Rockford
Rams 35. Jenison 07
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Rockford takes out anger on Jenison
By Dean Holzwarth / The Grand Rapids Press
ROCKFORD -- The Rockford
Rams had plenty of incentive before taking the field Friday night
against O-K Red conference rival Jenison. The Rams were coming
off their first loss of the season to Hudsonville, there was
a spirited homecoming crowd on hand and the Wildcats upset them
last season. All of that combined made for an angry Rockford
squad as it regrouped to roll past Jenison 35-7.
" We had a lot
of extra motivation," said Rockford senior running back
Zach Breen, who rushed for 97 yards on 15 carries and scored
a pair of touchdowns. " We were mad after that loss last
week and we were pretty banged up, but we practiced and practiced
all week and took out our anger." Breen gave the Rams a
lift on the opening kickoff as he took a handoff from teammate
Callan Sherd and raced 85 yards for a touchdown. It was the start
Breen and coach Ralph Munger were hoping for.
" I was thinking
if I make something happen, everybody else will be pumped up," Breen
said. "We were able to start things off the right way." Added
Munger: "I told Breen that was about the slowest 85-yard
dash I've ever seen him do, but with all kidding aside, that
sparks you big-time and it's always good to get the first one
on the board any way you can get it."
Despite the early
score from Breen, the Wildcats recovered and knotted the game
in the opening minutes of the second quarter. A 65-yard pass
play from Robb Topp to Jack Scanlon set up a 2-yard run from
Joe Mazure to make it 7-7. From there on, it was all Rockford
as the Rams dominated the rest of the half and produced 21 unanswered
points.
A 16-yard run from
homecoming king Michael Mudgett was followed by a 2-yard run
by Frank Heeringa. The Rams increased their advantage with a
gutsy call from Munger on fourth-and-goal with 13 seconds remaining
in the half. Mudgett scored again to give the Rams a commanding
28-7 lead at the half.
Our offensive line
blocked awesome and the holes were huge," Mudgett said. "Our
line stepped up big-time from last week and it was a good night
for our defense in holding them to seven points." Rockford
qualified for the state playoffs with the victory. Breen added
a 12-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to cap the scoring
and the Rams defense stifled a 15-play drive with a fumble recovery
at the goal line.
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