ROCKFORD ATHLETICS I HOME OF THE RAMS

By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio Photo courtesy of Miles Postema The 2026 football campaign began for Rockford with a trip to Saline on Friday, August 28. The Hornets featured a roster of multiple Division 1 recruits and multiple returning starters and it was a common thought that the Rams would need to play a clean game to be competitive against the highly ranked Hornets. Unfortunately for the Rams a clean game was not in the cards as Saline took advantage of multiple turnovers and missed assignments by Rockford to cruise to a 39-12 win over the Rams. The game began with the two teams trading possessions where they both turned the ball over on downs deep in the opposition squad’s territory. But on the second possession for the Hornets, they marched 60 yards in 11 plays to take a 6-0 lead. The scoring play was a 21-yard slant pass over the middle to a wide-open receiver that made it a 6-0 game on the first play of the second quarter. The resultant extra point was pushed wide right and it was a 6-0 game at that point. Rockford put the next points on the board after forcing Saline to line up for a punt on their next possession. The snap sailed well over the punter’s head and out of the back of the end zone to make it a 6-2 game with 7:19 left in the half. After receiving the free kick, the Rams marched smartly down to the Saline 16 before settling for a 33-yard field goal attempt from Connor Vanos. Vanos split the uprights to make it a 6-5 game with 5:01 left in the opening half. But it was at that juncture that the Hornets ground attack started absolutely punishing the Ram defense. Three runs of double-digit yards from the Hornets moved them inside the Rockford five. To Rockford’s credit they made Saline work for the score, but a fourth down quarterback keeper just made it into the end zone to make it a 13-5 contest with just 1:32 left in the first half. The thought was that maybe would try to run the clock down in the half but a fumble on the first snap following the TD gave the Hornets the ball back at the Rockford 28 immediately. They wasted no time capitalizing on the turnover on a 20-yard TD pass to make it 20-5 with 58.9 seconds to play. The thought again was that maybe the Rams would wait for the second half to mount a comeback but the Rams struck for their only TD of the night on this possession. Junior quarterback Casen Whitford fired a deep pass to the left side of the end zone that senior wide receiver Jack Henkel reeled in to make it a 20-12 game at the half and inject life into the Ram hopes. Rockford appeared as if they were poised to have an opportunity to knot the game up with a two-point conversion after the teams traded turnovers to start the second half. Whitford connected with Owen Holt for the TD, but a holding penalty negated the play and Rockford turned the ball back over on downs. It was all Saline from that point forward as big play after big play torched a dispirited Rockford defense. First up was a 37-yard TD pass to make it 26-12. Then, after Rockford had marched the ball to the Hornet 32 before turning it over on downs, Saline went 68 yards on a dive play for a score that made it a 32-12 contest still in the third quarter. That was immediately followed by an interception from the Rams that gave Saline the ball at the Ram 31. The same dive play from Saline on the next play again resulted in an untouched sprint to the end zone for a score and it was a 39-12 game. The final quarter saw the Rams getting repeatedly into Saline territory but coming up empty. The Hornets were just trying to run out the clock and the game ended at the 39-12 final. It was a pretty disappointing night for the Rams to kick off the season to say the least. But Rockford fell to Saline in the opener last year as well before running off eight wins in their next nine games. The Rams return to action next week Friday, September 4th with the home opener against Muskegon. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 P.M. at Carlson Munger Stadium.