Last-second touchdown keeps Rockford from another
shot at Division 1 state title
Jeff Chaney | The Grand Rapids Press, November 20, 2010 7:42
p.m.
LANSING -- The cheers and screaming fell silent
in a matter of seconds for the Rockford football team and its
fans.
Tears of joy quickly became tears of sorrow. A return trip to
Ford Field and a chance at another Division 1 state championship
was denied when Plymouth senior end Brennen Beyer made a game-winning
touchdown catch with two Ram defenders in tight coverage in the
back corner of the end zone with 4.5 seconds remaining.
The catch, a 25-yarder from quarterback Shaun Austin, sent the
Wildcats to their first state title game with a 20-17 semifinal
win against Rockford on Saturday afternoon at Lansing Everett
High School.
"Obviously, (Beyer) is an outstanding athlete," said
Rockford coach Ralph Munger, whose team ended its season 11-2. "The
quarterback made the throw and he made the catch with two guys
in coverage. But you have to make plays and deny plays, and we
didn't make enough big plays today."
The Rams made a huge play just 69 seconds before the Beyer catch
when junior quarterback Mark LaPrairie found senior wide receiver
Neil VanderLaan on a 33-yard touchdown pass that gave Rockford
its first lead of the game, 17-13.
After the kickoff, the Wildcats had the ball at their own 17-yard
line but marched down the field in 10 plays, capped off by the
Beyer touchdown catch.
"(Beyer) is a great kid, and he just keeps playing," Plymouth
coach Mike Sawchuk said. "As a coach, obviously, you have
doubt (when they score that touchdown with just over a minute
to play), but these kids never quit.
"Our plan coming in was to run the ball, but Rockford played
great defense and forced us to pass it. And, obviously, we had
to pass it there at the end and Brennen made a great play."
Beyer made plays on both sides of the ball for Plymouth. He
caught his team's first touchdown early in the first quarter
and, on defense, he caused problems for the Rockford offense
all game from the defensive end position.
In the first half, the Rams mustered only 123 yards of offense
and trailed 10-0 at halftime.
Thanks to a Wildcats fumble on the opening kickoff of the second
half, Rockford finally got on the scoreboard on a Steven Mette
29-yard field goal.
After a 50-yard field goal by kicker Kyle Brindza on Plymouth's
ensuing drive made it 13-3, Munger reached deep into his bag
of offensive tricks for the next Rams' score.
After a handoff to Brandon Lubenow and pitch back by VanderLaan,
LaPrairie got the ball back and threw it 56 yards down the field
to Landon Dubes for the touchdown, making it a one-score game
at 13-10 with a quarter and a half to play.
The scoring would not resume until the frantic last minute of
the game.
"This has been a resilient group," Munger said. "We
did not play with our starting lineup, but we had a number of
new players step up and fill their roles. It would have been
nice to have our starting lineup, but I'm proud of this team."
LaPrairie finished 13-of-30 passing for 231 yards and two touchdowns.
VanderLaan had seven catches for 124 yards.
Austin completed 21-of-35 passes for 277 yards
and two touchdowns. Beyer had five catches for 105 yards.
