Rockford Rams 21. Grandville Bulldogs 6

Rockford 21, Grandville 6: Rams top Bulldogs in run-heavy battle

By Cory Olsen | colsen@mlive.com on October 03, 2014 9:08 p.m.

ROCKFORD, MI — Rockford and Grandville met Friday in a ground war and the Rams pulled out the 21-6 win.

Working to put their 42-0 loss to Caledonia last week out of their memory, the Rams (5-1, 2-0) turned to their dominating defense to hold Grandville (2-4, 0-2) and its powerful rushing attack to just six points.

Key to the Game

Both defenses stepped up their games leading to the low-scoring game. Rockford found ways to exploit the Grandville defense, rushing Brandon McKellar, Jake Sendzik and Hunter Novak through small gaps in the Bulldog’s line.

Rockford Highlights

* Rockford's Jake Sendzik scored a touchdown for the Rams to take a 7-6 with 5:36 left in the first half.

* Rockford's Chris Bell ran 13 yards for a touchdown to add to the Rams' lead. Quinn Nordin adds the extra point to make the score Rockford 14, Grandville 6 with 24.5 seconds left in third quarter.

* Reed Martin catches an 18-yard touchdown pass from Landen Haney to put Rockford up 21-6 over Grandville with three minutes left in the game.

* Rockford’s Tyler Bradfield swatted away a 20-yard pass by Grandville’s Ryan Koorndyk on their first possession of the third quarter.

* Rockford’s defense held strong for two challenging possessions in the third quarter, holding the Bulldogs to two punts on their first two tries.

* Spencer Andrus intercepted the ball from Grandville’s Ryan Koorndyk with three minutes left in the game, ending the Bulldogs’ hopes of a comeback.

* Rockford blocked a muffed punt attempt by Grandville near the end of the second quarter. The Rams recovered the ball on their own 49-yard line.

Grandville Highlights

* On 4th-and-1 from the Rams' 45-yard line Grandville's Ben Sinclair scampered down the field for the first score of the game. The conversion failed making the score Grandville 6, Rockford 0 with 5:36 remaining in the first quarter.

* The Bulldogs forced Rockford to punt twice in a row on their first two possessions of the second half.