ROCKFORD ATHLETICS I HOME OF THE RAMS

By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio Photo courtesy of Miles Postema Rockford made the trip to East Kentwood on Friday, October 2 to take on another one of the top five teams in the state. After a season opening trip to Saline (also inside the top five) , the Rams looked forward to facing another powerhouse in the Falcons. The Rams had their chances to make it a much closer game but the overall team defense by the Falcons coupled with long bursts of yardage from senior wide receiver Stephan Jones proved to be insurmountable for Rockford in a 31-10 East Kentwood win. “We did some good things tonight, but anytime you go to the film there are some things that you have got to clean up and I think we will look back and realize that we had some chances tonight but just came up a little short against a very talented East Kentwood team,” said Rockford Head Coach Brent Cummings. “The kids are going to work really hard and we really believe in this team. There is a ton of fight in this team but they (East Kentwood) have some special players who came up big in key spots tonight. We just hope that we can get the chance to play them again in the playoffs.” The game began in somewhat of a stalemate on both sides as Rockford forced an East Kentwood punt on their opening possession. East Kentwood returned the favor and after a Ram punt, the Falcons were looking at a third down and five at their own 28. Taking a handoff on a jet sweep to the left ,Jones rocketed past the entire Ram defense up the sideline for a 72-yard TD that saw him go untouched for the early score and a 7-0 Falcon lead. That score seemed to stun Rockford and the Falcons were able to add another TD on their following possession to push the lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter. But the Rams showed their resilience and answered with a score of their own to make it a 14-7 game. The TD came on a beautifully thrown fade to the right side of the end zone from junior quarterback Casen Whitford to senior wide receiver Drew Ferwerda. Connor Vanos added the PAT to make it a 14-7 game with 3:51 left in the opening half. Rockford forced a quick Falcon punt to get the ball back near midfield and sensed a chance to knot things up at the half. But three plays netted no yardage and a short punt gave EK the ball at their own 36 with just over a minute left in the half. That proved to be just enough time for the Falcons to push the lead to 21-7 at the half. After a 31-yard run and another first down, it was Jones again who found the end zone. This time it was a 23-yard strike on a pass in the middle of the end zone with only nine seconds showing on the clock. Rockford received the second half kickoff and marched from their own 20 to the Falcon 7 before settling for a 25-yard field goal to make it a 21-10 game. The highlight of the drive was a 48-yard reverse pass from Whitford to Ferwerda that moved the ball to the Falcon 12. Ferwerda made a circus catch and dragged multiple Falcon defenders for an additional 15 yards. The Rams made another defensive stop after the field goal and moved into Falcon territory before being forced to punt the ball back. That produced a key moment in the game as East Kentwood took possession at their own nine and used 17 plays of their own before settling for a 46-yard field goal to make it a 24-10 contest early in the final quarter. After forcing the Falcons to settle for the FG, the Rams sensed another chance to get back within one score. But the only turnover of the night came on an interception by the Falcons at their own 28. East Kentwood added another TD with only 48 seconds remaining in the game to make it a 31-10 game. Bryce Miller ran the ensuing kickoff back to the Falcon 25 but the Rams were unable to make it into the end zone one final time. The Falcons remained perfect on the season with a record of 6-0 and 4-0 in OK Red play. The loss dropped Rockford to 3-3 and 2-2 in conference play. The next opponent for Rockford is their bitter rivals from Grandville at Carlson-Munger Stadium on Friday, October 9 at 7:00 P.M.