The Whiteford football community is mourning the passing of Conner Hoogendoorn, a multi-sport athlete who was part of a Bobcat football team in the mid 2010’s that propelled the program into an unprecedented era of success.

As a senior in 2016, Hoogendoorn led the Bobcats in tackles for loss (16), sacks (4), fumble recoveries (2) and blocked punts. On offense, he rushed for more than 1,000 yards, going over the milestone in the Division 8 state championship game at Ford Field.

One of the biggest moments in his football career was a memorable fourth-down play at Summerfield in the 2015 state playoffs.

That play – and the win over Summerfield – is detailed below in a story that appeared in The (Toledo) Blade:

Whiteford advances after defensive stand

DOUG DONNELLY | SPECIAL TO THE BLADE |OCT 31, 2015

PETERSBURG, Mich. — Whiteford’s Conner Hoogendoorn looked to the sidelines seconds before the biggest play of Friday’s Division 8 playoff football game against Summerfield and got the nod. He did the rest.

The outside linebacker blitzed and caught Summerfield quarterback Trent Schankin on fourth down, sacking him to sealing a 20-14 win. The Bobcats (8-2) advanced to the second round of Michigan’s playoffs and will play next week at Morenci (8-2).

“I was like, ‘Coach, can I go?’ He said, ‘Yeah,’ so I went,” Hoogendoorn said. “That was the first time all game. They had one receiver on that side, and I knew my corner was locked on him, so I wanted to go. I was ready.

“This is amazing getting revenge after we lost that first game against them. This is really special.”

Hoogendoorn, a junior, had eight tackles, the sack, and three tackles for loss in the win.

The Bobcats came from behind after trailing 8-0 and took a 20-8 lead on Josh Beck’s second touchdown of the game, coming with 3 minutes, 21 seconds left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs pulled within 20-14 early in the fourth on a Josh VanKainen four-yard run, and when Whiteford couldn’t get a first down with six minutes to go, the Bulldogs were back in business.

The drive started with a pass interference penalty on Whiteford, one of its six penalties. The Bulldogs reached the Whiteford 43 and faced a fourth-and-long when Hoogendoorn came up with his sack.

“That’s the kind of kid he is,” Whiteford coach Jason Mensing said. “Sometimes he isn’t exactly by the book, but he makes a lot of plays. I’m thankful he did on that one. That was a huge play.”

When Whiteford got the ball back, the Bobcats ground out the clock with Beck getting most of the carries and couple first downs. He rushed for 78 hard-fought yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns.

Jesse Kiefer led the Bobcats with 149 yards on 14 carries, including a 54-yard touchdown run to start the second half, giving Whiteford its first lead of the game.

Beck said the offensive line deserved credit: The Bobcats outgained the Bulldogs 300-225 in total yards.

“Our offensive line had the best night they’ve had all year,” Beck said. “I’ve never been so impressed by my offensive line. We wouldn’t have any yards if it wasn’t for them. All I had to do was put my head down and bull through.”

Beck had a fumble recovery, while Zach LaRoy and Herbie Bertz both had interceptions.

Summerfield (7-3) was led by VanKainen’s 46-yard rushing and 90 yards receiving.

“They are a good football team,” Summerfield coach Erik Johnson said. “We turned the ball over, which you can’t do against a team like that. It was a typical Whiteford-Summerfield game, very intense.”

The teams tied for second place in the Tri-County Conference and were playing each other in the playoffs for the first time.