ROCKFORD ATHLETICS I HOME OF THE RAMS

By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio Photo courtesy of Miles Postema Rockford squared off with West Ottawa at Carlson-Munger Stadium in Rockford on Friday, October 24 in the 2025 football regular season ending contest. The weather was somewhat on the crisp side but Rockford was the polar opposite as they came out on fire on both sides of the ball while putting up 21 points in both the first and second quarters well as scoring on the first play from scrimmage in the second half to build a 49-0 lead. At that point Rockford head coach Brent Cummings substituted liberally and the Panthers scored 15 points in the final quarter to make things seem a touch less one-sided in a 49-15 Rockford triumph. “It doesn’t matter who we play at this point right here, we are going to the playoffs and we just wanted to give a great effort and go into the post season with momentum,” said Cummings. “It was critically important to not focus on who was next on the schedule, just to go out and do a good job of it against a West Ottawa team that is much better than their record. We came out with great energy on both sides of the ball and wanted to establish control from the start and that is exactly what we did.” On their first seven possessions of the game, Rockford scored a touchdown on each and every one of them. The scores came in myriad ways as the Rams combined punishing efficiency with a touch of trickery on the way to the big lead. There was even one sequence where Ryan Kerry broke lose on a 90-yard run only to have it called back on offsetting penalties on both teams. That pushed the Rams back to the Panther 2-yard line and caused not even a blip as seven plays later Sam Cummings scored his first touchdown of the year for the Rams on a one-yard plunge. “Football is a tough game, but it is a game where you want to enjoy it and have some fun,” said Coach Cummings. “We really just wanted to let the kids be the players they can be and show that they can make those plays. So we trusted them to do it and tonight they executed those plays.” Big plays from scrimmage were coming at a fast pace for the Ram offense. Combined with a stifling defense, it made for a long night for the Panthers. On Rockford’s first possession senior quarterback Brayden Daniels fired a 48-yard touchdown strike to senior wide receiver Jax Eichbauer. Eichbauer caught the ball on the right side and juked his way into the end zone to make it a 7-0 game at the 9:38 mark of the opening quarter. Dawson Hoekert added the first of his seven successful PATs to make it 7-0. The next Ram possession saw senior Luke Ahern run the ball for three yards from the wildcat formation as he has done on every play he has been the Ram QB this season. The next play, Ahern rolled right and fired a short pass to Kerry in the flat catching West Ottawa completely off guard. Kerry made a nice catch on the low pass and rumbled 36 yards for the second Ram TD of the game. The next Rockford possession featured a continuation of the gadget plays on the first snap. Rockford ran a double reverse that saw the ball end up in Daniel’s hands and he fired a deep pass to Drew Ferwerda that the junior snagged before being brought down at the West Ottawa two. Hayden Peoples took it in form a yard out two plays later to make it 21-0 at the end of the first quarter. The second stanza was pretty much the same as the first for both teams. Sam Cummings TD made it a 28-0 game on the first possession of the quarter for Rockford. West Ottawa made their only offensive threat of the first half on the next possession. But the Rams turned them away after getting to the Rockford two on a sack from Ahern. Daniels and Eichbauer hooked up for their second TD of the contest on the next Ram possession. This one was a beauty as Daniels fired a deep pass to Eichbauer that he hauled in before beginning to weave his way through traffic for a 63-yard TD to make it 35-0. That looked as if it may end the scoring for the half, but a nice punt return from Ahern set the Rams up at the Panther 22 with less than 30 seconds to play in the half. After getting to the West Ottawa seven with three seconds remaining, Daniels scrambled right and broke the plane to make it a 42-0 contest and ensure the running clock would have a little cushion in the second half. The Rams lined up to run the first play of the second half but committed an infraction to set them back to their own 22. Peoples then took a handoff and swept left before cutting back late in the run for a 78-yard TD that made it a 49-0 game. That score set the turnstiles in motion for Rockford as they substituted liberally and often over the balance of the game. The two fourth-quarter Panther scores made it a 49-15 final. “Our defense is getting better and better by the week and what a great time to do that with the playoffs coming up next week,” said Cummings. “Now we will just sit back and watch the selection show to see what happens and who our next opponent will be.” The win moved Rockford to 7-2 on the season and 6-1 in the OK Red. They finished a game behind Hudsonville for second place after the Eagles eked out a 28-25 win over Grandville. Rockford will almost certainly be hosting a playoff game next week but it is anyone’s guess as to who their next opponent will be. The first game of the playoffs has almost always been a 7:00 P.M. contest on Friday but it will not be announced for sure until the MHSAA selection show on Sunday.