HUDSONVILLE, Mich. -- Hudsonville is getting set to take on Brighton in the regional final on Friday evening. A big reason why the Eagles are still playing has been their offense, helped by quarterbacks coach Kyle Short. The Rockford and Grand Valley alum is in his second season coaching quarterbacks for Hudsonville, Short's arch rival in high school.
"It was weird," Short laughed, "year two going over to Rockford and to the Ted, seeing the coaches and fans, a lot of heckles from the student section yelling traitor and all that good stuff."
The Eagles have two quarterbacks they trust in senior Brennan Hayes and sophomore Ike Irish, who has broken out this season and Short is a big reason why.
"Kyle has done a great job with our quarterbacks," head coach Brent Sandee said. "In the offseason, he takes Brennan and Ike and our JV quarterbacks and works with them, they've grown leaps and bounds."
For Irish, having a former All-OK Red quarterback to turn to for guidance is a valuable asset.
"He's helped me understand coverages and what the defense is going to give us on certain plays," Irish explained, "after drives, we look over our plays and see how we can beat the defense."
Short is a teacher in the Hudsonville school district but says his second year has gone much more smooth now that his feet are underneath him. This season, he's been able to focus a lot more on having an impact on the field.
"My big focus the past couple of weeks is not turning the ball over from the quarterback position," Short said, "because that's been a down fall."
As for his future around the program and district, he doesn't plan on going anywhere and is fine with the jokes from those in Rockford.
"I love Hudsonville, love being with Coach Sandee, he's an awesome guy and I learn a lot from him. I don't have future jobs of going elsewhere or even looking at the head coaching job, I just love being a position coach and coaching quarterbacks here."
