Rockford overcomes penalties, TC West
By Bruce Van Baren / The Grand Rapids Press
ROCKFORD -- The only thing stopping Rockford on
Friday night was itself. The Rams overcame seven penalties for
90 yards to pound Traverse City West 46-26 at Ted Carlson Memorial
Stadium in the Division 1 pre-district.
"Those penalties hurt," Rockford coach Ralph Munger
said. "We're not happy with that. We have to get that corrected
or we're going to end up shooting ourselves in the foot."
Rockford's Aaron Kwekel couldn't be stopped. Kwekel rushed for
three touchdowns and exploded for a 90-yard kickoff return.
"He's kind of like steady Eddie," Munger said. "He's
a very poised young man. He had a very nice game."
Kwekel rushed for 127 yards on 12 carries, the most carries
he has had all season.
"We had awesome blocking tonight," Kwekel said. "I
thought it was a total team effort."
Ryan Cochrane also rushed for two fourth-quarter touchdowns
for Rockford.
"We do everything by committee, we have to," Munger
said. "We haven't found a personality on offense. We have
a mix of (options) and we're able to put the ball in the end
zone."
Kwekel's second touchdown gave Rockford a 17-7 halftime lead.
Traverse City West totaled 402 yards of offense, but could not
overcome the halftime deficit.
Rockford built a 24-7 lead in the second half. But a 15-yard
pass interference call extended the Traverse City West drive.
The Titans ran the ball 18 times on a 97-yard, 20-play drive
that lasted 8:45. John Purdy found Dan Barr on a 5-yard touchdown
pass to cut the margin to 24-14.
Rockford overcame a costly holding penalty on the ensuing drive.
Cochrane's 10-yard run capped an 80-yard drive that sealed the
game for the Rams.
"I'm very proud of our kids," Titans coach Tim Wooer
said. "We knew coming in we were a little outmatched. But
if you fight and claw and scratch, you never know what might
happen."
Rockford's defense once again haunted the Titans in the postseason.
The fifth-ranked Rams have ended Traverse City West's season
four of the past five years.
"I talked to the kids in June about that," Wooer said. "I
definitely saw it in their mannerisms. I told them if you think
you are going to walk through the conference and lose to Rockford
in the playoffs and think, 'That's OK,' that has to stop."
After its 34-6 loss in Week 7 against Muskegon, the Rams have
scored 84 points in their last two games. Rockford will travel
to Grand Ledge next week.
