By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio
Photo courtesy of Miles Postema
After falling short against a strong Hudsonvillle squad two weeks ago and then suffering a surprising loss to Jenison last week, the Rockford football team was confronted with a trip to Caledonia to take on a very good Fighting Scot team that entered the contest with a 4-1 mark. Senior safety/running back Isaac Poot set the tone early for the Rams as he took the handoff on the opening play from scrimmage for the Rams at their own 10-yard line. Poot squirted through the line , made a nice cut and broke a tackle at the 25 before racing past the entire Caledonia defense for a 90-yard TD that let the fans know that the Rams had come to play from the get go.
Coupled with a blocked punt by sophomore linebacker Wyatt Colson that was recovered in the end zone by Corbin Starkey and a blocked field goal that was returned 65 yards by junior safety Luke Ahern that eventually resulted in another TD and the Rams built a 34-7 lead that was only narrowed when the Fighting Scots scored a meaningless late TD that made the score a little more respectable. Poot amassed 191 yards and ran for three touchdowns to spark the Ram offense.
“I am proud of an incredible week of practice, you know last week didn’t turn out the way that we wanted it to but they did a great job of digging deeper and listening to the coaches and coming together as a team,” said Rockford Coach Brent Cummings. “I thought the defense was phenomenal and we had a few turnovers that are things we can learn from and I think to be honest the last two weeks were great practices and they were ready for tonight. They truly are into the take it one day at a time mode and our kids really get after it in practice. They take hard coaching and they listen and I am really proud of our coaches for believing in our program and rallying together while putting together a nice game plan and have these kids ready on both “O” and “D” to get a nice win.”
Rockford allowed some yardage between the 20s to a vaunted Caledonia passing attack but stiffened tremendously at nearly every turn when the ball got into the red zone. The Fighting Scots were frustrated time after time and the only thing keeping the game close was a pair of interceptions and a fumble by the Rams that kept them from putting the game into an insurmountable lead for the Rams. But the Rams stood firm defensively and refused to yield any trips to the end zone until late in the opening half.
Ahern’s return set the stage for Poot’s second touchdown as he was met by a solid hit at the Caledonia one but shrugged it off and walked into the end zone. The Rams did miss the point after to make it a 13-0 Rockford lead. Caledonia finally got on the board late in the first half with a 12-yard TD pass following the third Rockford turnover to make it a 13-7 game with only 25 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
The second half would prove to more indicative of the control of the game Rockford had established. Avoiding the costly turnovers committed by the Rams in the opening 24 minutes, stifling defense and a punishing ground game was the formula the Rams adhered to build a 34-7 lead. Tommy Becker ripped off several nice runs to set up the next Ram TD. Poot did the honors again as he waltzed untouched into the end zone from the Caledonia four to make it a 20-7 Rockford lead with 2:13 to play in the third quarter. The Ram defense really ratcheted up the pressure on the next Caledonia possession as Thatcher Wilson garnered one of his three sacks in the game to force a Fighting Scot punt from inside their own 10-yard line. Colson and Starkey teamed up for the blocked punt at that juncture and it was a 27-7 contest with 1:14 left in the third. Becker added his own rushing TD with 7:10 left in the game to make it a 34-7 contest and send the home crowd scurrying for the exits.
“Isaac (Poot) kick started us early with a big play and that is what he can do,” said Cummings. “He is a special player and he works really hard and leads by example. Isaac means a lot to this team and the players trust him. It was great the way we came out in the second half and the kids kept their focus and went one play at a time just like we talked about all week. They had a short memory and kept their focus and we were able to play how we practiced and you saw the results. The special teams have a lot of competition to get on those squads and the kids made some plays tonight that really made it difficult for our opponents tonight. The offensive line really took charge tonight and that makes it fun when you find things that work and the other team really just can’t stop it. So it was just a great job by that crew tonight.”
The Rams now stand at 4-2 on the season and 2-2 in OK Red play. They will be on the road again next week when they travel to West Ottawa to take on the Panthers on Friday, October 11 at 7:00 P.M.
