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."