ROCKFORD ATHLETICS I HOME OF THE RAMS

By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio Photo courtesy of Miles Postema The Rockford football team outplayed Hudsonville for nearly the entirety of the evening at Hudsonville on Friday, October 16. The Rams outgained the Eagles by 298 total yards to 133, while amassing 14 first downs and allowing only six. But in the end, it was Hudsonville (who came back from a 14-0 first quarter deficit) that emerged with the unlikely 17-14 win. A wheel route pass to the tail back from 33 yards out with only 2:13 to play gave Hudsonville the 17-14 lead and they survived a furious Rockford rally that saw them move the ball from their own 1-yard line to the Eagle nine with only four seconds to play. But a 26-yard Ram field goal attempt against a gale force wind ended up just wide to the left to give the home team the win. “That was a tough one, but you just have to tell the kids to stay the course and keep believing,” said Rockford Head Coach Brent Cummings. “There has been a ton of growth by this team and we need to keep practicing at a high level because there is a lot of football left to play. It is a big game next week (Jenison) to build some momentum and see where you end up in the playoffs This team has continued to get better every week and we just want to peak as a team when we learn who we are playing in the tournament.” The game was played all night long with a stiff breeze coming directly out of the north that made passing very problematic when headed that direction. Rockford had the wind at their backs in the opening quarter and took full advantage of that fact. After stuffing Hudsonville on a fourth down attempt from their own 29, Rockford took exactly one play to score the first points of the night. Continuing his strong showing last night, senior Wyatt Colson took the hand off from Trey Currie and sped untouched up the middle for the 29-yard touchdown. Connor Vanos added the first of his two extra points to give the Rams a 7-0 lead with 10:28 left in the first quarter. The teams then exchanged three consecutive punts before the Rams got on the board again. Bryce Miller made a nice punt return to the Eagle 20 after a short kick against the aforementioned wind. Four plays later, it was Colson again on a two-yard run to the left side that made it a 14-0 game with 5:23 still to play in the opening stanza. The Eagles were being stuffed at every turn and the Rams again got the ball back at the Hudsonville 28 following a five-yard punt against that wind. The Rams quickly marched to the Eagle three where they found themselves facing a fourth and goal. Eschewing the field goal, Rockford went for it before being turned away and the score remained 14-0. The contest then descended into a punting contest as the Ram defense continued their stalwart play and the Eagles made defensive adjustments that continually frustrated Rockford. But with :49 seconds left in the half, Hudsonville finally got on the board with a 45-yard field goal. The ball never got more than 12-feet off of the ground but somehow cleared the crossbar to make it a 14-3 game at the half. The Rams drove all of the way up the field to the Eagle 18, but ran out of time. The third quarter saw little progress being made by either team for the first several possessions. But that changed when Rockford went for a first down on a fourth down and two play from their own 47. The Rams were stuffed on the play and Hudsonville proceeded to mount their first TD drive of the contest. Benefitting from a controversial pass interference call against Rockford, Hudsonville scored on a two-yard run several plays later to make it a 14-10 game. The Rams got into Hudsonville territory on their next three possessions before coming up empty on every occasion. Rockford was forced to punt against that breeze late in the fourth quarter and the short punt gave Hudsonville the ball at the Ram 33. The first Eagle play from scrimmage at that point was the wheel route that gave them the 17-14 lead. The wind then forced a Ram muff on the ensuing kickoff that forced Rockford to start from their own one-yard line. Currie hooked up with receivers Drew Ferwerda, Owen Holt and Jack Henkel for multiple key receptions that moved them all the way to the Eagle nine. Ferwerda made a pair of clutch receptions up the sideline that gave the Rams key first downs as they traversed the field. But a third down pass from Currie to Holt fell just off of his fingers and the Rams opted to try a tying field goal at that juncture. But it went wide and it was an unlikely 17-14 Eagle win. Currie was 13-30 passing for 164 yards on a night that made an adventure out of every pass. Ferwerda had five catches for 82 yards to lead the receiving corps. Holt had 4 for 47 yards and Henkel chipped in with 27 on three catches. Trenton Gibbons led the Ram rushing attack with 72 yards on 13 carries while Colson had 54 on his 13 attempts. Colson also led the defense with 11 tackles and fellow linebacker Otto Packard had 7. Blake Daniels and Reed Dommenick chipped in with 6 and 5 respectively. The loss left Rockford at 4-4 on the season and 3-3 in the OK Red. Hudsonville now stands at 6-2 and 5-1 in league play. Rockford will close out the regular season with a home contest against Jenison on Friday, October 23 at Carlson-Munger Stadium at 7:00 P.M.