Back against the wall:
West Ottawa loses to Rockford,
faces must-win for final two games
By ALAN BABBITT
The Holland Sentinel
Holland Township, MI —
Aaron Kwekel tip-toed near the
West Ottawa sidelines for a few steps before making a cut and
bursting into the open field.
The Rockford senior suddenly dashed the Panthers’ dreams
of a homecoming upset.
Kwekel’s 75-yard punt return in the third quarter provided
the separation the No. 1 team in Division 1 needed to beat a
stubborn West Ottawa 37-29 Friday.
The loss dropped West Ottawa to
4-3 overall and 2-3 in the O-K Red. The Panthers must beat Grandville
and Hudsonville over the final two weeks of the regular season
to earn automatic berth to the state playoffs.
West Ottawa coach Jim Caserta preferred to focus on the valiant
effort his players made in a comeback, instead of the plays that
cost them a chance at a memorable homecoming upset.
“We made some mistakes, of course,” Caserta said. “When
you get a team like Rockford and they start to roll, you can
fold up. We didn’t quit until the last whistle.”
Kwekel’s TD return put the
Rams ahead 23-13 with 7 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
They scored two more touchdowns before the Panthers answered
with two of their own, including Josh McCullick’s 20-yard
touchdown reception and Zac Boersema’s
two-point reception with 15.3 second remaining in the fourth
quarter.
Rockford, 7-0 overall and 5-0 in
the O-K Red, recovered the onside kick and finally could look
forward to next week’s
showdown against unbeaten Muskegon.
“I found my way,” Kwekel
said, referring to his momentum-changing punt return. “The
team, most important, got to (its) blocks) and helped me out.
“We had to step it up. I’ve got to give a lot of
props to West Ottawa. They’re a hard-hitting team.”
The Panthers could have put more of a scare into Rockford.
West Ottawa grabbed a 7-3 lead
on McCullick’s 36-yard
touchdown reception 6:50 into the first quarter. The Panthers
had two chances to pull ahead further, but Rockford’s Gabe
Speirs intercepted Tyler VanTubbergen in the end zone and, on
the next possession, Alex Rojas blocked Jake Fallon’s 30-yard
field goal.
The Rams went ahead for good at
10-7 on Tim McGee’s 53-yard
touchdown pass to Nick Stokes 1:55 into the second quarter.
“There was some fun being
made because of the games we played earlier,” Caserta said. “They’re
a good team obviously. I think we grew up a little bit tonight.
I think we showed we can play with anybody.”
VanTubbergen completed 24-of-52 passes for 388 yards and four
touchdowns. McCullick finished with seven receptions for 132
yards and four touchdowns.
ROCKFORD 37
WEST OTTAWA 29
Rockford 3 13 7 14 -- 37
West Ottawa 7 0 6 16 -- 29
R-- Paul Mudgett 41 FG
W--Josh McCullick 36 pass from Tyler VanTubbergen (Jake Fallon
kick)
R--Nick Stokes 53 pass from Tim McGee (Mudgett kick)
R--Ryan Cochran 19 run (kick failed)
W--McCullick 6 pass from VanTubbergen (pass failed)
R--Aaron Kwekel 75 punt return (Mudgett kick)
R--Ryan Darby 25 run (Mudgett kick)
R--Josh Sinclair 10 pass from McGee (Mudgett kick)
W--McCullick 6 pass from VanTubbergen (McCulloch pass from VanTubergen)
W--McCullick 20 pass from VanTubbergen (Zac Boersma pass from
VanTubergen)
TEAM STATISTICS/LEADERS
RUSHING --Rockford 38-146. West Ottawa 22-96.
PASSING --Rockford, McGee 12-22-2-210. West Ottawa, VanTubbergen
27-56-2-374.
RECEIVING --Rockford, Drew Maroe 7-82. West Ottawa, Josh McCullick
9-146.
