By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio
Photo courtesy of Miles Postema
Rockford has gotten off to a solid start with a pair of wins over powerhouse programs Detroit Cass Tech (30-23) and Muskegon (28-21). On the other hand, Grandville has started out 0-2 in one of the most misleading statistics in Michigan high school football in 2024. Those two losses came to a traditional power from Ohio in Pickerington North (53-51) and another Michigan heavyweight in Davison (41-37). Grandville held leads in both games with under a minute to go and failed to get a crucial stop twice while falling just short on both occasions.
Rockford defeated the Bulldogs twice last year by scores of 34-13 in the regular season and 49-28 in the playoffs. The Rams have won seven consecutive meetings and lead the all time series by the count of 48 to 31 in this lengthy rivalry. The Bulldogs are led by Eric Stiegel who is entering his eleventh season at the helm. They also brought in a new defensive coordinator in former Rockford star KC Zenner.
The star performer for the Bulldogs is junior running back Jayden “Tank” Terry. Terry was a first team all stater as a sophomore and is a threat to take it the distance every time he gets his hands on the ball with a rare combination of speed and power. He also has already accumulated six Division 1 offers with more almost certainly to come. But the cupboard is far from bare in the skill position category for Grandville as Terry will be joined in the backfield by Easton Suidinski and new quarterback Ethan Newville. Newville is a three-year starter on the defensive side of the ball who has made the transition to offense as well this year. Jay Weiss, Carson Kubczak and Daniel Wylie return on the line for the patented Power “T” attack of the Dawgs. Garrett Nawrocki and Gibby Connelly (GVSU commit) also saw considerable time at the tight end position last year.
The strength on the defensive side of the ball is the linebacking corps where Reid Graverson is joined by juniors Braylen Henry and Nawrocki as returning starters. Suidinski is joined in the secondary by Josh Crater and Miguel Rojas as returning starters. Rojas is also featured as an extremely dangerous return man for the Bulldogs.
Kickofff is slated for 7:00 P.M. on Friday, September 13 at Carlson-Munger Stadium in Rockford. The weather looks promising and the crowd is sure to be large so plan accordingly as the two teams kick off OK Red play with one of the most highly anticipated matchups in league play annually.
