ROCKFORD ATHLETICS I HOME OF THE RAMS

By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio Photo courtesy of Miles Postema Rockford has struggled with inconsistency over the first four weeks of the 2026 football season. They have alternated games with multiple turnovers and penalties followed by games where everything is clicking and easing their way to victories. Well, that streak is over as Rockford scored early and often on their way to a 49-12 triumph over the Buccaneers of Grand Haven before a huge turnout at Carlson-Munger Stadium on Homecoming Night. The Rams scored four times on rushing plays and three times via the pass as they put their entire arsenal on display to overwhelm the Buccaneers. The Rams scored four touchdowns of at least 49 yards divided equally between the run and the pass. Touchdown runs of 70 and 52 yards were supported by twin touchdown passes of 49 yards and enabled Rockford to put the running clock into effect for a large portion of the final quarter. “Our mission this week was becoming a more consistent team,” said Rockford Head Coach Brent Cummings. “We felt like we had to have a great week of practice and show that we’re a team that can keep getting better each week rather than being up and down. But even though it was still a pretty solid night from top to bottom, we still have some things we can continue to work on. We need to see consistent play at quarterback and that is a fun challenge. Next week we will have Trey (Currie) back and he will battle Casen (Whitford) and those two will push each other and help elevate their play.” After suffering an interception on their first pass of the night, it was pretty smooth sailing for Rockford for the duration of the contest. After the defense forced a missed field goal following the interception, the Rams marched 80 yards to take an early lead they would never relinquish. Sophomore running back Trenton Gibbons broke the ice for Rockford with a 52-yard burst over the left side that gave Rockford a 7-0 lead at the 8:35 mark of the opening quarter after the Connor Vanos extra point. Vanos would finish the night a perfect 6-6 on PATs with Houston Campos adding the final PAT. Gibbons added to the Rockford lead with a one-yard plunge at the 1:40 point of the opening quarter to make it a 14-0 game. Grand Haven would miss their second field goal attempt in the second quarter to set the stage for the final Ram TD of the opening half. This time it was junior wide receiver Jack Cummings who exhibited another facet of his game that extended the Ram led to 21-0. Facing a third and nine form the Buc 49, Cummings took a handoff in a jet sweep to the left. After sucking in the Buc defenders, he pulled up and fired a pass downfield to a wide-open Owen Holt for a TD that made it a 21-0 game at the break. Cummings has shown off his varied skill set on multiple occasions for the Rams over the last two weeks. The talented jack of all trades has been a weapon for the Rams as a receiver, runner, return man and passer. Cummings also had a 73-yard TD run called back over the course of this contest. Rockford continued the onslaught in the second half. First up was a six-yard scoring pass from Whitford to senior Drew Ferwerda in the right side of the end zone to make it a 28-0 game with 8:18 left in the third quarter. After forcing a quick Buccaneer punt, the Rams took exactly one play to set the running clock in motion. Holt did the honors again from 49 yards out as Whitford found him wide open over the middle with the scoring pass. That made it a 35-0 game with 6:23 left in the third quarter. The Bucs stopped the running clock temporarily on the next possession with a 34-yard scoring strike of their own to make it a 35-6 game. Jack Manata recovered a Buccaneer fumble at the Grand Haven 34 to set up the next Ram score. A 29-yard run by Aidon Thompson-Boughner put the Rams at the Grand Haven five. Junior running back Hudson Stump put the running clock back in motion with a two-yard dive that made it a 42-6 game with 6:18 left in the contest. But it was quickly turned back off when the ensuing kickoff was returned by Grand Haven for a touchdown to make it a 42-12 game. But the Rams turned it back on for the duration of the contest on their next possession. Junior wide receiver Breckan Long took a jet sweep handoff over the right side and sped up the sidelines. Long was never close to being stopped as he raced down the sidelines for the 70-yard TD. That made it a 49-12 game and the clock quickly ran out on the contest. Rockford improved to 3-2 on the season and 2-1 in OK Red play. With the loss, the Bucs fell to 2-3 and 0-3 in conference play. “I thought our offensive and defensive lines both played very well tonight,” said Cummings. “We have always felt that the offensive line should be one of our strengths and they did their part tonight. We were able to move the ball both on the ground and through the air and that makes calling plays much easier. We were also pleased that we were able to stuff the ground game tonight on the defensive side. We have given up some chunk plays in the middle but the kids did a much better job shutting that down tonight. The line, linebackers and secondary all did their part tonight to keep a pretty good Grand Haven offense in check. We were just pretty pleased as a whole with the play of the team tonight.” Next week the stage is now set for what should be a great game in OK Red play. Rockford again takes to the road and visits East Kentwood on Friday, October 2 at 7:00 P.M. With a win the Rams would be right back in the thick of things in the OK Red.