Rockford grabs share of OK Red title with win against Hudsonville
Cris Greer | The Grand Rapids Press, October 22, 2010 11:41 p.m.
HUDSONVILLE
-- After beating Hudsonville 27-7 on Friday to earn a piece
of the OK Red Conference crown, Rockford coach Ralph Munger
smiled and said he wasn't sure at the beginning of the season
if the Rams would end up here.
"There was a point in time in the beginning of the season
if someone would have said, 'You're going to end up where you
are at right now,' I'd have said, 'Ahh, I hope you're right,' " said
Munger, whose team has won three state titles in the past six
years.
"I thought today was flag day with the penalties. I wish
they'd let me know what series they're going to screw up and
which ones they're going to play well, but it doesn't work that
way."
The Rams scored one touchdown in each quarter to improve to
8-1, 6-1 in the OK Red, which ties them atop the conference with
Grand Haven.
"It feels great," said Munger, whose Rams made the
playoffs for the 16th consecutive year. "The chance to host
at home is very important. We've been very fortunate and we've
worked really hard.
"We've come a long way and our quarterback has come a long
way."
With 1 minute remaining before halftime, it appeared Rockford
would head into the locker room with only a 7-0 lead.
Quarterback Mark LaPrairie then connected on a 44-yard pass
to Aaron Weston to energize the Rams. LaPrairie hit Neil VanderLaan
on a 12-yard touchdown pass to grab an important 14-0 lead seconds
before the half.
"I told the kids to go, go, go and maybe something will
pop. And the next thing you know, we scored," Munger said. "Our
guys just did certain things well enough to get it done. We've
got a lot of weapons and are feeling pretty good about that.
"I think over the course of the season, our group has become
very resilient. We've had a lot of close ball games and have
been in a lot of games that we had to fight our way out. Hudsonville
is a good program with some good-sized kids."
LaPrairie said at that point, all Hudsonville saw was the run.
"Coach called a great play to throw off a fake run and
I got some space and threw it up to him," LaPrairie said. "The
win means everything. We executed and worked hard to get here."
Running back Zach Schmuck put the game out of reach with a 1-yard
touchdown run with 8:29 left in the third to give the Rams a
20-0 lead.
Schmuck led the Rams with 52 yards on 14 carries.
LaPrairie, who completed 15-of-25 passes for 228 yards and two
touchdowns, threw a 12-yard score to Brady Gent 4 minutes into
the final quarter. It was Gent's second touchdown of the game.
The Eagles punched in their only touchdown with 8:11 left when
junior running back Zac Van Ess rushed for a 10-yard score.
Rockford's VanderLaan caught six passes for 88 yards.
Images
courtesy of Michigan Helmet Project
