Rockford capitalizes on Hudsonville turnovers to clinch share
of O-K Red title
Greg Chrapek | Advance Newspapers, October 15, 2011 12:06 a.m.
ROCKFORD - The Rockford Rams capitalized on Hudsonville
turnovers early and kicked their offense into second gear late
enroute to a 44-14 homecoming victory Friday over the Eagles
at Ted Carlson Stadium.
Rockford turned three Hudsonville turnovers into 17 points in
the first half of the game that gave the Rams a share of the
O-K Red title. Up 17-7 at halftime, the Ram offense put 27 points
on the board in the second half as they pulled away from the
Eagles.
"Offensively, we have to play a more complete game," Rockford
coach Ralph Munger said. "Obviously, we made some plays
in the second half. Overall, I thought it was a good night for
football. It was a real good football game. They (Hudsonville)
are a good football team. They are well coached, have good size
and good speed."
Rockford took an early 7-0 lead in the game when Brady Gent
scored on a one-yard touchdown run and Steven Mette added the
extra point.
Hudsonville answered that score with a scoring drive of its
own that was capped by a 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback
Blake Hibbitts to Jordan Miedema and an extra point by Chase
Magsig.
"Their number 48 (Hunter Prince) is a heck of a player," Munger
said, "we knew that going in. Their quarterback also had
a real nice night. He threw some nice passes."
Hibbitts finished the game with 268 yards passing as he completed
21-of-37 passes. Prince caught seven of those passes for 97 yards
and also led the Eagle defense with 10 tackles.
Rockford took the lead for good late in the second quarter.
That was when Connor Darby scored on a two-yard run. The Rams
added a field goal just before halftime when Mette connected
from 32-yard out giving Rockford a 17-7 halftime edge.
The two teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter. Rockford
scored first on a one-yard run by Darby while Hudsonville came
back and scored on a three-yard touchdown run from Blake Kalawart.
Rockford pulled away and iced the win with three, fourth-quarter
touchdowns. The Rams upped the lead to 31-14 on a 22-yard touchdown
pass from quarterback Mark LaPrairie to Brandon Lubenow. The
same combination stuck for the next Ram touchdown on a 21-yard
scoring strike. Rockford closed out the scoring with 1:53 remaining
in the game when Scott Kaule scored on a five-yard touchdown
run.
"Our kids played their hearts out," Hudsonville coach
Dave Lidgard said. "We had a great week of practice and
we were excited about coming to Rockford to play. We had three
turnovers in the first half and they turned them into points
and that hurt. In the second half they reversed the field on
us so quickly. I thought the kids did a great job but we came
up a little short."
Darby led the Rockford offense with 130 yards rushing on 16
carries. LaPrairie passed for 163 yards and two scores while
Lubenow totaled 102 receiving yards and scored twice.
