Rockford scored on two of its first three offensive plays and jumped out to a 14-0 lead on visiting Cedar Springs just 2:50 in the game as the Rams rolled to a 35-6 win Thursday at Carlson-Munger Stadium.
"That just gave us a ton of confidence," Rockford senior quarterback Zak Ahern said. "We still have to work on not getting ahead of ourselves and keep our foot on the peddle the whole time."
Ahern ran 22 yards for the first score just 26 seconds into the game, then hit senior receiver Tyler Vroman on a 56-yard scoring pass.
3 offensive plays, 2 Rockford TDs
— FOX 17 Blitz (@FOX17Blitz) September 2, 2021
Ahern to Tyler Vroman 56-yards for a score
Rockford 14, Cedar Springs 0
9:10 | 1st Quarter pic.twitter.com/gaiCRdnyFg
The Rams defense did not allow the Red Hawks to get a first down in the first quarter.
"It was crazy, we had crazy energy," Rockford senior inside linebacker Andrew Griffin said. "I think there was a little more tonight knowing that Sterling Heights came in and gave us a little kicking, but we came out fighting and did really well."
Ahern found Leo Vanderwiel on a 12-yard scoring pass for a 21-0 lead after the first 12 minutes.
Cedar scored on an Antwuan Nichols 7-yard run to pull within 21-6 at the half, but the Red Hawks were held to just 145 yards of total offense in the game.
"We knew it was a heck of a task to get that offense off the field," Rockford head coach Brent Cummings said. "Our defense was up to the challenge against an extremely disciplined offense, to see them have success early on that changes the game because otherwise they can take that ball all the way down the field and cause havoc for a defense."
Gabe Spees (3 yards) and Ahern (4 yards) added third quarter scoring runs to put the game out of reach.
Rockford (2-0) opens OK Red play next week at home against East Kentwood.
Cedar Springs (1-1) hosts Ottawa Hills to start OK Gold play next Friday.
