Sizable Fremont Has Big-Time Aspirations
December 5, 2018
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
Fremont is synonymous with babies, as the founding home of Gerber Products and host of the National Baby Food Festival each July.
Some of those babies grow up to be giants – as evidenced by this year’s Fremont Packers boys basketball team.
Senior Logan Karnemaat (6-foot-10) and junior Tristan Campbell (6-8) are the twin towers whose presence sets the tone on both ends of the court for the Packers, who are off to a 2-0 start and have high hopes for the rest of the season.
“I guess you could say we ate all of our baby food, and someone must have put some Miracle-Gro in there, too,” Karnemaat said with a laugh.
Karnemaat knows all about fertilizer as a third-generation farmer. He spends much of his time when he’s not in school or playing basketball working on his family’s 3,000-acre farm operation, which includes crops and livestock.
His life goal has always been to get a business degree and return to run the family farm, with playing basketball almost an afterthought.
When pressed on the subject, he said that both Grace Christian and Calvin College in Grand Rapids have shown interest in him, then quickly added: “There are two more I can’t think of off the top of my head.”
Karnemaat is clearly more focused on making the most out of his senior basketball season, which shows signs of great promise after an impressive 45-35 win Tuesday night at Ludington, which made it all the way to the MHSAA Class B Final in 2017.
“I’d say that was our biggest road win in 10-12 years,” said Fremont coach Peter Zerfas, who is now in his 19th year. “It was how we did it. Ludington is a very good team, but we came out with confidence and we were the more aggressive team.”
The scorebook does not tell the true story of the game, as Campbell scored only seven points and Karnemaat just five. The real story was the rebounding and shot-blocking of the twin towers – Karnemaat finished with 10 rebounds and Campbell had five blocked shots, with both of them altering and contesting countless others.
As a result of their presence, Ludington suffered through one of its worst offensive nights in recent memory, scoring just 18 total points over the first three quarters. Senior standout Josh Laman, who nailed the memorable 3-pointer in the Class B Semifinals two seasons ago to send the Orioles to the championship game, had no field goals in the first half and just 10 total points.
Fremont senior forwards Calvin Miller (11 points) and Julian Echavarria, who also have good size at 6-5 and 6-3, respectively, also contributed on both ends of the court.
Zerfas said the key to the big win was the play of his young guards, particularly junior starters Carter Moon (13 points) and Jaxx Miller, who held up under Ludington’s relentless full-court pressure during the second half.
“We have four young guards, and how well they develop will be the key for us this season,” said Zerfas, whose youngest son, sophomore Joshua Zerfas, is one of those young backcourt players. “We have the size and we have some depth, so if those guards keep coming like they are, we have a chance to be really good.”
Zerfas has the Packers competing at a championship level after back-to-back down years in 2015-16 (6-16) and 2016-17 (13-8). Basketball is a big deal in this small town, which has had some great runs in cross country but for the most part is known for baby food, farming and hoops.
Fremont has won a pack of conference and District championships, but Regionals has generally been the end of the road. In fact, the last time Fremont won a Regional championship was 1956, before losing to Stephenson that winter in the Class B Quarterfinals.
Shortly after Zerfas took over as coach in 2000, Fremont had a string of five consecutive District titles, with longtime nemesis Muskegon Heights ending the Packers’ run at the regional level in four of those five years.
Fremont fought its way back to Regionals last winter, before being humbled by Grand Rapids South Christian and finishing with a 17-7 record.
The Packers feel like they have even more pieces in place this winter and are eager to start work towards their first goal, a Central States Activities Association Gold championship, when they open league play Friday night at Reed City.
Karnemaat, who led Fremont with 14 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots per game last season, can’t wait for back-to-back home games next week against Montague and Sparta.
While he spends much of his time working in relative solitude on the family farm, there’s nothing he enjoys more than the contrast of playing basketball in front of a rowdy home crowd.
“Our students and our community come out and supports us, and it really helps,” Karnemaat said. “We have a good team, but then to have 2,000 fans behind you and get you going, I love it.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Fremont 6-10 senior center Logan Karnemaat holds the ball up high, well out of the reach of two Shelby defenders, during a 75-50 season-opening win Nov. 27. (Middle) Fremont sophomore Braiden McDonald, one of the contributors off the Packers' deep bench, drives to the basket. (Photos by Russell Tindall.)
Soodsma Reaches 700 Boys Hoops Coaching Wins as Unity Launches Another Title Pursuit
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
February 26, 2026
HUDSONVILLE – Hudsonville Unity Christian boys basketball coach Scott Soodsma has been a fixture on the sidelines for more than 40 years.
And while he’s known as a man of faith, a fierce competitor and a coach who pours everything he has into his players, he’s most commonly known as the coach with the blue towel.
“I’ve had the same blue towel for 34 years at Unity, and it’s had holes in it and been sewed up a few times,” the 66-year-old Soodsma said. “It’s been around for a long time.”
The blue towel has been with Soodsma at every game, except for the first game this season against Grandville Calvin Christian.
“I had no idea where it was,” said Soodsma, who retired from teaching last year. “I stuck it in an old diaper bag and thought I would remember that I put it in there, but I didn’t. Luckily, my wife found it. I’ve never not had it except for that first game this year.”
The comfort of having a towel with him during games started during his first season (1983-84) at James Valley Christian, located in Huron, South Dakota.
It has been a lasting presence ever since, although the colors have changed.
“I had a pink towel when I coached girls at Unity, a yellow one at James Valley, and a maroon towel at McBain Northern Michigan Christian,” he said. “I don’t know, it’s just something I started having with me and I’ve had my wife run home from games when I've already been there and forgot it.
“I've sent her back home to get it because I didn’t want to coach without it. It’s been the thing I've been known for, for a long time.”
Soodsma had it with him when he earned his 700th career win as a boys coach in a 69-28 victory over Zeeland West on Feb. 12.
He currently is fifth on the list of winningest coaches in MHSAA boys basketball history with a 688-258 record coaching at Northern Michigan Christian and Unity.
“It’s really amazing, and I've been very blessed to be able to go the length I have gone,” Soodsma said. “There were times when I thought I was done and I was dumb enough to do girls for five years at the same time and I did one season when the girls and boys were together.
“I’ve had a lot of texts and calls from kids after the 700 wins went out in the public and those are things that make it all worthwhile, to hear the comments and the thank-yous for what you did and the part you played in their life. More valuable than that, wanting to be part of their journey and their faith as well has been a big deciding factor in why I've stayed in it.”
Soodsma, who has won over 800 games combined as a boys and girls coach, led McBain Northern Michigan Christian to the Class D boys title in 1987. He won the Division 2 championship at Unity in 2019.
He also coached Unity’s girls to the Class B crown in 2006.
“I still love it,” he said. “I love the kids and I love the competition, but over the years, most people don't realize it, but I have mellowed a lot and I think I’m in it for the right reasons because I enjoy the kids. I want to be a factor in their life, not only from a basketball perspective, but from a Christian perspective and a faith perspective. It means a lot more to me now at my age than when I was 35-40. It’s not about wins and losses anymore.”
Unity Christian senior Kyler Berguis said Soodsma has had a profound impact on his life.
In my three years of having him as my coach I’ve never had someone motivate me more to accomplish a goal we both love so much, and that is winning,” he said. “He’s an amazing motivator, always pushing kids to be their very best every single time he steps on the court, whether that is in practice, games or shootarounds, it doesn't matter.
“You will never not feel the energy that Coach brings to the court, and the crazy thing is he’s been doing it forever. He not only has pushed me in basketball but most importantly he pushes the players off the court in how to be a man of God.”
Past Crusaders standout Gabe Newhof, currently a senior at Division I James Madison in Virginia, said Soodsma’s compassion for his players runs deep.
“Coach has had an incredible impact on my development as a young man,” Newhof said. “Through the mountains and valleys of my life, he has been there for me. When I suffered an awful broken leg, he came and visited me at my house to let me know he cared.
“During my successes in college he has always been a voice of encouragement. I am so glad to have had a coach like him who truly cares about me on a much deeper level than just a player.”
Soodsma has guided this year’s squad to an Ottawa-Kent Conference Black title, which included going a perfect 12-0 in league play, and a 20-3 overall record after Wednesday night’s Division 2 District Semifinal win over host Wyoming Godwin Heights.
The Crusaders’ losses were to state-ranked Rockford, Hudsonville and Freeland. Unity hopes for a deep postseason run but has been hampered recently by sickness and without a couple of its top players.
“This has been a special group,” said Soodsma, who boasts seven seniors. “The one thing we pride ourselves on at Unity is getting better as the year progresses, and I could really see the kids stepping up.
“We knew we had some good kids coming back, but I didn’t think we were playing exceptionally well in December or early January. But in the middle of the month, I started to see some kids really take some huge strides in a lot of ways. The kids have done a great job of coming together as a team, and it’s definitely shown. We’ve been playing some of the best ball we have all year.”
Soodsma has been asked frequently over the past few years when he is going to step away from coaching and retire.
He said he takes each season one at a time, but as he gets older he doesn’t want to miss out on moments with his grandkids, who are scattered through the country.
“I evaluate after every year, and I will evaluate again after this season, but this could be it,” Soodsma said. “I always like to wait till the end of the season before I make any rash decisions.
“I have family all over the United States in Seattle, Denver and South Dakota, so I really want to spend some quality time with my grandkids before they get too old."
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Unity Christian boys basketball coach Scott Soodsma, kneeling, confers with his staff during his team’s 2019 Division 2 Boys Semifinal win over Ludington. (Middle) Soodsma, far right, stands for a photo with his 1987 Northern Michigan Christian Class D boys basketball champion. (Below) Soodsma maps out strategy during a break in the 2006 Division 2 Girls Basketball Final. (MHSAA file photos.)