Dalton Stenberg's late TD gives Grand Haven win
against No. 1 Rockford
Cris Greer | The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND HAVEN -- Grand Haven coach
Mike Farley got a big bear hug from assistant Randy Poel as the
clock ran down.
Poel couldn't resist after the Buccaneers upset No. 1 Rockford,
26-23, on Friday night.
"It's a big win for our program, a special win," said
Farley, whose Bucs improved to 3-1 and 1-1 in the OK Red. "Obviously,
with Rockford being one of the most prominent teams in the state,
we couldn't be more happy with the effort of our kids.
"Rockford is so good at everything. Offensively, they have
a lot of fire power."
Dalton Stenberg scored the game-winning touchdown with 5:27
remaining on a 1-yard run.
Farley said he was most proud of his team's mental toughness
after a 29-15 loss to West Ottawa last week.
"We had to bounce back because we got beat by a real good
West Ottawa team last Friday night. They were able to bounce
back and stay real positive."
Stenberg scored three touchdowns for the Bucs and rushed for
132 yards on 25 carries.
"This was huge," said Stenberg, who has nine touchdowns
this season. "Everybody knows there is bad blood between
Rockford and Grand Haven football teams.
"All week during practice, we preached that winning cures
everything. That West Ottawa game hurt bad. We wanted to come
out here and prove to everybody that we're legit and can beat
anybody."
After a scoreless first quarter, the Rockford got on the board
first with a three yard run by Connor Darby. Steven Mette's kick
gave Rockford a 7-0 lead.
Grand Haven's Trent Hitsman, who rushed for 77 yards on 15 carries,
tied it at 7-7 with 3:52 left in the half after a kick by Ben
Stegall.
The teams traded touchdowns with 2 minutes remaining. The Rams
scored on a 16-yard pass from quarterback Mark LaPraire to Josh
Reinke. However, Mette's extra-point kick was blocked.
Then, Stenberg ran one in from the 1-yard line to give his team
a 14-13 lead after a successful kick.
That came after Alec Smith made a diving 38-yard catch to the
1-yard line. Smith landed so hard, he injured what appeared to
be his shoulder. After a 30-minute delay, he was taken to a hospital
by ambulance.
Rockford rallied with seconds remaining before halftime and
connected on a 35-yard field goal by Mette to take a 16-14 lead.
After the break, Stenberg scored on a 6-yard run to give Grand
Haven a 20-16 lead. The Bucs failed on a conversion pass attempt.
With 58 seconds left in the third quarter, the Rams' LaPrarie
connected on an 83-yard touchdown pass to Neil VanderLaan to
take back the lead. A successful point after by Mette gave Rockford
a 23-20 advantage to start the fourth.
"We knew we weren't going to be able to stop them so, hopefully,
we just wanted to stop them at the right time," Farley said. "We
just had to keep chipping away and use up a lot of the clock."
Stenberg clinched the game with his third touchdown.
"What do you say about Dalton?" Farley said. "He's
an outstanding football player, and I'm extremely proud of him.
Poel completed 6-of-11 passes for 101 yards, while Rockford's
LaPraire was 15-of-24 for 252 yards and two touchdowns.
VanderLaan caught 10 passes for 193 yards and one touchdown.
