Tag Archives: Rockford High School

East Kentwood turns back Rockford to keep record a perfect 6-0 

Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Kent County, Local Sports, Sports, West Michigan, , , , ,



By Greg Chrapek
Wyoming-Kentwood News Today Contributor
greer@wktv.org

The Rockford Rams have been a pain in the side for the East Kentwood football team for the past several years.

That pain was eradicated last Friday in a big way as the host Falcons dispatched the visiting Rams 31-10. The win improved East Kentwood’s record to 6-0 for the season and sets up a showdown for first place in the OK Red this Friday when the Falcons travel to Caledonia for a battle of unbeaten teams in conference play.

The win against Rockford was the first since the 2019 season when the Falcons defeated Rockford 38-12 in the first round of the playoffs after falling to them the previous week. Since then, the Rams have had East Kentwood’s number. That is until Friday when the Falcons combined a strong defensive effort with some timely offense to earn the win and break the skid against the Rams.

East Kentwood scored points in each quarter against the Rams while the Falcon defense allowed just a single touchdown in the second quarter and a field goal in the third.

“I think anytime you can get a win in the OK Red it is awesome,” said East Kentwood Coach Tyrone Spencer, “especially against Rockford. This was a great team win for our program and we will build off it as we continue to press toward our standard of excellence every day.”

East Kentwood helmet. (Photo Courtesy: Eli Reed)


Falcons strike first with big run

East Kentwood struck the first big blow of the game midway through the first quarter, when Falcon senior wide receiver Stephan Jones took a handoff on a jet sweep and broke free for a 72-yard touchdown run. Jayden Garcia tacked on the point after giving the Falcons an early 7-0 lead.

The two teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter with East Kentwood taking a 14-7 lead late in the first half.

Just before halftime the Falcon big-play offense struck again, with Jones providing the big play fireworks again. This time it was through the air as Falcon quarterback Colin O’Connor found an open Jones in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown pass with nine seconds remaining in the first half. Garcia added the extra points giving the Falcons a 21-7 halftime lead.

Rockford cut the Kentwood lead to 21-10 early in the second half when they drove downfield and kicked a field goal.

East Kentwood matched that field goal when it went on a long drive at the end of the third quarter and paid it off with a 46-yard field goal from Garcia in the early moments of the fourth.

The Falcons closed out the scoring with a touchdown in the final minute of the game.

“I thought our defense played well and made key stops when they needed to,” Spencer said. “Offensively, we were able to make explosive plays and that was the difference in the game.”

O’Connor went 13-for-24 passing with 197 yards and one touchdown.

Jones was the main target in the passing game as he hauled in seven passes for 75 yards and a score. Austin Nelson caught one pass for 38 yards, while Donovan Rubens caught one for 38 and Dallas Moody, one for 21 yards.

O’Connor also led the Falcons in rushing with 78 yards on 16 carries, including one touchdown run. Jones finished with 87 yards on three carries with a score. Ace Bryant added 24 yards on eight carries, while Moody was eight for 17 yards and a touchdown.

Donavan Jones led with seven tackles, five assists and three tackles for loss

Donavan Jones led the falcons with seven tackles, five assists and three tackles for loss, followed by Alijah Bondon, three tackles, three assists, two sacks and two tackles for loss; Ja’Kari Lovelady, three tackles and two assists; Chris Thompson, three tackles, three assists, one sack and one tackle for loss; Austin Nelson, two tackles, an assist and interception and D’Mari Love-Simmons, two tackles, one assist, one sack and two tackles for loss.

East Kentwood puts its 6-0 record on the line Friday at Caledonia to face the Fighting Scots, who are 4-0 in conference play with a 5-1 overall record. The one loss, however, was applied to the Scots following their opening-night win against Portage Northern that they won 48-12 when it was determined that Caledonia had used an ineligible player and was given a forfeit loss.

East Kentwood falls short at Rockford in OK Red football showdown

Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Kentwood Public Schools, Local Sports, Sports, West Michigan, , , , ,
East Kentwood at Rockford Football. (WKTV Friday Night Highlights/9-29-25/Eli Reed)


By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
greer@wktv.org


In a battle between two of the premier Division 1 high school football heavyweights in West Michigan, the Rockford Rams made a few more big plays than East Kentwood and that proved to be the difference as the Rams grabbed a 21-14 OK Red win.

Defense and the running game played big parts in the showdown as Rockford handed the Falcons their first loss of the season.

“I thought it wasn’t one of our best games,” said East Kentwood Coach Tyrone Spencer. “I felt that the effort was there. We fought hard, but we definitely made a lot of mistakes that we could’ve prevented. We had a lot of opportunities on our end that we did not take advantage of. We could’ve played a lot better overall, especially on defense.”

Neither team was able to put any points on the scoreboard during the opening quarter of the game. 


Rockford on offense during the Rams 21-14 home victory over East Kentwood Friday. (Photo Courtesy, Eli Reed)

Rams strike first

Rockford broke the scoring drought in the second quarter, when it scored on a 19-yard touchdown run to go up 7-0 with 10:35 remaining in the first half after the extra point kick.

The score remained that way until late in the first half when both teams scored in the final minute of the half.

East Kentwood tied the game when quarterback Kayd Coffman capped a drive by running in for a touchdown from four-yards out. Jayden Garcia kicked the extra point to tie the game at 7-7 with 49 seconds remaining in the first half.


East Kentwood quarterback Kayd Coffman sets the offense during the Falcons 21-14 loss to Rockford Friday. (Photo Courtesy, Eli Reed)



Those 49 seconds, however, proved to be enough time for Rockford to regain the lead before halftime. 

Starting on their own 25-yard line, Rockford quickly moved down field on a 15-yard run by quarterback Braylen Daniels and a 38-yard pass play from Daniels to Jax Eichbauer. Daniels then finished the drive connecting with Jackson Cummings on a 22-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds remaining in the half. Rockford added the point after to take a 14-7 lead into halftime.

Both defenses tightened up during the third quarter as neither team put any points on the scoreboard.

Midway through the fourth quarter, East Kentwood drove down to the Rockford one-yard line, but on a fourth down and goal from the one, the Ram defense came up big and kept the Falcons out of the end one.


East Kentwood fans filled the visitor stands during their 21-14 loss to Rockford Friday. (Photo Courtesy, Eli Reed)



Rockford turned to its ground game and went on a long drive of its own. The Rams eventually scored as Luke Ahern ran across the goal line with 5:04 remaining in the game, giving Rockford a 21-7 lead.

East Kentwood, however, refused to fold and cut the deficit to 21-14 with 3:48 remaining in the game. Coffman broke free for a 39-yard touchdown run.

That was as close as the Falcons would get as Rockford put the game on ice with its running game.

“We missed some shots we had,” Spencer said. “We had three fourth-and-ones that we missed and we have got to get those. Against good teams you are not going to get too many opportunities and you have to take advantage of them when you get them.”



East Kentwood and Rockford battled it out Friday night. (Photo Courtesy, Eli Reed)



East Kentwood finished with 358 total yards; 231 on the ground and 127 through the air.

Coffman led the way for the Falcons with 101 yards on seven carries and two touchdowns. He also completed 13-of-28 passes for 127 yards.

Jesse Phillips added 59 yards rushing on 12 carries, while Nasir Williams added 51 rushing on 13 carries.

Ahman Edmonds led the Falcons with nine catches for 90 yards, followed by Owen Van Der Veen, three for 33 yards.

Malachi Daly with seven tackles

Malachi Daly led the Falcons with seven tackles, followed by Major Barnes, five tackles and an interception, Donavan Jones, three tackles, an interception and a tackle for loss and Jaziel Negron, four tackles, including a tackle for loss.

“Defensively, we did create three turnovers so we did do some good things on defense,” Spencer said. “We did miss some alignments on defense so we have some things to work on defensively.”

With the loss, the Falcons fell to 3-1 overall, 1-1 in the conference. They return to action Friday when they host Caledonia (2-2 overall, 0-2 in conference play) with losses to Hudsonville and Grandville.

“We are excited about this week,” Spencer said. “I think we match up well with Caledonia. Like everybody else in the OK Red, there are no gimmees. You have to come ready to play and ready to play hard. We can’t have misalignments and miscues. We have to be ready to play our best on offense, defense and special teams.” 

Rockford defeats host East Kentwood 45-27; both teams headed to Division 1 playoffs

Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Kent County, Kentwood Public Schools, Local Sports, Sports, West Michigan, , , ,



By Cris Greer

WKTV Managing Editor/Sports Director

greer@wktv.org



Visiting Rockford knocked off East Kentwood 45-27 Friday. The Rams improved to 5-2 in the OK Red, 7-2 overall, while the Falcons fell to 4-3 in the Red, 5-4 overall.


Despite the loss to Rockford, the Falcons already had clinched a Division 1 playoff berth with their 31-7 win over Jenison last Friday. Rockford also is headed to the playoffs.


Stay tuned for the playoff brackets which drop Sunday night.