The Michigan state high school playoffs are soon upon us and fans and observers got a nice little preview Wednesday when Grandville and Rockford met in league play.

Both teams came into the game undefeated, with several lopsided wins under their belts. And in a tough, closely-contested game between two, Grandville prevailed 15-12.

Grandville ran out to an early lead thanks to a try and a penalty.

“We got off to a slow start,” said Rockford Coach Andrew McKenzie. “I think we underestimated them a bit.”

Rockford came back with two tries to lead 12-10.

Then in the last minute No. 8 Avery O’Brian went over for Grandville to win it.

“It felt like we played the championship match that night,” said Grandville Coach Tom Feeney. “We did make some mistakes but it was comp lee defense by both teams. They have a very aggressive and tough forward pack, and we have very elusive backs, so it was a good matchup.”

The game was played in front of a strong crowd, and this could well be the matchup for the state title in two weeks. The schools are natural rivals in many sports as both are in the Grand Rapids area.

Along with O’Brian, Grandville got big games from center Luke Ensing, who helped shut down the Rockford backline attack, and fullback Alen Atwater.

For Rockford, their senior-heavy squad is already itching for another shot at Grandville.

“We’ve got quite a bit of talent and good structure, and we’ve managed to control most of the games we play,” said McKenzie. “We have a good structure installed, but we had come off a couple of games where we won by a lot so I don’t know if we took this lightly or not.”

Center Anthony Marquez continues to be a solid attacker for Rockford, and flyhalf Drew Schwandt is a snappy decision-maker and tough runner to bring down. Up front, their front row of Andrews Quist, Nick Riggs, and Jackson Ammon are all powerful players who can move around the park.

The two teams now go into the quarterfinals as the #1 and #2, with the semis also played this weekend. Then in two weeks, the winners face off for the title at West Ottawa HS.