By Ron Rop
LocalSportsJournal.com

NORTON SHORES – There are times when it’s just best to tip your hat to the opponent and move on.

Such was the case on Friday night when the high-powered Rockford Rams strolled into Mona Shores’ Sailors Stadium and delivered a 31-8 setback to the host Sailors.

You get the feeling that Rockford, with its 100-player roster, is going to get a lot of “tips of the hat” this season, based on the early returns of the 2023 season.

Last week, Rockford ventured into historic Hackley Stadium and did the same thing to the Big Reds.

“I thought our kids played hard, really hard,” Sailor coach Matt Koziak said. “It was a physical game, but they are really good and they are going to be tough to beat. They’ve proven that the last two weeks.”

The Sailors hung tough for a quarter, but then some mistakes reared up and halted drives that cost Shores a chance to match the Rams blow for blow.

Andrew Baker hauls in a pass from Jonathan Pittman and turns it into a big gain. Photo/Eric Sturr



“The penalties we had hurt us, we coughed up the ball and that hurt us,” the Sailor coach said. “At times, we are moving the sticks, then we get a penalty and we’re behind the sticks. We could never really get a rhythm and we’re shooting ourselves in the foot. But that’s not to take anything away from Rockford. They are really, really good.”

In the opening quarter, Mona Shores moved to the Ram 25, but along came two penalties and three incomplete passes and the ball went over to Rockford.

The very next drive was much the same thing with Mona Shores moving to the Ram 35. Along comes a fumble and the Rams recovered.

Rockford got on the board in the early minutes of the second quarter. A five-play drive covered 85 yards and the Rams had the lead. A 43-yard touchdown pass from Drake Irwin caught Logan Green in stride for a 43-yard touchdown pass. Rockford extended the lead to 10-0 when Chase Vogt split the uprights on a 34-yard field goal with 1:27 left in the first half.

Still, the Sailors weren’t sitting too badly, down 10 points and getting the ball to start the second half.

Jeremiah Love stuffs the Rockford run early in the first quarter. Photo/Eric Sturr



The big play bug stung the Sailors again in the third quarter when Irwin found Green, again in full stride, for a 59-yard touchdown pass with 5:15 remaining in the third quarter.

On its next possession, Mona Shores went three-and-out and to make matters worse, the Rams blocked the punt and started their next drive on the Sailor 13. On the first play, Irwin hit the lanky Lucas Pitsch in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass. That made it 24-0.

Rockford’s final score of the night came on its next drive that used the final minute of the third quarter and one play into the fourth quarter. The Rams scored when Irwin pitched the ball to Ryan Ahern, who in turn, found a wide open Green in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown run.

Koziak lifted starting quarterback Jonathan Pittman in the fourth quarter to get his backup, Hayden Terpstra some snaps. The Sailors moved from their own 32 to the Rockford 37 and that’s when Terpstra dashed through the Ram defense 37 yards into the end zone. He also ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 31-8.

“A lot of credit goes to Rockford,” Koziak said. “They had a great scheme. They are a really good team. You try to schedule games like this, it’s a great measuring stick.”

The Sailors came out of the contest healthy, for the most part, and will get back to work because next up is a visit from crosstown rival Reeths-Puffer.

“It’s a really good Reeths-Puffer team,” Koziak said. “That will be a great game to open conference play.”

Mona Shores welcomes the Rockets (2-0) at 7 p.m. next Friday to Sailor Stadium.

James Starr, Ja’Mari Taylor and Omari Hall-Brown gang tackle Rockford’s Ryan Ahern. Photo/Eric Sturr

Mona Shores did not have an answer for Drake Irwin and the high-powered Rockford passing game. Photo/Eric Sturr