All-around effort gives Rockford first title
By Greg Johnson / The Grand Rapids Press

PONTIAC -- Pursuit on defense, a diverse offense and desire resulted in domination for the Rockford Rams, Division 1 state champions. " Bottom line, these kids have hearts as big as this dome," said Rockford coach Ralph Munger after his Rams turned back Sterling Heights Stevenson 31-6 for the school's first state football championship Saturday at the Pontiac Silverdome."

" We lost a few games along the way this season, and when you don't win your conference, some doubts can creep in. But these kids never stopped believing they could do this." The Rams did it on defense. They totaled five sacks for 38 yards in losses, seven other tackles for loss netting 41 yards and profited from a pair of interceptions by defensive back/wide receiver Bryan Anderson

The Rams did it on offense. They netted 407 total yards, including 168 passing by senior quarterback Spencer Klukowski, 69 yards rushing and two touchdown runs by senior fullback Sean O'Rouke, and long-touchdown receptions by Josh Rauser (65 yards) and Anderson (34 yards). " They have a lot of weapons, that quarterback really moves well and throws well, and they really brought pressure on us with their defense," said Sterling Heights coach Rick Bye said.

" We needed to make some plays early in the game because we needed a momentum switch. They made the plays instead of us, and kept the pressure on." Perhaps the biggest play made by the Rams came with 10 seconds remaining in the first half. On a Klukowski pass intended for Anderson, Rauser instead caught the pass running on a slant across the field and dashed to the end zone too complete a 65-yard scoring play. It gave the Rams a 14-0 lead, and the momentum, Munger said.

" That was huge," he said. "Having a two touchdown lead changes things they can do and you can do."
Replays showed Rauser had been out-of-bounds, and then came back in the playing field, which should have made him an ineligible receiver. Bye said the officials told him they didn't see Rauser out-of-bounds.

" That's neither here nor there, I'm not complaining," he said. "They made a big play there. We came in at halftime, and our kids were deflated." Munger said he couldn't see the action on the other side of the field. " But you know when I watch the tape, I'll look for it," he said and smiled. "Hey, we had guys in the right places on that play. That's what you have to have to make good things happen."

The Rams made good things happen through the day. An 88-yard scoring drive to take a 7-0 lead in the second quarter was highlighted by a 1-yard quarterback sneak on a fourth-and-inches situation at the Rockford 29-yard-line. Munger said he didn't consider punting. " We came here to win," he said. "It never crossed my mind. I did check with the defensive staff, but I was going to overrule them anyway. I get two votes."

The Rams put a stranglehold in the game with two third-quarter scoring drives. O'Rouke, running a wrap-around trap play set up through the first part of the game, ran 32 yards for a score with 8:19 remaining. Then Anderson, on offense this time, caught a 34-yard pass from Klukowski. After a two-point conversion pass to Kyle Osborn, the Rams led 28-0.

Steve Kamphuis put an exclamation point on the win with a 33-yard field goal with 2:10 remaining in the game.
" It was just awesome," said Anderson, who is headed to Central Michigan next year. "We did it as a team. That's the way we do things at Rockford."

L.J. Robertson, the standout running back for Stevenson, scored the only touchdown for the Titans on a 57-yard run early in the fourth quarter. He finished with 118 yards rushing.

" It's been great to watch the creation of our defense over the season," Munger said. "They really came together. And on offense, we have a lot of weapons. We just have multi-talented kids, and we try to use as many of them as possible. That's our program, and this is the result of everybody doing it to the best of their ability, kids, coaches, fans, community, everybody."