Grand Haven Playmakers Rising to Challenge After Loss of Senior Standout
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
September 9, 2026
Grand Haven was expected to have one of the state’s best backfield duos this season in seniors Andrew Willemsen and KV Korenstra.
That duo became singular in July, when Willemsen tore his ACL for the second-consecutive year, a gut-punch both for him and the Buccaneers’ coaching staff – which was planning on handing the ball to Willemsen 20-plus times per game.
Despite that emotional setback, Haven is off to its first 2-0 start since 2018, as the team’s many other offensive standouts – notably Korenstra and senior quarterback Easton Hintz – have stepped up their games.
“We all feel so bad for Andrew, and it just makes us appreciate things so much more,” said Korenstra, a Ferris State commit who rushed for 519 yards and caught 26 passes for 291 yards last fall.
“It’s good for our morale to be 2-0, but we all know that we can play so much better and that we have to play so much better, especially on offense.”
Grand Haven (2-0) heads into the gauntlet of its schedule the next three weeks, starting with Friday night’s Ottawa-Kent Conference Red opener at defending league champion Hudsonville, followed by East Kentwood at home and at Rockford.
The Bucs have found a way to win two tight games, a 35-34, triple-overtime thriller over visiting Spring Lake in the opener and then a hard-fought, 17-14 road win at Muskegon Reeths-Puffer last week.
“It hasn’t always been pretty, but we have been able to finish games out, which hasn’t been the case in the past,” said fourth-year Grand Haven coach Andrew Biedenbender, a Mount Pleasant native who played offensive line at Grand Valley State. “We can’t puff our chests out. We understand what’s ahead of us, but going into it with the confidence we now have is big.”
Senior quarterback Easton Hintz has been the catalyst, completing 28-of-42 passes (67 percent) for 359 yards and four touchdowns, with no interceptions. The dual-threat playmaker also has rushed for 168 yards and a score.
Hintz employs a variety of receiving options, starting with 6-foot-2 wideout Amani Frierson, another Ferris State commit, who has 11 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown.
An emerging weapon for the Bucs is junior tight end Grayam Beyer (6-6, 225), who had a breakout game against Spring Lake with four catches for 43 yards, including two TDs. Beyer already has five Division I college offers and visited Ohio State last Saturday.
If those weapons draw excessive attention, Hintz often hooks up with shifty junior slot receivers Lennon Jorgensen and Drew Hammerle.
Korenstra has been solid, if not spectacular, with 157 rushing yards and two TDs through two games. Korenstra, who finished third at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals in the 100-meter dash last spring (10.79), has been slowed by a sprained ankle which he suffered early in the opening game.
“If you saw him early last week, you would have never thought he could play a football game,” said Biedenbender of the senior speedster, who was clocked at 4.28 seconds in the 40-yard dash this summer.
“So he has been fighting that ankle but still has hit a couple of 15- or 20-yard runs, but we’re waiting for him to break off a couple of 40- or 50-yarders.”
While he waits for Korenstra to get back up to full speed, Biedenbender occasionally allows himself to imagine what might have been this fall if Willemsen had stayed healthy.
The three-sport standout and athletic freak burst onto the scene as a sophomore with 1,321 yards and 11 TDs. He missed his entire junior year after tearing his ACL during summer workouts but came all the way back and was part of two school-record sprint relay teams in track this spring.
His recovery was so impressive (running a 4.3 40-yard dash and squatting almost 500 pounds early this summer) that he was offered a scholarship at Grand Valley. Willemsen was working out at GVSU in July when the unthinkable happened – a full tear of his other ACL.
“It’s like having a sports car in your garage that you never had a chance to drive,” said Biedenbender, whose main assistants are Matt Naber (offensive coordinator) and Eric Rozema (defensive coordinator). “He’s one of the best athletes ever at Grand Haven that no one’s going to know about. He has some great football ahead of him but, unfortunately, it won’t be for us.”
The Buccaneers still possess a variety of weapons that other teams would love to have, with an experienced senior quarterback in Hintz directing the show. Hintz (6-0, 185) threw for 975 yards last fall despite missing about one-third of the season with an injury, but is now on pace to easily eclipse the 1,000-yard passing plateau.
Haven’s 2-0 start also has put the team in position to make some noise in the conference race and compete for five wins and the school’s first playoff berth since 2019.
The quick start is a continuation of success at Grand Haven, which won the Division 1 boys volleyball title in the spring, to go along with a Finals appearance in softball and a fifth-place team finish in boys track.
“So much of it comes down to belief,” said Hintz, a crafty left-hander who is just as comfortable throwing on the run as he is in the pocket. “Our aiming point is making it to the playoffs and then winning a playoff game, which is something that hasn’t been done at this school in a long time. I believe we have the team to do 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) Fourth-year Grand Haven coach Andrew Biedenbender celebrates with wideout Amani Frierson (1) during last week’s victory over Muskegon Reeths-Puffer. (Middle) KV Korenstra (12) follows his blockers against Spring Lake. (Below) Senior quarterback Easton Hintz (9) prepares to take a snap against Reeths-Puffer. (Photos by Josh Walters/JWaltVisuals.)
Drive for Detroit: Week 2 Preview
September 5, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
After rain soaked many of this fall’s football openers, just about anything would be considered returning to business as usual this weekend.
But while we’re all hoping the storms stay away, will the heavy helping of unforeseen results we saw on the field follow us into Week 2?
Below again is a glance at games from every part of the state that appear especially intriguing. This week’s MHSAA.tv schedule includes live streams of 25 games – click for the full listing.
"Drive for Detroit" is sponsored by MI Student Aid.
Bay & Thumb
Ithaca (1-0) at Millington (0-1)
These two have met in the Division 6 playoffs two of the last five seasons, with Millington winning 50-33 in the opener last year to end the Yellowjackets’ shortest postseason since not making the playoffs at all in 2008. Now the teams are in the same league – the Tri-Valley Conference West I – and Millington will try to hand Ithaca just its second regular-season defeat this decade.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Freeland (1-0) at Essexville Garber (1-0), Midland (1-0) at Flint Carman-Ainsworth (0-1), Standish-Sterling (1-0) at Frankenmuth (1-0), Lapeer (0-1) at Midland Dow (0-1).
Greater Detroit
Muskegon (1-0) at Detroit Martin Luther King (0-1)
This is a rematch of last season’s Division 3 championship game, won by King 41-25. And while rosters certainly have changed, an impressive group of the headliners are back for this second meeting including Big Reds’ quarterback Cameron Martinez and King running back Peny Boone. Few teams statewide this fall have loaded up the early schedule like these two – Muskegon downed two-time reigning Division 2 champion Warren De La Salle Collegiate 41-7 last week, while King fell 24-22 against Division 1 power Detroit Catholic Central.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Toledo Whitmer, Ohio (1-0) at Detroit Catholic Central (1-0), Birmingham Groves (1-0) at West Bloomfield (1-0), Southfield Arts & Technology (1-0) at Lake Orion (1-0), Detroit Mumford (1-0) at Detroit Country Day (1-0).
Mid-Michigan
DeWitt (1-0) at Portland (1-0)
These remain two of the Lansing area’s elite, and they’ll play for the first time since 2014. The Panthers opened with a solid 31-26 road win at Traverse City Central and are prepping for their second season in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue – while hoping to extend a 13-year league title streak. Portland won big over Ovid-Elsie last week and has claimed five straight CAAC White titles. But this matchup should will pay off toward bigger goals as well. Both have realistic aims to play in November as the Raiders finished Division 5 runners-up last season and DeWitt made the Division 3 Semifinals.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Grandville (1-0) at East Lansing (1-0), Lansing Everett (0-1) at Lansing Eastern (1-0), Montrose (1-0) at Ovid-Elsie (0-1), Grand Rapids West Catholic (0-1) at Lansing Catholic (1-0).
Northern Lower Peninsula
Maple City Glen Lake (1-0) at Traverse City St. Francis (1-0), Saturday
St. Francis has won the last eight meetings between these two, including a pair in the playoffs since Glen Lake's most recent victory in the series in 2012. But the Lakers are coming off a 19-point win over Millington (mentioned above), with their 26-point first half a positive sign after last season's decreased offensive output. St. Francis will be ready, of course, after extending its winning streak over opening-night opponent Marquette to five with a 14-point win.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Harbor Springs (1-0) at Frankfort (0-1), McBain (0-1) at Roscommon (0-1), Boyne City (0-1) at Charlevoix (1-0), Escanaba (1-0) at Petoskey (0-1).
Southeast & Border
Parma Western (1-0) at Jackson Lumen Christi (1-0)
The reigning Division 6 champion Titans extended their state-leading winning streak to 24 with a two-point win over Kalamazoo United last week. The Panthers also opened with a two-point win, over Whitehall, after setting a program record for victories finishing 10-2 last season despite losing 34-7 to Lumen in Week 2. Western's lone win in this rivalry came in 1976, according to michigan-football.com. But the Panthers should relish this opportunity to take another big step.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Carleton Airport (1-0) at Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (1-0), Sand Creek (1-0) at Adrian Lenawee Christian (1-0), Erie Mason (1-0) at Britton Deerfield (1-0), Leslie (1-0) at Brooklyn Columbia Central (1-0).
Southwest Corridor
Stevensville Lakeshore (1-0) at Portage Northern (1-0)
This might be one of the most competitive yet little-hyped annual matchups in the state. Before Northern's 17-0 win a year ago, the previous seven meetings all were decided by eight points or fewer. Both put up 40+ points last week, but if recent history holds neither team will approach that level of offensive output. History also tells us the winner likely will contend for the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West title.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Mendon (1-0) at Cassopolis (1-0), Marshall (0-1) at Battle Creek Harper Creek (1-0), Berrien Springs (1-0) at Constantine (1-0), Mattawan (1-0) at Battle Creek Lakeview (1-0).
Upper Peninsula
Ishpeming Westwood (1-0) at Iron Mountain (1-0)
This also will have an early but heavy influence on a league title race, as Westwood finished second and Iron Mountain third in the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference Copper in 2018 after Westwood won their meeting 34-7. The winner this time very well could push reigning champion Calumet for first place again, and the Patriots get the Copper Kings next week.
Keep an eye on these as well: FRIDAY Calumet (1-0) at Negaunee (0-1), Gaylord (1-0) at Gladstone (1-0), Traverse City Central (0-1) at Marquette (0-1) SATURDAY Ishpeming (1-0) at Lake Linden-Hubbell (1-0).
West Michigan
Lowell (1-0) at Rockford (1-0)
Last season's 36-0 Rockford win contributed to Lowell's uncharacteristic 1-8 finish, but it's likely this game will return to relevancy tonight. The Red Arrows opened with a 19-6 win over Detroit Loyola and the Rams started with a 24-14 victory over Grand Rapids Christian, those successes quickly reinforcing expectations for this season for both traditional powerhouses.
Keep an eye on these as well: FRIDAY Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (1-0) at Holland West Ottawa (0-1), Watervliet (0-1) at Saugatuck (1-0), Grand Rapids Christian (0-1) at Zeeland West (1-0), Holt (1-0) at Hudsonville (1-0).
8-Player
St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic (1-0) at Bridgman (1-0)
As a number of notable programs have moved from 11-player to 8 over the last few seasons, curiosity has grown about how those teams might shift the balance of power. Both of these teams made the move this fall (Lake Michigan Catholic had played a handful of 8-player games previously), and both put up at least 56 points in big wins last week. Both also have been frequent 11-player playoff qualifiers this decade.
Keep an eye on these as well: FRIDAY Hale (1-0) at Hillman (1-0), Pickford (1-0) at Engadine (1-0), Powers North Central (1-0) at Rapid River (0-1), Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (0-1) at Martin (1-0).
Second Half’s weekly “Drive for Detroit” previews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter@mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Clare, here on defense, opened with an impressive 35-0 shutout of Alma last week. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)