Can anyone knock off the state's No. 1 team? It would be a tough order.

Passing on EGR: Lowell has run the spread for a few years now, and they have it down. Ryan Dykhouse is a good QB and he has a group of very good WRs (including 6'4" AA Mike Koster), and EGR completely shut down their passing game. EGR has a great pass rush, with guys like Boynton (6'0"/200), Lineberger (6'1"/205) and Bratschie (6'4"/225). They are not overly big, but they can get to the QB and do it well. S Courtney Partee-Grady (5'10"/175) is a lockdown cover man. He held Koster to 4 catches and 0 TDs, despite giving up 6 inches and about 40 pounds. Their LBs, led by Nick Cisler (6'1"/210 and a leading candidate for GR-Area defensive player of the year) are fast.

The EGR defense is not a big one. Boynton, Lineberger, and Bratschie are the studs on the DL and only Bratschie has good size. They don't give up a lot of yards on the ground (like under 50 per game usually), but that also may have to do with the fact that they don't play any major powerhouse rushing teams like East Kentwood or GR Catholic Central or even someone like Coopersville or Hamilton. I wouldn't try running around the D, those LBs and DEs are as fast as most RBs.

• As for stopping them, their OL isn't huge. They go no more than 240 per man. Trent Hartwig and John Oh are the main stars. The one game that they had some difficulties moving the ball on ground, against Sparta, those guys were both hurt. But they have 5 linemen that know exactly what to do and open ridiculously large holes. Add in a 220-lb FB in Sean Cates-McDonald blocking for a 230-lb TB in Kevin Grady (also a guy with 4.5 speed), and it quickly becomes hard to completely shut them down. The line is so good and the FB so good, if I was coaching against it and all I was concerned about was stopping the run, I'd send 9. 8 wouldn't be enough. Grady would get 100 and a few TDs if you only put 8 up there. Think about it, in HS if you cheat a safety up, he's what, 6'0"/175? And Grady's legitimately faster than him too.

That said, say you stack 9 and have unusual success filling the gaps and shedding blockers, that leaves WR Joey Goeb (a 5'10" burner) and WR Matt Kruer in single coverage. Kyle Cunningham has progressed leaps and bounds since last year. He has 17 TDs and 1 Int. this year. That's ridiculously good. He's thrown 5 TDs in one game. Goeb and Kruer are both good, sure-handed guys. Cunningham has some mobility, so he can avoid pressure (which you'd be lucky to get against that line), and Grady has proved to be a great safety valve out of the backfield. TE Nathan VanderPloeg is a solid TE (reminds me of HS version of Ohio State's Ben Hartsock). If you give him time, Cunningham will pick you apart. Some people on MLive are very down on Cunningham, saying he's a product of the system and teams focusing only on Grady, but I disagree with them. I think he'd really excell if put in a West Coast Offense with lots of quick slants and 3-step drops. He's very accurate on the short stuff and has a decent arm downfield (better than Mark Catlin's arm downfield).

The kicking game is solid. PK Rob Huff just set a state record for PATs over a 2-year span (over 100), and is dependable inside 35, maybe 40 yards.

So, if you want a chance I'd say you definitely need to be big and physical. Pound it straight at the heart of their DL. Either the first or second guy always has to bring Grady down, because if he gets a full head of steam, you can't. The kid's got oak trees for thighs. I would have really liked to see GR Catholic Central end up in D3 this year. They have a trio of 220-lb RBs that are basically their offense. It would have been a great matchup with EGR's undersized but talented DL.

I guess the toughest thing about playing EGR is they will not beat themselves. Very disciplined. It's not rocket science what Stuursma's doing, run to open up the pass to open up the run again. The execute better than any HS team I've seen, probably ever. Then there's the legacy of winning. These kids were brought up to win and seem less affected by the pressure. Memorial Field, I've been told, is an intimidating place to play. The new Turf (which most kids haven't seen), Reeds Lake across the street, the bronze statue of Kabookie, it all adds up.

If you have to play East Grand Rapids, good luck. You're gonna need it.