Rockford Football - WKTV Journal

Check out these great highlights of the Rockford/East Kentwood Division 1 playoff opener Friday. Rockford defeated East Kentwood 50-14. (WKTV/Hunter Veltema)

By Zach Fanko, WKTV Contributor

Momentum swings in football can be fickle and East Kentwood experienced that firsthand tonight as Rockford ran away from the Falcons for a 50-14 Division 1 district semifinal victory.

Things got off to a rough start for East Kentwood as a sack and fumble on the game’s first play led to a Mac VandenHout touchdown on a quarterback keeper from 2-yards out to put the Rams ahead 7-0 at the 11:02 mark.

The Falcons responded with a drive of their own as QB Ben Cash found his receiver J’Kari Couch twice, once on a nice deep ball to setup Elisee Kanda for one of his two TDs tonight to even the game at 7-7 with 6:04 left in the first quarter.

Rockford didn’t waste any time getting back into scoring position as Alex McLean returned the ensuing kickoff all the way back to the East Kentwood 13-yard-line.

Two plays later, VandenHout connected with Ethan Lyon for the 11-yard score and a 14-7 lead.

The East Kentwood offense lines up against Rockford’s defense during Friday night’s Division 1 district semifinal. (WKTV/Zach Fanko)

Following a Rams’ field goal, the Falcons trailed 17-7 before Couch had another big catch inside the 10-yard line.

Kanda finished off the drive with a 1-yard TD run to bring the score to 17-14 with 1:57 left in the opening stanza.

On the next drive, East Kentwood seized possession on a 4th-and-goal stop at the 1-yard-line by Kanda with 8 minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Then disaster struck as Cash had trouble with a shotgun snap and lost the ball out of the back of the end zone for a Rockford safety to make it 19-14.

The Rams took advantage of the swing in momentum as senior QB VandenHout capped off a 70-yard drive with a 1-yard keeper for the score.

VandenHout later connected with McLean, who outran the entire Falcons’ defense for a 49-yard TD and a 33-14 advantage at halftime.

McLean finished the game with seven receptions for 98 yards and three total TDs, while VandenHout scored five TDs (two on the ground) as Rockford (10-0) advances to next week’s district final against the winner of Caledonia and Grandville.

Despite the loss, East Kentwood (5-5) Coach Tony Kimbrough says his team has a lot to be proud of after qualifying for the playoffs. The Falcons finished 2-7 in 2021.

“Proud of our seniors and the way they turned it around,” Kimbrough said. “They put in the work, they led us, they did all the right things in the offseason.

“I told them not to let this define them, because we did some great things this year.”

The future is bright for East Kentwood football according to Kimbrough, who is challenging his younger players to take it to the next level in the offseason.

“Our seniors had a great message for our underclassmen,” Kimbrough said. “Hopefully, they take it to heart and work twice as hard in the weight room, speed and agility, all the things I’m going to ask of them.

“We’ve got some talented kids coming up from JV and we should be really good on the offensive and defensive line.”

By Zach Fanko, WKTV Contributing Writer

With its game last week against Grand Haven forfeited, Rockford made use of extra time in preparation for East Kentwood in a 41-20 victory over the Falcons.

The Rams clung to a 7-0 lead after one quarter and were still ahead 14-7 when disaster struck East Kentwood before halftime in the form of a special teams mistake. The Falcons lined up for a punt late in the first half, but instead were unable to get the punt off and failed to convert on fourth down.

“You can’t give up short field and especially to one of the best teams in the state,” East Kentwood coach Tony Kimbrough said. “You do that and they will make you pay for it.”

The Falcons did indeed pay for their mistake as Rockford converted the short field into a touchdown and a 20-7 lead at the break.

East Kentwood players receive instruction from their coach during Friday night’s game against Rockford. (WKTV/Nathan Piers)

Using a combination of exotic blitzes and different fronts, the Rams defense was able to shut down East Kentwood’s offense in the second half and build a decisive lead.

“Defensively we were solid all night long,” Rockford coach Brent Cummings said. “Pretty proud of our defensive line and linebackers. We wanted to attack their size with our team speed.”

It is often said that football is a “game of inches” and for East Kentwood it was the “little things” that prevented them from winning tonight, according to Kimbrough.

“We were battling early on and it was very close,” Kimbrough said. “You make a little mistake here and there and it can really make the difference. We have to be more technically sound.”

Ben Cash led the Falcons offensively with 74 rushing yards and a touchdown, as well as Elisee Kanda with 54 rushing yards and two scores. Stellan Bowman had 12 tackles and two sacks on defense.

East Kentwood (3-2, 2-1 OK Red) faces another stiff test as it travels to unbeaten Caledonia (5-0, 3-0 OK Red) next Friday. Meanwhile, Rockford (5-0, 3-0) clashes with Grandville (4-1, 2-1 OK Red).

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