Rockford uses some razzle dazzle to sink South Lyon
By Bob Becker / Grand Rapids Press Sports Editor

LANSING -- Rockford's Rams lowered the KA-BOOM! on South Lyon here Saturday afternoon-- literally -- and their 17-10 win puts them into next Saturday's 1 p.m. Division I State Championship game against Sterling Heights Stevenson.

KA-BOOM! is a one-time-use-only razzle-dazzle play cooked up in the fertile mind of Rockford coach Ralph Munger that resulted in a 54-yard Spencer Klukowski-to-Bryan Anderson touchdown pass at the start of the fourth quarter, tying the game at 10-10 and turning game momentum back to the Rams.

"The only problem with that play is that we showed it today, so we won't be able to use it next week,' Munger said. The play starts out like a sweep right, Klukowski handing off to Kyle Osborn. But as Osborn reaches the right side of his line, he hands it to wide receiver Josh Rauser on what appears to be a double-reverse. When Rauser gets to midfield, he suddenly stops and tosses a pass to Klukowski on the left sideline. Klukowski looks downfield and sees Anderson wide open.

" All I could think of was 'Catch it, catch it'," Anderson said. "It takes awhile to get that play going, but I could see that I was going to be wide open. I just wanted to make sure I made the play." " We've never used that play before," Klukowski said. "I was afraid that I wouldn't catch the pass to me, because I could see Brian was going to be wide open and I wanted to get the ball and get it down to him. The protection has to hold up to give us time to get all those exchanges down. But it did, and it was great to watch him running in the clear."

Although that bit of offensive sleight-of-hand will be talked about more than anything else that happened here Saturday, it was the Rockford defense that stood tall against a South Lyon team that averaged 40 points a game through their first 12 outings. The Rams allowed just 10 points, and the Lions' single field goal and single touchdown came off Rockford mistakes that gave them short-field opportunities.

A punt that hit a Rockford downfield blocker gave South Lyon the ball on Rockford's 17 in the second quarter, resulting in a 27-yard field goal by Alex Gentile. Then, late in the third quarter, a botched Rockford hand-off on a kickoff return again gave the Lions the ball on Rockford's 17, and three plays later Nate Spurgess bulled over from the one, for a 10-0 lead.

" I have to give our defensive coaches and defensive players all the credit," Munger said. "To overcome the mistakes we made, fumbles, penalties, and interception, and hold them to just 10 points was a remarkable accomplishment."

Sophomore defensive back Callan Sherd made two picks Saturday afternoon, the first a diving third-down grab that gave Rockford possession on South Lyon's 19. That saved field position for the Rams, who would have had to come back a long way...against the clock...if South Lyon had punted. Instead, in four plays Klukowski's sneak with 1:32 left that gave the Rams the winning points.

Thirty seconds later a sideline grab by Sherd stopped South Lyon's last chance to get back into the game. " The guys up front kept their quarterback under pressure all day," Sherd said. "So he was throwing on the run. On the second one my guy slipped a little and I just stepped inside him. It couldn't have come at a better time."

" Those weren't just interceptions," Munger said. "He was spread out as far as he could on both. Those were outstanding defensive plays." Rockford struggled early, Klukowski passing for just 55 yards in the first half. But in the second he hit seven of 11 for 112 yards, continually moving his team on third downs. " We knew coming in that games like this sometimes come down to a big play," Munger said. "So we put it in the hands of our defense, to keep them pinned down until we got going. We had to overcome a lot of things. I guess this was just our day."