Head game does wonders for Rams QB
By Jane Bos / The Grand Rapids Press

Rockford quarterback Spencer Klukowski, helmet in hand, stood near midfield after a wild 23-21 victory over Forest Hills Northern Friday night and talked about a defining moment late in the first quarter..

He had just thrown an interception. And he spent the next four minutes in turmoil, watching the host Huskies score the first touchdown of the game.

Klukowski watched the next series, too, as his backup, Josh Rauser, took the snaps.

"Coach (Ralph) Munger was talking to me after the interception, and I got too emotional, I wasn't really paying attention to what he said," Klukowski, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound junior, said. "I needed to get my head back in the game, I needed to focus."

Head Adjustment 101 worked.

When he re-entered the game, it took four plays -- highlighted by a 58-yard touchdown pass to Mike Steinebach -- for Klukowski to prove his renewed focus.

Then the Rams defense held tough. And for the second time in the first half, they stopped the Huskies inside the Rockford 10-yard line.

This time Klukowski ran the two-minute drill to perfection. The Rams needed eight plays to reach the end zone, capped off by Klukowski's 10-yard scoring pass to Bryan Anderson, with 4.8 seconds to go. He also tossed a two-point conversion pass to Dustin Pomarius for a 14-7 halftime lead.

Klukowski wound up completing 14 of 22 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns.

Rockford, 2-0 overall, clearly needed all Klukowski's attention in order to hold off talented Forest Hills Northern (1-1) in the O-K Red Metro opener.

The Huskies even had a chance to win at the end.

Trailing by two points, they had the ball deep in Rockford territory with less than a minute to play. But the Rams Anderson intercepted a pass on the 5-yard line. Rockford ran out the final 46.7 seconds.

"Forest Hills has wonderful team, holy smokes," Munger said. "Are they tough or what? They are physical, they are big, the whole deal.

"But I tell you what, I am so proud of my kids. I mean, you have no idea. We're just coming together so well. They are scratching and clawing and moving and hanging tough. It's remarkable. It truly is. Even if it hadn't gone our way at the end, this game would've been a good thing."

Forest Hills Northern coach Brent Myers agreed.

"It was a great football game," he said. "We gave our kids a chance to win at the end. We told our kids to keep their chins up in the air. They played a great game, and that's all you can ask."

The Huskies, who scored first on a 1-yard run by Tom Serbowicz, kept it close. They knotted the score at 14-14 on the second play of the second half on a 48-yard run by Andrew Kimball.

Rockford then scored twice -- a 22-yard field goal by Steve Kamphuis and a 45-yard pass from Klukowski to Devin Brooks -- to go up 23-14 with 11:51 left.

About four minutes later, the Forest Hills Northern narrowed the score to 23-21 on Serbowicz's 13-yard romp.

All that remained were a Rockford punt and the final interception.

Forest Hills Northern totaled 389 yards rushing, led by Kimball with 204 yards. The Huskies also had 33 yards passing. Rockford totaled 433 yards in offense.

"This is what high school sports are all about," Munger said. "Character building, confidence building, and all of that."

Oh, and head-straightening, too.

"Well, let's just say Spence needed some adjustments inside his head," Munger said. "We made that quarterback change, and that refocused him. It worked."

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