Rockford rebounds to hand West Ottawa its first
loss of season
in MLive.com Game of the Week
Dean Holzwarth | The Grand Rapids Press, September 25, 2010 12:14
a.m.
HOLLAND -- The Rockford football team wanted to
make amends for last week's dismal defensive performance in its
first loss of the season, which came against Grand Haven.
The Rams achieved their goal Friday night by escaping with a
crucial 14-7 road win against West Ottawa.
Rockford handed the Panthers their first loss of the season
in an OK Red clash between teams ranked in the top 10 in Division
1.
"We all realized that we played pretty bad (on defense)
last week," said Rockford senior linebacker Brett Egnatuk,
who had a game-high 14 tackles against West Ottawa.
"We were ready to come out and show people what we could
do, and we all learned from that loss. This was a pretty huge
win."
The Rams (4-1, 2-1 OK Red) haven't lost two consecutive games
since 2002. They remain one game behind Muskegon in the conference
race.
Despite giving up nearly 200 yards on the ground, Rockford's
defense held the Panthers (4-1, 2-1) in check and came up with
big stops.
"I'm just thrilled to see the way the guys were flying
to the ball and playing downhill," Rockford coach Ralph
Munger said. "We finally got back to playing Rockford defense,
and it was a pleasure to watch.
"That was the best effort we've had all season from our
defense, and it's something we can build on going from here."
The Rams didn't have to contend with West Ottawa starting quarterback/linebacker
Desmond Morgan, who sat out with a shoulder injury suffered last
week in a win against Jenison.
Morgan was dressed on the sidelines but didn't see any action.
"You put the best interest of the kid first, and we felt,
with or without Desmond, we had to win this game," West
Ottawa coach Jim Caserta said. "We were focused on beating
Rockford, and I thought our kids played great and with a lot
of heart. I'm proud of them for that."
Rockford marched down the field on its opening possession and
went 80 yards in eight plays. The drive ended with a 5-yard touchdown
run by running back Brady Gent.
The score remained 7-0 until late in the second quarter.
West Ottawa had two opportunities to score before the end of
the first half but a missed field goal, and a turnover proved
costly.
The Rams capitalized on a West Ottawa fumble when Rockford quarterback
Mark LaPrairie tossed a 29-yard touchdown pass to Neil VanderLaan
with 1.7 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Panthers scored their lone touchdown in the third quarter
as Zac Boersema, who rushed for 128 yards on 27 carries, scored
from 2 yards out.
West Ottawa's defense stymied Rockford in the second half and
forced it to punt on all four possessions.
The Panthers had a chance to tie the score late in the fourth
quarter, but the threat ended after three incomplete passes by
quarterback Josh Wisbang.
"Our defense played great and we hit them pretty well," Caserta
said. "We gave up that touchdown with 1.7 seconds left,
and you can't do that. I give our kids credit for settling down
and shutting them out. We just came up short on that last drive."
LaPrairie completed 8-of-14 passes for 143 yards for Rockford,
and running back Zach Schmuck rushed for 33 yards on 12 carries.
