretty much on the field the entire game. He does a great job with our offensive line calls and anchors the defense from his middle linebacker spot."
Wedeven (6-3, 175) line up at wide receiver on offense and is a free safety on defense. Wedeven has a nose for the end zone on both sides of the ball, as he has caught 10 touchdown passes to go along with six interceptions on defense, two of which he returned for touchdowns.
"Nic has great hands and great leaping ability," Heath said. "He has done a great job for us. He has really come on this year and been a lot of trouble for people to defend."
Wedeven is part of a potent Tri-unity passing attack, piloted by senior quarterback Brayden Ophoff, along with wide receiver Benson Heath. The Tri-unity passing attack is a key in the Defenders averaging 44.4 points per game on offense. Together with a defense that is allowing 11 points per game, Tri-unity has fashioned a 7-0 record this year and is ranked fourth in the state in the 8-man football rankings.
"Our numbers are small, but I'm blessed with 13 football players who work great together," Heath said. "Our boys just have a will to win. It doesn't matter if they don't have the numbers of the other team or the size of the other team, they do a good job of overcoming the numbers against them."