Portland Football finishes regular season 9-0 with win over Whitehall

The Raiders made the long trek to Whitehall on Friday night to finish their regular season schedule with a contest with the Vikings.  The Raiders picked up a convincing 35-0 win to finish their regular season with a perfect 9-0 record.

The Portland offense used a nice mix of passing and rushing to keep the Viking defense on their toes.  The Raider receivers tallied a total of 204 receiving yards with four touchdowns, while the ground game totaled 124 yards and one touchdown. 

Portland senior running back Nolan Zbytowski had two catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns in addition to 13 rushing attempts for 57 yards and one rushing touchdown.  Senior receiver Brady Rowe had five catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns.  Senior running back Kayden Dickerson had seven carries for 39 yards rushing.  Senior quarterback Ethan Cassel finished eight for nine passing. 

Whitehall picked up their only points of the game when senior quarterback Cole Essebaggers connected with senior receiver Corde Anderson for a 32-yard touchdown pass. 

At the end of the regular season, Portland has outscored its opponents 341 to 45, with the Raider defense securing two shut outs and keeping each opponent to 12 points or less.

This marks Portland’s third season in a row finishing the regular schedule 9-0. 

According to the MHSAA, here are the final win-loss records of the eight teams in the CAAC White.

Team W-L (Conference) W-L (Overall)

Portland 7-0 9-0

Olivet 6-1 8-1

Lansing Sexton 5-2 6-3

Charlotte 4-3 4-5

Lake Odessa Lakewood 3-4 4-5

Lansing Catholic 2-5 2-7

Eaton Rapids 1-6 1-8

Ionia 0-7 0-9

On Sunday during the MHSAA selection show, Portland found out they will host Grand Rapids South Christian in opening round playoff action.  The Sailors finished their regular season with a 4-5 record.  But don’t let the five losses make you think South Christian is a weak program.  Their losses came to some of West Michigan’s best football programs including East Grand Rapids (lost 21-0 on 9/5), Grand Rapids West Catholic (lost 27-20 on 9/12), Zeeland West (lost 12-6 on 9/19), Hudsonville Unity Christian (lost 42-14 on 10/17), and Grand Rapids Catholic Central (lost 24-17 on 10/24). 

The last time the Raiders and the Sailors met was in the semifinals of the 2023 season.  South Christian won that game 21-6 ending the Raiders title run.  The Sailors went on to lose to Harper Woods 33-27 in the state championship that year. 

The winner of the Portland vs. South Christian will advance to the district finals where they will face the winner of Battle Creek Harper Creek (8-1 overall) and Grand Rapids Christian (5-4 overall).