The Coopersville Broncos, Cedar Springs Red Hawks and Lowell Red Arrows all entered Week 9 with an opportunity to capture the inaugural River Cities Alliance championship. Cedar Springs and Coopersville would battle it out in the regular season finale, providing the fans a thrilling affair. In the end, Coopersville secured a 35-21 win, delivering the school the RCA title.
Early in this game, Coopersville set the tone. They scored on their opening drive, a march that was capped off by Beau Harris‘ 4-yard run. On their next drive, the Broncos doubled their lead when Harris found Jayden Timmons on a 39-yard touchdown strike.
Cedar Springs would finally score in the closing seconds of the first quarter. Noah Mallory powered across the goal line from three yards out, leaving the Red Hawks behind 14-7.
In the second quarter, Coopersville continued their offensive attack to pull away from their foes. Beau Harris used his legs on two occasions to race past oncoming Red Hawks on his way to the end zone. His first touchdown run of the frame came on a 44-yard carry, while the second was an 11-yard jaunt. This allowed the Broncos to take a 28-7 advantage to the break.
Coopersville scored the lone third quarter touchdown, this time leaving the running to Isaac Lemieux. The tailback broke free on an 18-yard carry that crossed the goal line.
Trailing by four scores, Cedar Springs needed to act quickly in the fourth quarter. Spencer Schoeborn gave the Red Hawks their first touchdown on a short 4-yard carry. After recording a defensive stop, Kaiden Dreyer found the end zone to trim the deficit to 14 points. Unfortunately, with 2:33 to play, there would not be enough time for Cedar Springs to make up that gap.
Beau Harris was the star for Coopersville, completing 10/14 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown. He added 118 rushing yards and three scores on 24 carries. Isaac Lemieux joined him in the century club with 110 rushing yards on 18 carries.
In defeat, Cedar Springs still rushed for 247 yards. Noah Mallory paced the group with exactly 100 rushing yards on 14 carries.
Coopersville finishes the regular season 6-3, and the Broncos will make their 5th straight trip to the playoffs. Ed Kaman’s crew captured the school’s first conference title since 2004, when their team won the OK Blue.
Cedar Springs, now 7-2, will return to the postseason after an absence in 2023. That was the first time the Red Hawks had failed to qualify for the playoffs since 2016.
