LocalSportsJournal.com

MUSKEGON — Oakridge extended its winning streak while ending Ludington’s on Friday night when the Eagles soared to a 30-18 victory in the West Michigan Conference-Lakes at home.  

The Eagles gained an early 14-0 edge on the Orioles in the first quarter, and never trailed. Ludington did cut it to two at one point in the second half, but never led.  

“I was really happy with the effort, and the intensity of the football game,” Ludington head coach Charlie Gunsell said. “It was 14-12 going into the fourth.  

“Credit to Oakridge. They did what good football teams do, they converted on some big plays down at the end. We missed on a couple big plays down at the end.  

“At the end of the night I’m not into moral victories or things like that, but I thought my kids worked their tails off and gave us an opportunity to win. Oakridge made a few more plays than we did. That’s why they’ve been so successful, they tend to make those plays weekly.”  

Oakridge junior running back Trevor Jones rushed for 228 yards on 36 carries with two touchdowns.  

He scored the first touchdown for the Eagles on a 20-yard run with 8:29 left in the first quarter, and Noah McFadyn tackled Trey Forfinski in the end zone for a safety at 2:46 for an 8-0 score.  

Senior quarterback Matt Danicek made it 14-0 for the Eagles when he hit Evan Miller with a three-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the first.  

“There were a few things we didn’t capitalize on, a couple drives we didn’t finish in the first half and I told them we had to get after it more in the second half,” said Oakridge head coach Cary Harger.  

“Defensively, they hung in there in some dire circumstances. Ludington put a lot of pressure on us.”  

Ludington averted a scoreless first half on a one-yard run by Trey Forfinski with only 4:27 left in the second quarter and went into the locker room looking up at a 14-6 deficit.  

Chase Hackert brought the Orioles within two points of the Eagles when he hit Aidan Gilchrist on a 44-yard scoring strike, cutting the Oakridge lead to 14-12 with 3:40 left in the third quarter.  

But the Eagles ended the Orioles string at the 7:58 mark of the fourth quarter to push its lead to 10 points, 22-12. They made it 30-12 with 2:22 left in the game.  

The Orioles ended the scoring with a 38-yard pass from Hackert to Levi Laman with 1:08 on the clock.  

Danicek completed 6-of-13 passes on the night for 73 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles, and he rushed for 33 yards on eight carries. Chris Knapp caught two passes for 52 yards.  

Defensive leaders for the Eagles were Jullian Primmer and Brian Elizondo with four tackles apiece.  

Hackert was the Orioles leading rusher with 48 yards on 10 carries while Forfinski had 23 yards on nine tries with a touchdown. Hackert also completed 10-of-24 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns.  

Gilchrist caught five passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. Nathan Gilchrist had two receptions for 31 yards and Gage Jones caught two for 24.  

Ludington’s defensive leaders were Forfinski with 10 tackles, with one for a loss. Jones had eight stops, Laman seven, Dominic Wheaton and Aidan Gilchrist six apiece.  

Oakridge is at home again next Friday for a conference game with Fremont.  

Ludington fell to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference and returns home next Friday for a conference game against Montague.