By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio
Photo by Miles Postema
Rockford faced a crossroads at the half while facing a 12-10 deficit against Grandville that was exacerbated by an injury to defensive stalwart Kade Friesen in the middle of the second quarter. Friesen would ultimately not return to play and the Bulldogs were going to receive the second half kickoff as they looked to build on a 12-point run that saw them erase a quick 10-0 Rockford lead. But rather than wilting under the pressure of a potentially extremely difficult situation the Rams produced the finest half of football they have played in a season that is now only three weeks old. Rockford scored three touchdowns in the third quarter and added a final TD in the fourth while scoring on every single possession in the second half. Combined with a defensive effort that allowed only a single first down on the first two possessions of the second half, Rockford eventually emerged with a 37-20 win over a talented squad from Grandville.
“Our senior leadership stepped up big time after we came out from the locker room with a positive message from them,” said Rockford Coach Brent Cummings. ” We love that we have a player led team. That was what we talked about at the end of the game. They came out, they rallied and knew that they needed to trust each other. Everyone knew that they had to focus on their job and that comes from the players. We were excited that they were able to overcome that adversity and we came out with a ton of energy in the second half.”
Rockford took the opening kickoff and wasted no time in taking an early lead. Marching 70 yards in eleven plays the drive culminated in a seven-yard jet sweep left from senior wide receiver Michael DeKuiper to give the Rams a 7-0 edge at the 8:31 point of the opening quarter following the first of four successful conversions from Jack Ahonen. Friesen then forced a Grandville fumble following a big hit on their opening drive. Braylon Ray recovered for the Rams and they began their march to another score. This drive came up just short of the end zone however an Ahonen came on to boot a 21-yard field goal that made it a 10-0 game with 2:51 left in the opening quarter.
It appeared as if the Rams could be headed towards a very successful night at that juncture but the Grandville power “T” offense and a suddenly stout Dawg defense had other ideas. The first salvo from Grandville came in the form of an 18-play drive that covered 85 yards and resulted in a very unlikely TD pass. Facing a third and goal at the Rockford one, an errant snap eluded the Bulldog QB who scrambled to pick it up. Facing heavy pressure, he heaved a pass to the back corner of the end zone that was somehow reeled in to make it a 10-6 contest following a missed PAT. The Rams quickly went three and out on incomplete passes and a suddenly confident Grandville offense mounted another drive to take the lead and inject a huge boost of momentum to the visitors. This possession culminated in a 19-yard jaunt up the left side that gave Grandville a 12-10 lead with just under two minutes remaining in the half.
The Rams mounted a drive of their own and reached the Grandville 13 before turning the ball over on downs. A jubilant Bulldog team headed to the locker room full of confidence and smelled an upset of the second-ranked team in the state.
“Offensively we knew that we were pressing a little bit in the second quarter,” said Cummings. “That offense that Grandville runs kind of gets you out of your rhythm a little bit and we just had to take a deep breath and we knew we just had to refocus and execute much better and that is exactly what we did. Our receivers ran and blocked well and our line is just getting better every day. And when you have (Isaac) Poot on your team it is a great advantage for us. He is a special player who just does so many things well and he came up big for us in the second half.”
The Ram defense turned the relentless Bulldog offense aside following the second half kickoff and Poot appeared to have given the Rams the quick return to the lead as he returned the resultant punt for an apparent score. But a block in the back call on the Rams forced them to start at the Grandville 21. Unfazed, Poot immediately took the handoff on the opening play and scooted 21 yards around the right side to make it a 17-12 Ram lead with 11:22 remaining in the third quarter. Another quick Dawg punt later the Rams began their next drive at their own 31. This drive was capped off by a three-yard shuffle pass from Braylon Daniels to DeKuiper that saw him stretch the ball just over the goal line for the score. This time the PAT clanked off the right upright and the score stood at 23-12 Rockford. Another short Grandville possession gave the ball back to Rockford at their own 10 to begin their next scoring drive. This drive featured a 38-yard pas from Daniels to Poot and that was immediately followed by a 48-yard pass from Daniels to Jax Eichbauer. Daniels did the honors this time on a 7-yard scamper to make it a 30-12 Ram lead with 1:56 left in the third quarter.
Grandville responded with a TD and two-point conversion of their own to give them a glimmer of hope at 30-20 with just over ten minutes left in the game. But Poot (and the Rams) refused to take their foot off the gas and closed things out in spectacular fashion. The final Ram scoring drive saw Poot run for 21 yards, run for 16 more and complete a halfback option pass to Lucas Pitsch that set the Rams up at the Grandville one. Madden Warner finished the drive off for the Rams with a one-yard dive and that made it a 37-20 Rockford win in the end.
“Even though they don’t have a win yet, Grandville is a very good football team,” said Cummings. “They execute their offense so well and they play hard all game long. This was a very good win for us and we are very happy to be 3-0 after playing three excellent teams to start the season. And things will not get any easier when we head to Hudsonville next week.”
Rockford will make their first trip on the road next week when they make the trek to Hudsonville on Friday, September 20. The Eagles are 2-1 with a win over a highly rated East Lansing squad and a narrow 20-17 loss to an undefeated Howell team. Kickoff is slated for 7:0
