 Photo by Jennifer Badgero  Vikes tame Lions; Pack cage Tigers; Cloud, Hespo, Devs lose big Tri County 36 Newaygo 8 Well, the Vikings are as good as they were predicted to be. They controlled the field in Newaygo from the start with an impressive display of line play on both sides of the ball. The Lions were going to have to play a mistake free game and get a few breaks to have a decent shot at TC and they got neither. Viking Chase Keller found the end zone 4 times on the night and added a couple of 2 point conversions as Tri County remained undefeated with a convincing win over the Lions. The Lions went 3 and out after the opening kickoff and following the punt TC was on the move until a fumble saw Wyatt Gorby grab it to give the hosts the ball back. Newaygo couldn’t move the ball and punted again. This time the Vikes drove down and put up points.The next Lion drive was halted by an interception and soon the Vikes were up 16-0 The Lions best early scoring opportunity came when they drove the ball to the TC 10. They knew they badly needed a score to stay in a game that was fast slipping away. Damone Moore pounded ahead for 6 yards setting up a 2nd down 4 yards short of the goalline. 3 plays later the visitors took over after stuffing a trio of tries. Another successful drive ended the half at 22-0 TC. Then came a disastrous start to the second half. Viking Bryce Reed took the kickoff all the way and a 2 pointer by Keller made it 30-0. On the next Lion possession they went 3 and out but the punt attempt was mishandled and TC was in business again at the Lion 21. Three plays later it was 36-0. Brian Badgerow finally got the Lions on the board with a late TD and Blake Kerr hit Isaiah Lopez for the conversion but the game was long in hand by then. Henry Wood led the Lions in tackles with 9, Noah McLaughlin tallied 7 and Aaron Garza and Jordan Holm each finished with 6. Kerr was 6-10 passing while Moore (46 yds), Badgero (39) and Matt Miedema (33) anchored the rushing duties. Newaygo (1-3) will head down M37 to face forever rival Grant next Friday while Tri County (4-0) will be looking to stay undefeated as they face winless Morley Stanwood. Fremont 20 Grant 0 The Tigers night started badly with a fumble on the first play from scrimmage. 6 plays later Kyler DeKuiper took it in from 3 yards out and after the Ben Mellema conversion it was 7-0 Packers early on. Grant’s next possession ended when Owen Hertel picked off a pass. Early in the second quarter Fremont began a drive that ended when Khai Noordyk racked up 6 from a dozen yards out and after a failed conversion Fremont led 13-0 a score that would hold up to intermission. The final score of the game came in the third when Hertel rammed it in from 7 yards and with the Mellema boot it showed 20-0 on the board. Talen Reichert-Slater hit on 11 of 18 passes with Hertel the target for 6 of those and DeKuiper gathering in 3. Hertel led all rushers with 82 yards while Karter Noordyk piled up 69 and Noordyk finished with 61. But it was the defense that was the story of this game, tossing a shutout behind a defense led in tackles by Connor Pettis (11), Trentyn Corley (6), Hertel (5) and Levi Wimmer (4). The Packers even their mark at 2-2 on the season and return to conference play when Oakridge comes to town also bearing a 2-2 record.. On Friday the Eagles defeated Ludington 29-21 at Oriole field. Nolo Contendere Just not much else to say about these three games, Kent City 50 White Cloud 0 The Eagles put this one to bed early. White Cloud (2-2) will regroup and host winless Holton (0-4) on Friday North Muskegon 65 Hesperia 7 The Norsemen remained undefeated setting up a conference showdown with Hart next week. The Panthers never had a shot in this one with the hosts scoring early and often. Hesperia (1-3) will be looking to get back in the win column when they travel to Shelby (0-4) to face the Tigers. Mason County Central 64 Holton 6 Peyton Merz took the opening kickoff 80 yards for a TD then merely scored 5 more on the night as the Spartans dished out a 59-0 licking by halftime. The merciful running clock was the only thing that kept the numbers from breaking the scoreboard. The Devils will be looking for win number 1 when they travel to White Cloud Friday.    Above photos by Bobbi Cruzan
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 Despite rumors of retirement the mystery ref was spotted working the Fremot/Ludington game last week By Ken De Laat Week 3 is in the books and our local teams are having mixed success this far. Fremont stumbled in their conference opener against a surprisingly explosive Oriole offense who have put up 97 points the last 2 games. Speaking of the Lakes division, Manistee stayed undefeated with a win over Oakridge on the Eagle home turf, no easy feat, to put themselves in the title race. At least until they face Whitehall in 2 weeks. In the Rivers division Hart and North Muskegon are each undefeated on the season and 1-0 in the division, but don’t go to sleep on Ravenna who despite a pair of early losses will undoubtedly compete for the crown. In the CSAA Tri County looks even better than last season. The win over Reed City up in Coyote country was huge and while Coach Butler will never let his team look ahead of the next game, you can bet the matchup with the Cardinals in early October is etched on a few calendars.BR and RC play this week.Kent City started 2-0 then got stuffed in their home field last week. Can the Cloud snap a lengthy losing streak to the Eagles? Grant at Fremont Two long time rivals who both need a win to pull even on the season. The Tigers are playing away from home for the fourth straight game and have struggled with keeping teams other than Kelloggsville out of the endzone. Fremont had no answers for an Oriole team that seemed to score whenever they wanted to. If Reichert-Slater finds Hertel a few times and Noordyk pounds the line on the ground it could be a rough night for the Tigers. Grant has scored on big plays and special teams. They’ll need to put together a few lengthy drives to keep their defense from spending so much time on the field. Look for Tiger Obenauf to attract a lot of Packer attention. Kent City at White Cloud The Cloud hasn’t beaten the Eagles on the gridiron since 1996 when both competed in the old NCAA Conference. That’s been 11 games and they haven’t kept a Kent City team under 50 points since 2015. The Eagles started out with a pair of wins but last week the Bucks of Buchanan controlled the KC offense most of the night. Coach Trice and his staff will likely see a lot of film of that one in preparation for Friday. It will be a big crowd and it will take a big game from a number of Indian players on both sides of the ball to pull off a win over their visitors. McGowen has been productive on both sides of the ball, Stockwell, Graham and the Indian D will be tasked with keeping the game from being a catchup affair. Tri County at Newaygo The Vikings are steaming hot right now. They have averaged over 40 points a game and have simply outscored opponents. TC has a title on their agenda and don’t want to stumble on the wayThe Lions got off the schneid with a convincing win over Morley but there are still more mistakes on the field than Coach Munger would like. It will be imperative that they minimize the kind of errors the Vikings have been feasting on early this season if they are going to give themselves a chance in this one, Hesperia at North Muskegon The Panthers are facing one of the top teams in the conference on the road. The Norse knocked off perennial powerhouse Pewamo-Westphalia then whipped Muskegon Catholic and Mason County Central. Hope to see Hesperia fare well but NM has far too much talent on the field to believe an upset is imminent. Holton at Mason County Central The Spartans don’t score much but the Devils are barely scoring at all. Looks to be a rough year for Holton with a schedule that's not getting any easier.  Tiger teams were busy the past couple of days. The netters knotd up with the Panthers Tuesday then came back the next day to fall short in a battle with the Vikings. Vballers came up on top of three close sets with the Lions. Tennis Wednesday Grant 2 Whitehall 6, Singles: No. 1 - Grant Frye, Grant def. William Burger, Whitehall, 3-6 , 7-5 , 10-8 No. 2 - Owen Bass, Whitehall def. Evan McKnight, Grant, 6-1 , 6-0 No. 3 - Jones McDowell, Whitehall def. Asher Merrifield, Grant, 6-0 , 6-0 No. 4 - Evan Schuitema , Whitehall def. Lincoln Richards, Grant, 6-0 , 6-0 Doubles: No. 1 - Isaac VanAmberg, Whitehall - Ian Sampson, Whitehall def. Drew Crater, Grant - Hayden Schwartz, Grant, 6-0 , 6-2 No. 2 - Garrett Frye, Grant - Thomas Devos, Grant def. Jonathan Hall, Whitehall - Patrick Cole, Whitehall, 1-6 , 7-5 , 11-9 No. 3 - Elijah Roberge, Whitehall - Myles Welch, Whitehall def. Manny Tiffany, Grant - Aaron Palmer, Grant, 6-1 , 6-3 No. 4 - Adam Sikkenga, Whitehall - Remington Whelpley, Whitehall def. Cotter Scholtens, Grant - Tom Kasper, Grant, 6-0 , 6-1 Volleyball Tuesday Grant 3 Newaygo 0 Coach Schuitema: Grant varsity defeated Newaygo in 3 sets tonight with scores of 25-19, 25-22, 25-22. We were confident, controlled, and finished well under pressure. We did a lot of nice things tonight! Our JV and Freshmen teams also defeated Newaygo tonight. All 3 teams keep getting better and better! We're attending to the details of the game, playing more relaxed, and keeping the simple things simple! Leaders from Grant Varsity vs.Newaygo; Danica Gee, 10 kills, 2 aces, 11 digs Chloee Chase, 3 kills, 4 aces, 19 assists, 10 digs Reese Gragg added 6 kills, 5 digs Jocee Pleune had 15 digs Payton Bouwkamp had 2 aces, 13 digs Hailey Guerra had 3 blocks Tennis Tuesday Grant 4 Comstock Park 4 Singles: No. 1 - Grant Frye, Grant def. Dylan Vandermeer, Comstock Park, 6-3 , 7-5 No. 2 - Evan McKnight, Grant def. Brendan Williams, Comstock Park, 6-2 , 6-1 No. 3 - Brady Vanoverloop, Comstock Park def. Lincoln Richards, Grant, 6-0 , 6-0 No. 4 - Ben Keasler, Comstock Park def. Asher Merrifield, Grant, 6-1 , 6-4 Doubles: No. 1 - Drew Crater, Grant - Hayden Schwartz, Grant def. Aden Cole, Comstock Park - John Bryant, Comstock Park, 6-2 , 6-2 No. 2 - Thomas Devos, Grant - Garrett Frye, Grant def. Keegan Hockey, Comstock Park - Ewan Robinson, Comstock Park, 6-2 , 6-4 No. 3 - Cole Brozozowski, Comstock Park - Connor Phinney, Comstock Park def. Manny Tiffany, Grant - Aaron Palmer, Grant, 6-3 , 6-2 No. 4 - Jamar Lewis, Comstock Park - Ryan Brinkman, Comstock Park def. Cotter Scholtens, Grant - Tom Kasper, Grant, 6-4 , 1-6 , 10-4  Annie Feldpausch in mid leap Photos by Brent Foondle White Cloud Cross Country was in action at the Fremont Hill & Bale Saturday, September 9. The Boys finished third in their division behind Muskegon West Michigan Christian and Wyoming Potter's House. Coleson Cruzan led the charge with a fourth place finish. Carson Foondle was tenth, Kaleb Canning 14th, Wyatt Karnes 24th, Angelo Hinson 25th, Avery Bowman 29th, and Trystan Tancock 36th to round out our Varsity seven. Coleson, Carson, and Kaleb were medal winners. The boys improved, on average, by 1:15 from the 2022 Hill & Bale, and 1:38 from their previous race. In the girls race, Annie Feldpausch was the lone medal earner with a 13th place finish. Charlotte Karnes was 33rd and Anna Mohr was 34th. Our JV runners were led by Donnie Grovesteen in the combined division race. He medaled, taking 10th place. He was followed by Dalton Crawford (19th), Mason Price (30th), Jarrett Warlick (31st), Landon Edwards (35th), Tyler Higgins (37th), Joziah Smith (43th), and Sam Viher (45th.) The JV boys finished 4th in the nine team field. Our Runners of the Meet were Charlotte Karnes and Mason Price for improving their times from last week by 6:05 and 4:18 respectively.
 Mason Price  Photo by Katelyn Thompson  Photo by Bobbie Cruzan O’s Run Wild, Cloud Stops Panthers, Dawgs Drop Devs, Vikes Sink Tigers Ludington 42 Fremont 20 They just could not stop them. Scoring on their first 6 possessions the Orioles shredded the Packer defense with a productive running attack, some timely passes and a bit of razzle dazzle. Down 14-0 Packer QB Talen Reichert-Slater found an open Owen Hertel and 80 yards later the visitors were on the board. Then the O’s ran off the next 28 points and the second half began with a running clock that continued through the 3rd and only stopped when Khai Noordyk broke free for a 60 yard TD to start the 4th. The Packers added a score when Reichert-Slater connected once again with Hertel for a 60 yard score. Noordyk posted 101 yards on the ground while Riechert-Slater finished with 171 yards passing with 157 of those falling in the hands of Hertel. Hertel also led the team in tackles with 11 with Daniel Romero tallying a half dozen and Trentyn Corley adding 5 to go with his interception. Fremont (1-2) will host Grant (1-2) Friday. Ravenna 58 Holton 0 After a pair of tough losses to start the season the Dawgs came into this one licking a few wounds and ready to slap a W on the board. The Red Devils never had a shot. Ravenna scored at will and the Holton offense could not get any traction in the WMC-R matchup. Hunter Zang gained a hard fought 55 yards to lead the Devs in rushing. While David Addison accounted for 37 yards on the ground and received the only completed pass an 8 yarder from Riley Pierce. Holton (0-3) will travel to Scottville Friday to take on Mason County Central (1-2). White Cloud 28 Hesperia 7 For the third year in a row the Hesperia/White Cloud rivalry went the way of the Cloud. The Indian defense was the star of the show keeping the Panther attack at bay for most of the night. Coach Trice: "I feel our Defense played a lot better this week then the first two weeks. I still don't feel we've played our best game yet. Offensively we still have work to do to be where we want to be. I feel the biggest strength about our team is we don't quit these kids have so much fight in them." Mason Cruzan and Ashton Graham each had a pick for the visitors and Reece Johnson recorded a pair of sacks as part of his team leading 13 tackles. Landyn McGowen (11) Graham (11) and Conner Stockwell (10) each reached double figures in tackles. On the offensive side McGowen punched in 2 of the Indian TDs with Lloyd Sebright-Johnson also finding pay dirt on the ground. The other Cloud score came via a Jayson Reuther to Dalton Crawford pass. Skylar Stalbaum rushed for a game high 103 yards for the Panthers and QB Brock Bolles connected with Ian Fox for the lone Hesperia score. Stalbaum also paced the Panther defense notching 10 tackles while Noah Walker finished with 9 and Eli Edens added an interception to his 6 tackles. Back on the winning track the Cloud will travel to Kent City (2-1) Friday in a key conference matchup. Hesperia (1-2) begins conference play in the WMC-R when they travel to North Muskegon to face the undefeated Norse.  Photo by Katelyn Thompson Tri County 46 Grant 14 Viking QB Owen Behrenwald rushed for 136 yards on just four carries, including a 90-yard touchdown run, Jayden Button was on the receiving end of 3 touchdown passes and Lucas Russo ran one in from 37 yards out as the TC offensive juggernaut kept the Vikings undefeated and handed Grant their second straight loss after a season opening win. "We played a physical game against an athletic Grant team,” said Viking Head Coach Phil Butler. “Our Offensive line and Defensive line played great and that allowed our athletes to make some plays. Proud of our focus and effort last night. We are excited to be 3-0 but our focus right now is to improve everyday and beat Newaygo this week." The Tigers were led on defense by Max Heitzman who tallied 11 tackles while Aiden Booth picked off an interception. On offense Rory Fish completed 14 passes finding Oakley Obenauf 4 times. Obenauf also posted 96 return yards on the night. Cohen Garrod led the team in receiving yards with 33 and Jose Magana ran back a Viking kickoff for an 80 yard score, his second return TD of the season Grant (1-2) will head to Fremont (1-2) for their 4th straight road game while Tri County (3-0) will take their game to Newaygo (1-2).  Photo by Bobbie Cruzan  Photo by Katelyn Thompson  Photo by Katelyn Thompson  With the sidelines looking on intensely and a flag flying in the air, Logan Klomp makes an acrobatic catch  Wrapping up his opponent, Noah McLaughlin grimaces Lions Roar Past Morley Story by Ken De Laat photos by Alexis Mercer The home opener for Newaygo had a celebratory feel to it as the stands were packed with fans eager to get a look at their team under the tutelage of legendary coach Ralph Munger. They weren’t disappointed. Coming back home after a heartbreaking loss at Kent City and a pretty good thumping in Big Rapids the Lions dominated the early part of the game capitalizing on Mohawk mistakes that began with the kickoff. The return was mishandled but recovered by the visitors who couldn’t move the ball. Forced to punt, the snap was mishandled and Newaygo recovered on the Mohawk 12. Two plays later Damon Moore punched it into the endzone and the hosts went up 6-0. Morley responded with a drive that took them to the Lion 20 but were stopped on downs. An unsportsmanlike penalty that led to the ejection of the Mohawk player involved moved the ball forward for the Lions where they pounded ahead behind the running of Moore, Brian Badgero and Aaron Garza. When they approached mid field Blake Kerr pulled off a beauty of a quarterback keeper breaking into the secondary then weaving his way downfield for a 54 yard score and the Lions went up 12-0.  Blake Kerr kicks off to Morley  Hunter Yearsovich switches directions on a dime to avoid being tackled after intercepting the ball for the Lions Another scoring chance for the Lions came when a scrambling Kerr hit Hunter Yearsovich coming back for the ball for a catch that put them back into the red zone. The next play saw Morley’s Chapin (a name heard often from the loudspeakers) pick off a pass to end the Lion threat and the half ended with the Lions holding the two touchdown lead. While the first half provided the bleacher (and fenceside) crowd some flashes on both sides of the ball, the start of the second half provided a view of what a classic Munger-led team does best. Fielding the kickoff, the Lions methodically marched down the field with a well executed drive that ate up 7 ½ minutes of clock and culminated in a short scoring pass from Kerr to Jordan Holm and after their third failed conversion the Lions were up 18-0. Late in the third a Morley fumble was scooped up by the Lions and Julian Guajardo took it in for another 6 and a 24-0 lead. The Mohawks put together a drive led by Isaiah Kukla who put together some bruising runs into the Lion line and the visitors got on the board adding a 2 point conversion to make it 24-8.   With Coach Munger back on the field, his friends and former Rockford co-workers traveled to see the action (l to r): Steve Lewis, Dave Price, Kathy Munger, Kevin O'Rourke and Jim Haskins  Midway through the final period the game was halted after a severe leg injury to Mohawk Junior Tanner Little required him to be transported for medical care. When play resumed the Mohawks drive fell short and the Lions had sealed their first win of the season and the first Newaygo win for Coach Munger (that’s 356 total if anyone’s counting). From the sidelines it’s easy to see this is Coach Munger’s team. It takes a lot to turn a program around after a few down years and any coach is limited by the amount of talent on the field, but a good coach gets everything he can out of the players he has and Newaygo has a very very good coach. Observing his interactions with his players, his coaches and the officials as the game unfolds under his watchful eye makes the past success he brings to the table no mystery. Kerr hit on 6 of 12 passes while leading all rushers with 48 yards. Moore put up 37 yards and Badgero added 30. Logan Klomp pulled in 3 Kerr passes while Wyatt Gorby, Jordan Helms and Yearsovich each pulled one in. On defense Garza tallied 8 tackles while Luis Ceja ALvarez, Kiean VanDyke and Klopm finished with 6 apiece. 5 of Alvarez’ tackles were solo. Newaygo (1-2) will see its defense tested when they welcome in the high octane offense of Tri County (3-0) next Friday. Morley Stanwood (0-3) will finally get a home game when Lakeview (1-2) comes to town. Side note: Halftime saw a field goal kicking contest and Newaygo Superintendent Ben Gilpin was recruited onto the field where, behind the encouragement of the student section, he booted a pair of beauties between the uprights much to the delight of the endzone denizens. Unfortunately ineligible to suit up, his kicking prowess could have added some PATs to the Lion TDs.  Superintendent Ben Gilpin watches as his field goal attempt is good! Mystery Ref denies rumors of retirement All games begin at 7pm Morley Stanwood at Newaygo The Lions have had a bit of a rough start falling to Kent City in a close one then losing to the Cardinals in a not so close one. And now, Morley. The Mohawks, once a perennial post season participant have fallen on some tough times and the MS faithful haven’t seen a win since Lakeview forfeited a game to the ‘Hawks nearly 2 years ago. After getting pasted by a Hornet team that in turn got beat up by Kent City they lost by 10 to Kalkaska, another team not likely to be playing in week 10. The Lions are at home and will hand Coach Munger his first win in Newaygo And merely the 356th of his career. Grant at Tri County Coach Butler’s team seems to have the same offensive explosiveness that carried the Vikes to an 7-2 regular season record and a share of the Gold title. Thus far they have knocked off an always tough Coyote team and simply outscored a pretty good Comstock Park squad. The Tigers met up with a seriously rejuvenated Chip Hills program last week following their win at Kelloggsville and the Warriors scored early and often. Tiger Oakley Obenauf has a TD pass, 2 TDs receiving and one on a kick return thus far this season. It’s not known if he’s also been driving the bus but… Fremont at Ludington The Packers evened their record with a win over the Beavers and now they enter their second season in the WMC-L. They kept it close at home against Ludville last season, but the trip to Oriole field hasn’t been a pleasant one for the Pack in recent years and they are going to have to score more than a TD or two to win this one much less compete in the rest of what looks to be a rugged road in conference play. White Cloud at Hesperia The Cloud fell behind early at Hart and the Pirates were able to score enough to keep their visitors from coming all the way back. They showed a lot of heart though hanging around until late in the game. TheIndians have a lot of weapons on offense and I think it's safe to say their fans will see a stronger defensive showing this week. The Panthers won an aborted contest over the Heights then battled St Louis pretty hard before falling short. Both teams face tough tests next week with the Indians hosting an on-a-roll Kent City team and the Panthers having to visit the home of the Norsemen, a team with their eye on a title run. Holton at Ravenna Few situations could be worse than a visit to Citizens Field where an angry and frustrated group of Dawgs are eager to put those first two losses behind them in a big way. The Devs can’t score and can’t stop anyone else from scoring. Looks as though it’s likely to be a rout in Ravenna.  Coach Schuitema: “Grant Varsity lost a tough league match tonight in 5 sets to Reed City. We played a hard fought match tonight. After going down two sets, it's tough to battle back but I was really proud of our girls for pushing back and taking them to five sets tonight. I keep telling our girls that by attending to details, believing in ourselves and continuing to work hard, we are going to rise!” Leaders for the game were: Chloee Chase with 10 kills, 3 aces, 20 assists, 17 digs Bella Welch had 12 kills, 36 digs, 1 ace Danica Gee had 20 digs, 9 kills Jocee Pleune had 18 digs Payton Bouwkamp had 12 digs and 2 aces Hailey Guerra led us in blocks with 3   Packers Trap Beavers, Pirates Plunder Cloud, A Rambler Rout & Both Cats Fall Short WC Photos by Cassie Rickert Hart 52 White Cloud 28 The host Pirates put a pair of TD’s on the scoreboard in the first quarter and jumped to a 14-0 lead but the Cloud responded early in the second when Lloyd Sebright-Johnson took it to pay dirt from 3 yards out but Hart responded quickly to stretch the lead. Jayson Reuther got the Indians back within 7 when he unleashed a 66 yard scoring bomb that fell into the hands of Nathan Campeau and the teams went to intermission with Hart up 2o-13. The Pirates struck quickly for another score then held the Cloud to a 3 and out. WC’s defense forced a fumble and on the ensuing drive Landyn McGowan found David Higgs and 42 yards later the Indians had pulled within a score once again. The Hart running game proved to be tough to contain as the hosts grinded out the yards behind a strong O-line. White Cloud managed to put up another score when McGowan connected with Noah Robinson but by then the Pirates had added to their lead and were cruising to a 2-0 mark. Compeau finished with 133 receiving yards and Reuther passed for a total of 199 yards. Reece Johnson led the team in tackles along with Ashton Graham and Jayden Robinson. Johnson and Graham each forced a fumble. White Cloud (1-1) will head west on M-20 Friday to Take on Hesperia (1-1). Fremont 15 Beaverton 12 The Packers evened their mark on the season edging the Beavers thanks to a pair of successful conversions. Asa Barnhard tallied both TDs for the visitors matching the two trips across the goaline for the Beavers but while Khai Noordyke punched in a two pointer and Ben Mellema split the uprights, the hosts were stopped on both conversion attempts providing Fremont with the margin of victory. Barnhard finished with 106 yards on te night while Owen Hertel picked up 51 and Noordyk added 42. Talen Reichert-Slater completed 5-of-11 passes two of them to Kyle DeKuiper who led receivers with 22 yards. Connor Pettis, Chance Crawford, DeKuiper and Barnhard led the defense in tackles. Fremont (1-1) begins WMC-L play with a trip to Ludington (1-1) Friday. Chippewa Hills 43 Grant 13 The Warriors running game was in high gear Thursday as they piled up 448 rushing yards and ran away from the visiting Tigers. It was the conference opener for both teams. Tiger QB Oakley Obenauf found Sincere Hatch with a strike that Hatch carried into the endzone for one of the two Grant TDs. Obenauf tallied the other one with a kickoff return. Max Heintzman led the defense, collecting 10 tackles for the Tigers. Grant (1-1, 0-1) will head to Tri County (2-0, 1-0) for a matchup that has seen a simmering rivalry develop the past few years. St Louis 16 Hesperia 6 While the Panthers came up with 3 big takeaways it was the giveaways that proved to be their undoing. With their running game stymied by the Sharks’ swarming defense the visitors were forced to rely on their passing game and St L’s secondary was ready for them collecting 4 picks on the night. The Panthers scored their lone TD when Kohen Witte connected with Ian Fox for a score, one of 4 catches by Fox. Thor Klaus tucked away 5 catches while leading the team in tackles on defense. Hesperia (1-1) will host White Cloud (1-1) on Friday. Perry 42 Holton 0 Tye Ramblers were true to their name as they rambled up and down their home field dominating their visitors from kickoff to final gun. The Red Devils were unable to move the ball on offense and struggled with containing the Rambler offense. Holton (0-2) will begin WMC-R play Friday when they travel to Ravenna to face the Dawgs.      Lions Fall to Cardinals Photos and story by Alexis Mercer Lions 14 Big Rapids 42 After an extremely close game in week one, ending with a one point loss only in the last seconds of the game against Kent City, the Lions headed to Cardinal country to try to earn the first W of the season. Big Rapids, with their student section decked out in Hawaiian gear and spirit for days, was well prepared for the Lion onslaught. The home team's opening drive resulted in a Cardinal touchdown: the Lions had to find their toughness early. With a much publicized new coach in Ralph Munger, and the fourth coaching staff in four years, this Newaygo team has been forced to endure a lot of change and adversity. What was made very clear throughout the four quarters, was that they are willing to dig in when the going gets tough, and then tougher, to fight with pride. Throughout the entire game, the coaching staff could be heard speaking with respect and specific encouragement to the boys. At the 3:43 mark in the 2nd quarter, Damone Moore used his impressive speed and agility to return a kickoff for 85 yards and put the Lions on the board. A 2 point conversion was made good from quarterback Blake Kerr to Aaron Garza. The score was 35-8 heading into the locker room. The second half was much the same with an impressively strong Big Rapids team finding ways to score on offense and then stop the Lions on defense. But another moment of brightness came with 3:31 left in the game when Kerr passed wide to Isaiah Lopez, who then ran hard through a few defenders to find the end zone, making it 42-14.   |
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