ROCKFORD ATHLETICS I HOME OF THE RAMS

By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio Photo courtesy of Miles Postema For the second consecutive week Rockford cruised to a comfortable victory over an OK Red opponent. This time it was the Fighting Scots of Caledonia who were the victims as the Rams eased their way to a 34-14 win that was a bit more one-sided than the final score would indicate. The Ram offense was efficient for a good portion of the contest, but the defense completely stifled the Caledonia running game and was stingy in defending the pass as well. “We wanted to show up and do the little things and get on the field and come with energy because you work so hard during the week and you want the kids to come out here and do their jobs,” said Rockford Coach Brent Cummings. “And I think that is exactly what happened tonight. We are going to continue to come out here on Monday and do the work required to be successful on Friday. I really was very impressed with the way our defensive line got after it from the start tonight. They were sharp and solid both against the run and the pass. Spencer Munson just played an incredible game tonight. He isn’t the biggest but he flies around and just makes plays. And Caden Leddy had just an incredible interception that set us up for a quick score too.” After stuffing Caledonia on their opening drive, Rockford wasted no time getting on the board. Starting at their own 43, the Rams used only five plays to get on the board. Senior quarterback Brayden Daniels did the honors on a 19-yard run over the left side that made it a 7-0 game at the 7:58 mark of the opening quarter. Dawson Hoekert added the PAT for the first of his four consecutive tries. Leddy then made the play of the game on the next Scot possession. In hot pursuit of the Caledonia QB on a pass rush, Leddy leapt to knock down the pass but somehow managed to reel in the pass attempt as if he was made of Velcro. Leddy not only somehow intercepted the pass but rumbled down to the Caledonia two to preface the next Ram score. Luke Ahern came out in the Wildcat formation and made it 14-0 on a two-yard jaunt with 5:50 left in the opening quarter. Hoekert added a 32-yard field goal in the second quarter to make it a 17-0 game. Caledonia struck lightning in a bottle for their only score of the opening half on a 58-yard TD pass that temporarily stemmed the Rockford momentum and made it a 17-7 contest while infusing their fans with a glimmer of hope. The score came with only 1:08 left in the opening half and it seemed as if the Rams probably would jus head to the locker room with that lead. But they had different thoughts as Daniels smartly led them down the field in only six plays using his legs and arm to set the stage. Facing a first down and goal at the Caledonia 8 with less than ten seconds remaining on the clock, Daniels opted to scramble after dropping back to pass. Starting to his left Daniels dove into the end zone with three seconds remaining in the half and the Rams out of timeouts. That made it a 24-7 game at the break and helped to reassert the Rams control of the game. Rockford received the opening kickoff of the second half and again ended up with a touchdown. The drive began at the Rockford 42 and used only eight plays to add to the Rockford lead. Junior running back Ryan Kerry did the honors this time with a bruising 17-yard run for the score. Kerry broke multiple tackles before finally bulling his way into the end zone to make it a 31-7 game at the 9:09 point of quarter number three. Hoekert would add his second field goal of the game from 28-yards out to make it a 34-7 game late in the third quarter. Cummings called off the dogs at that point and played multiple Rams on both offense and defense over the balance of the contest. Caledonia added a late TD against the Ram reserves to make the score a more respectable 34-14. And that was how the contest ended. “It makes the season for a lot of players that don’t see the field often over the course of the fall,” said Cummings. “We preach and we talk about making effort and pushing the starters during practice but there is nothing like getting on the field. They were very proud to get out there and we were all very proud of their efforts to just keep coming and make some plays.” The win moved Rockford’s record to 6-2 on the season and 5-1 in OK Red play. They will close out the regular season at home again next week they host Holland West Ottawa at Carlson-Munger Stadium at 7:00 P.M. on Friday, October 24.