ROCKFORD ATHLETICS I HOME OF THE RAMS

By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio Photo courtesy of Miles Postema Rockford and Hudsonville squared off at Carlson-Munger Stadium in Rockford on Friday, October 3 before a capacity crowd that was hanging from every nook and cranny the stadium had available. It was a highly anticipated showdown between two teams highly ranked in Division 1 football in Michigan. The winner of the contest would be squarely in the driver’s seat for the OK Red crown and accumulate massive playoff points in an effort to procure home field for as long as possible when the MHSAA playoffs commenced. The game began as if the visiting Eagles were going to trounce Rockford in a way that happens extremely rarely to a Ram team accustomed to success before a thoroughly ramped up Homecoming crowd. Hudsonville did pretty much everything they wanted to both offensively and defensively in the first half as they took a 28-0 lead into the locker room at the break. Nothing was working for Rockford and the threat of a running clock was plainly in the thoughts of all in attendance. But in an incredible turnaround in the second half, Rockford scored the first 21 points to make it a 28-21 contest and they appeared on the verge of at least tying things up as the kickoff after the third Ram score was taken out of bounds at the Eagle one by the Hudsonville deep man. But the Eagles put together a 99-yard drive to take a 35-21 lead following a circus catch in the back of the end zone with 5:27 to play, The Rams quickly answered with their fourth TD of the half on an acrobatic 15-yard pass from Braylen Daniels to Jax Eichbauer. Eichbauer somehow reached around and through the Eagle defender to make it a 35-28 game with 3:27 to play. But following a failed onside kick, The Eagles got a first down and proceeded to run out the clock to claim the 35-28 victory. “We wanted a response at halftime down 28 to nothing and to come out and have a shot at the end,” said Rockford Head coach Brent Cummings. “That is the one thing we are going to put our focus on now and then come back tomorrow and get back to work. I think Braylen’s mobility was affected from his injury a few weeks back and that was a factor in our inability to really establish a lot on the ground today. But he is a tough kid who gave it his all and we really appreciate him leading that comeback. We got everything we wanted in the second half as far as having a shot. And you have to give Hudsonville a ton of credit for how they came out of the gate. There quarterback is very elusive and they have several receivers who can make plays as we saw tonight with some of their catches. I was very proud of the ability of our players not to give up after the first half and give a very good Hudsonville team everything they could handle.” The Eagles had five possessions in the first half and scored touchdowns on four of them. The only time they were stopped was when they went for it on fourth down and goal from the Rockford three. The Rams hit the quarterback in the backfield on the play and kept it at a 7-0 deficit at that juncture. But Rockford had no answers over the balance of the half as the Eagles went up and down the field to the tune of 282 first half yards. They also absolutely stuffed Rockford on nearly every run and pass that the Rams tried. But Rockford is a proud program and the second half was a totally different script. Eichbauer ran the second half kickoff all te way back to the Hudsonville 26 to set the stage for the first Ram TD. Luke Ahern did the honors for Rockford from 3 yards out and it was a 28-7 game with 9:22 left in the third quarter. Rockford seemed to solve their inability to corral the Hudsonville quarterback on his scrambles and forced multiple Eagle punts to give themselves a chance. Daniels hooked up with junior wide receiver Owen Holt on a 48-yard bomb to make it a 28-14 game with 1;08 to play in the third quarter. After Rockford forced their third consecutive punt to open the second half, Daniels continued to have great success through the air as he connected on passes of 24 and 37 yards to set the stage for Ahern’s second TD from a yard out to make it a 28-21 contest with 8:51 still to play in the game. The crowd was in full throat at that point when Hudsonville was forced to begin their next drive at their own one. But 99 yards and a leaping one-handed catch later it was a 35-21 game with 5:27 to play. Daniels and Eichbauer connected for the quick response TD but the Eagles were able to run out the clock and claim the huge victory. Hudsonville moved to 6-0 with the win and 4-0 in OK Red play. The Rams fell to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play with the loss. The schedule now gets decidedly easier for Rockford as they finish the regular season with three games against teams in the bottom half of the standings. The Rams will travel to Jenison for their final road game of the regular season at 7:00 P.M. on Friday October 10. They will then close out the regular season with home games against West Ottawa and Caledonia on the following two Fridays.