Rockford slows Grand Blanc enough to advance to Division 1 semifinals
Steve Vedder | The Grand Rapids Press, November 12, 2011 9:58
p.m.
ROCKFORD -- The goal for the Rockford football
team wasn’t
necessarily stopping the highest-scoring offense in the state
through the first two rounds of the Division 1 playoffs.
The Rams’ realistic hope was to slow down Grand Blanc
as much as possible while making enough offensive plays to move
within one game of playing for a fourth state title since 2004.
Rockford managed both in a wild 30-28 win against Grand Blanc
in Saturday’s regional final at Ted Carlson Memorial Stadium.
The Rams built a 23-7 halftime lead, then barely managed to
hang on against a torrid Grand Blanc offense that had rolled
to 108 points in the first two playoff games.
"We knew they are one of the most talented teams in Michigan,
and to prevail against them is quite an accomplishment," Rams
coach Ralph Munger said.
"We wanted to slow them down. You’re not going to
stop them because they’ve got it all. We hung in there
and we made a lot of good things happen because we played hard.
But you’re never going to be picture perfect."
The win sends the Rams (11-1) to Saturday’s semifinal
against Detroit Catholic Central.
Grand Blanc (9-3) finished with 426 total yards, including 337
yards on 34-of-46 passing by junior quarterback Bart Williams,
but the Bobcats turned over the ball four times.
Two of those turnovers came on interceptions by junior defensive
back Kyle Short, who said the Rams knew what to expect from Williams
and the Bobcats offense. Grand Blanc scored 59 and 49 points
in the first two rounds against Holt and Midland, respectively.
"We knew they had a high-powered offense," Short said. "We
knew we weren’t going to completely shut them down, but
we made enough plays. I was in the right spot at the right time
on the picks."
Rockford built its 23-7 halftime lead on a 4-yard touchdown
run by Connor Darby, a 13-yard pass from Mark LaPrairie to Brandon
Lubenow and three field goals of 42, 32 and 45 yards from Steven
Mette.
Grand Blanc scored on a 4-yard pass from Williams to Jordan
Fields with 42 seconds left in the first quarter that cut its
deficit to 10-7.
Fields caught an 11 yard touchdown pass with 5:48 remaining
in the third quarter, and then Grand Blanc cut its deficit to
23-21 on an 8-yard pass from Williams to Kaleb McElwee with 10:06
left in the game, but the potential game-tying two-point conversion
pass failed.
Rockford took advantage and padded its lead to 30-21 on an 11-yard
touchdown run by Ryan Hartley with four minutes remaining, but
Grand Blanc responded with a 20-yard run by Terrance Dye with
2:17 left.
Rockford finished with 338 rushing yards, despite losing top
running back Brady Gent suffered an apparent ankle injury after
two carries, including a 61-yard run.
"We have a great line and our runners stepped up," Darby
said. "We had to fight for every yard. You just have to
take (openings) when they come."
Grand Blanc coach Joe Delaney said four turnovers were not only
critical, but uncharacteristic.
"We gave the ball up too much in the first half. We got
behind too far, too quick," he said. "We played like
we were capable of in the second half. I was proud of our guys.
We didn’t quit. But I wouldn’t doubt seeing Rockford
at Ford Field.
"Turnovers have been uncharacteristic, but part of that
was their defense. Rockford disguised their (pass) coverage,
but we battled back."
Munger said overcoming the loss of Gent was important.
"Brady has had a great year, but Ryan (Hartley) and Connor
(Darby) were equal to the task," Munger said. "We had
to mix and match some pieces and did all we could do. We made
enough big plays to prevail."
Although Grand Blanc struggled in the first half, Delaney said
he was confident in the Bobcats’ game plan of completing
short passes and decided to stick with it in the second half.
"That’s what we do," he said. "We have
a lot of confidence in our quarterback, and we moved the ball
and did some good things."
