Sherd the word in Rockford rout
By Gary Bond / The Grand Rapids Press
ROCKFORD -- Single coverage,
double coverage and even triple coverage by the West Ottawa
defensive secondary didn't seem to
bother Rockford receiver Callan Sherd Friday night. Sherd,
a 6-foot-1 junior, made spectacular catch after spectacular
catch in the Rams' 34-13 win over the Panthers. Sherd caught
six passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns. The variety of
great catches and moves by Sherd had the large crowd
at Ted Carlson Memorial Stadium on their feet every time the
ball was thrown his way.
"Sherd made some remarkable
plays for us tonight," Rockford
coach Ralph Munger said. "But on the flip side, I thought
(Zach) Breen and Frank Heeringa ran the ball well and our line
did a great job picking up West Ottawa's blitz. " They
blitz almost every play, something we knew they would do, which
made for an intense week of practice for us simulating
their pressure."
Sherd's first big catch came on
defense in the first quarter when he picked off a pass thrown
too far
by West Ottawa quarterback
Brad Groenheide. His first big catch on offense came in the
second quarter when he managed to make an over-the-shoulder
catch for
a 38-yard gain to the West Ottawa 1-yard line with three
West Ottawa defenders at arm's length.
The upper hand.
Breen blasted into the end zone
for the touchdown on the next play, giving the Rams a 14-6
lead at the time. In the third quarter, Sherd kept his concentration
on a deep out pattern as the defender went for the ball and
missed.
Sherd hauled in the pass and ran for a 56-yard score. In
the fourth
quarter, Sherd was sandwiched between two West Ottawa defenders,
but managed to outjump them in the end zone for a 17-yard
touchdown catch.
His last great reception went for
only 15 yards, but seeing the ball thrown short by quarterback
Jon
VonEschen, Sherd
slowed
up to let the defender go by and made the catch at the
9-yard line. Breen again finished the drive for the Rams'
final
score on a 9-yard run. "
He (Sherd) was the difference in the game," West Ottawa
coach Jim Caserta said. "He made outstanding plays
and we made some mistakes we just couldn't overcome.
What killed us,
though, was Rockford's score just before halftime. " We
simply had to stop them and we didn't."
Rockford
also did its best to contain West Ottawa running back
Dwight Thompson, who showed flashes of speed to the
outside. Thompson finished with 72 rushing yards on 16 carries
and scored on a 10-yard run, but had only three runs of 10 yards or more.
"
I thought we also did an outstanding job defensively containing
Thompson," Munger added. "He got loose
a couple of times, but our defense deserves a lot
of credit for sticking
to their game plan." Breen rushed for 118 yards
on 17 carries and two scores for Rockford.
Rockford produced four West Ottawa turnovers -- two
fumbles, an interception and a blocked punt.
(photo by Chris Rozema)
(photo by Chris Rozema)
(photo by Chris Rozema)
(photo by Chris Rozema)
(photo by Chris Rozema)
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