Rockford Rams 21. Grandville Bulldogs 00

Rockford coach Ralph Munger gets 300th career win as Rams blank Grandville 21-0

By Lenny Padilla | grsports@mlive.com 
on September 18, 2015 7:09 PM, updated September 18, 2015 10:19 PM

GRANDVILLE, Mich. - “MUN-GER! MUN-GER! MUN-GER!”

Football coaches are used to deflecting attention, not having their players chant their name after a game. 

Ralph Munger - in his 35th year as a head coach - picked up his 300th career victory after Rockford High School beat Grandville 21-0 on Friday night in an OK Red Conference matchup.

“The game was special because of the milestone,” said Munger, who is 300-92 with three state championships. “But this milestone thing is shared by so many; the players, the coaches, the support staff, the administrators … that represents a whole lot. Winning tonight’s game is what I care about.”

Rockford (2-2) got touchdowns from Tyler Bradfield and Brendan McKellar in the first quarter for a 21-0 lead and a third score by quarterback Jason Whittaker in the third. Grandville falls to 2-2. 

“Coach Munger is the greatest coach I’ve ever played for,” Rockford senior kicker Quinn Nordin said. “He’s a great guy. He’s not only shown us how to be men but tremendous football players. The guys on this team are all apart of a great culture at Rockford and I’m really proud of Coach Munger tonight.”

What’s Munger like on the sidelines?

“He’s intense,” said Nordin, who has committed to kick at Penn State. “But after the games (if we win), he’s dancin’ in the locker room. I’m glad I play for him.”

Rockford stopped Grandville four times on 4th down situations, which wasn’t lost on McKellar.

“It was incredible,” McKellar, a senior, said of the win. “Both sides of the ball played really well. Our defense stopped them on fourth down several times. Coach Munger … we love him. He does so much for us and the program. To get this for him really means a lot to the team.”

Grandville was behind the 8 ball before the game even started. Nolan Meekhof, Grandville’s top running back, did not suit up for the game. A Grandville assistant coach confirmed the 6-foot-1, 220-pounder injured his left shoulder and is day-to-day. Meekhof is averaging 158 yards per game with a high of 271 against Lansing Sexton.

“I don’t know if it was so much Nolan being out,” Grandville coach Eric Stiegel said. “We put some other kids in there. But he’s our best short-yard runner. He comes up big in those third and fourth yard situations.”

Stiegel, in his second season with the Bulldogs, wasn’t happy with the loss, but he could appreciate Munger getting 300 wins. 

“He’s a good coach,” Stiegel said. “Obviously he got the better of us tonight. Congratulations to him for his milestone. He’s a great coach.”

Munger began his career at Frankenmuth High School in 1980 and moved over to Rockford in 1992. He is now tied for 10th all time in career wins, according to the MHSAA web site. 

“Not in your wildest did I think i’d be here,” Munger said with a smile. “We never won as many games as I wished … which would be all of them. The name of the game is to teach life lessons by winning.”

Whittaker, a sophomore, connected with Bradfield for a 29-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter with 9:22 on the clock. McKellar ran the ball in for a 2-yard TD nine minutes later. 

“It felt pretty good since we’ve been struggling on offense,” McKellar said. “Going in like that, I felt like I contributed to the team.”

Whittaker scored on a 5-yard run at the 5:02 mark of the third quarter. He was 4-of-7 passing for 74 yards. Cole Schuple ran the ball 12 times for 51 to lead Rockford. 

For Grandville, Connor Gifford ran the ball 27 for a game-high 128 rushing yards.