Rockford
Rams 34. Jenison Wildcats 31
Rockford denies Jenison's late comeback effort in 34-31 thriller
Don VanderVeen | Advance Newspapers, September
14, 2010
ROCKFORD – Jenison running back Tyler Hoezee "Can
You See..." ran all over Rockford Friday night, rushing
for an eye-popping 176 yards and four touchdowns in the O-K Red
Conference opener for both football teams.
But were the defending O-K Red Conference champion Rams going
to let Hoezee (pronounced Ho-Zay) leave their house with an upset
victory?
No way, Hoezee.
Rockford overcame some untimely fourth-down penalties on both
sides of the ball and offset Hoezee's heroics with scoring from
five different players to pull out a 34-31 victory at Ted Carlson
Memorial Stadium.
The Rams (3-0) received a pair of field goals and four extra
points from place kicker Steven Mette, touchdown runs of 15 yards
by Zach Schmuck and 48 yards by Connor Darby, a two-yard touchdown
pass by Mark LaPrairie to Aaron Weston and a spectacular 89-yard
starburst kickoff return by Brian Fischer to build up a 17-point
lead with just over five minutes remaining.
Then it was time to hold on as the Rams held off Jenison's dramatic
comeback bid sparked by Hoezee and Co., who outgained Rockford
in total yardage by a margin of 401-282.
"Our kids learn to win, whether it's pretty or ugly," Rockford
coach Ralph Munger said. "The bottom line is that in the
end, they did what they had to do to be successful.
"Jenison played a heckuva football game."
Among Hoezee's 19 carries, three of them went for
29 yards or more, including back-to-back rushes covering 29 and
49 yards for a touchdown that gave the Wildcats a 14-10 lead
with 1:04 remaining in the first half."I thought he had a great game, but he had an
outstanding week of practice as well," Jenison coach Irv
Sigler III said. "Our offensive line did an outstanding
job getting him to the second level, and our perimeter guys did
an outstanding job springing him with downfield blocks.
"You don't break off big runs like that unless both of
those things happen."
Trailing by 17 points with less than five minutes
remaining in the game, Hoezee scored two more touchdowns. A 44-yard
run set up his one-yard plunge with 2:34 remaining, and – following
a perfectly executed backside, onside kick by Jesse Fulkerson
that was recovered by Nicholas O'Dowd – Hoezee scored on
a seven-yard run to pull the Wildcats within a field goal with
1:52 remaining."I
think that effort counts for everything," Sigler said. "You
try to preach the idea that the game is never over and you never
give up, and our guys played with a lot of heart.
"Being down 31-17, our kids kept fighting and giving everything
they had."
Fulkerson's ensuing onside kick attempt failed
to go the required 10 yards, and Rockford held onto the ball
and ran out the clock after picking up a big first down on a
third-down run by Zach Schmuck, who led the Rams with 100 rushing
yards. "It's very
difficult for me to put into words what I'm feeling right now," Munger
said afterward. "The biggest play of the game for us was
getting that last first down."
The Wildcats set the tone early by taking advantage
of a couple of Rockford penalties on fourth down. An offsides
call on a punting situation kept a Jenison drive alive, and the
Wildcats cashed in with a 29-yard completion by Zach Keen to
Fulkerson to set up Hoezee's one-yard touchdown run.Rockford
drove back to the Jenison 16-yard line, but that drive ended
on a fumble that was recovered by O'Dowd. On Rockford's next
possession, the Rams gained enough yardage for a first down on
a fourth-and-3 situation, but a penalty nullified the gain. Two
more penalties later, the Rams were faced with a fourth-and-15
and were forced to punt.
Rockford finally got onto the scoreboard in the second quarter
on a 44-yard field goal by Mette. Schmuck gave the Rams a short-lived
10-7 lead with 1:29 remaining in the half before Hoezee answered
just 25 seconds later with his second of four scores by covering
78 yards on two straight carries covering 49 and 29 yards, respectively.
That set the stage for the starburst return that was received
by Brandon Lubenow, handed off to Tyler Villarreal and then given
to Fischer, who exploded for the 89-yard touchdown return that
gave the Rams a 17-14 halftime lead.
Fulkerson, who made a 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter,
also caught five passes for 123 yards.
Jenison (1-2) opened the season running through a gauntlet of
powerhouse teams. In the first three weeks of the season, the
Wildcats played East Grand Rapids, Caledonia and Rockford, three
schools that have combined for 10 state championships over the
past decade.
"You want to have the mentality that you will play anybody,
anytime, anywhere, and then you show up and play the best you
can," Sigler said. "Everything we endured over these
first three weeks can only make us better and better."