Rockford uses goal-line stand, strong second
half to blank Grand Haven
Jane Bos | The Grand Rapids Press,
September 26, 2009 12:08 a.m.
ROCKFORD
-- Rockford senior Joe Stefanski stood just outside the south
end zone, smiled and penned his name on the back of an orange
T-shirt.
After capping the Sharpie, Stefanski let the young
fan wander into the end zone, something the inside linebacker,
along with teammate Brett Egnatuk, did not let Grand Haven do.
And it was a tough goal-line stand late in the
second quarter of Friday's matchup pitting unbeaten, state-ranked
teams that fired up the Rams. It helped Rockford post a 14-0
victory.
About 12,000 mostly orange-clad fans watched Rockford,
the defending Division 1 champ and top-ranked team in the state,
stay perfect at 5-0, 3-0. Sixth-ranked Grand Haven is 4-1, 2-1.
"It was a amazing, it was sweet," Stefanski
said about the victory and stopping the Buccaneers on the 1-yard
line. "That put up our self-esteem. Our whole team, the
morale goes up."
Scoring twice in the third quarter -- to break
the first 0-0 halftime tie anyone can remember at Rockford for
at least the past two decades -- gave it another boost.
The special teams set up the first score. On a
Rockford punt, the Rams' Tyler Pratt hit the Bucs' receiver to
knock the ball loss, and Egnatuk recovered it on the Bucs' 28-yard
line.
Two plays later, Ryan Darby rushed in the 5-yard
score. Paul Mudgett's point-after kick made it 7-0 with 6:25
left in the third.
About five minutes later, Joe Johnson caught a
6-yard scoring pass from Taylor Masiewicz, giving the Rams the
final 14-0 lead.
Masiewicz led Rockford with 58 yards rushing and
100 yards passing. The Rams totaled 113 yards on the ground,
compared to 187 by Grand Haven.
Egnatuk led the winners with 14 tackles, and Stefanski
added 11.
"We were, quite honestly, very matter of fact
at halftime," Rockford coach Ralph Munger said. "Somebody
was going to come of this happy, and someone is going to come
out and have to wait for another chance."
If not for a few plays, that somebody and that
someone could have been reversed.
"We were disappointed we did not punch it
in the second quarter," Grand Haven coach Mike Farley said. "We
should have been ahead 7-0 at halftime. I give Rockford credit
for that, they are a great program. We made mistakes tonight.
We have to come back and correct those mistakes."
One of those was the missed scoring opportunity.
On that drive, the first series of the second quarter, Grand
Haven finally got its offense going.
Starting on their own 10-yard line, the Bucs used
12 plays, along with a Rockford pass interference penalty, to
reach a fourth-and-one situation from their own 7-yard line.
Adam Poel kept the ball and scrambled three yards.
The Bucs did not come up with that last-play magic
the second time. After Grand Haven reached the 1-yard line on
the first play, the Rams -- led by Stefanski, Egnatuk and Josh
Pribble -- did not let them advance any further.
"That's the kind of play that puts a smile
on your face," a smiling Munger said.
It wins games, too.
