A tough game between Cedar Springs and Forest Hills Northern ended in a heartbreaking loss for the Red Hawks.
Photo by K. Alvesteffer/R. LaLone.
By Maddie Nichols, student reporter
The Cedar Springs Red Hawks took on a hard competitor, the Forest Hills Northern Huskies, this past Friday and ended the fight with a close loss, 36-29.
Hawks started off with a successful offensive drive, due to runs by senior Jacob Hooker, junior John Todd, and sophomore Ryan Ringler. The drive culminated in a touchdown by quarterback Nick Campione, with 7 minutes left of the first quarter, making the score 8-0 after a two point conversion.
Northern fought back and, despite big tackles by senior Jordan Ringler, Todd, and sophomores Lucas Pienton and Ryan Ringler, the Huskies scored a touchdown with 3 minutes remaining.
However, Cedar wasn’t going down without a fight; they pushed for another touchdown with a pass from Campione to senior Dylan Ostrom-Howell. The kick was good, and the score became 15-6. Tackles by juniors Riley Hawkins and Colton Gould, as well as Pienton and senior Thomas Hill, led the Hawks led the Red Hawks into the second quarter with a 15-6 lead.
Cedar came back with more momentum and Ostrom-Howell made a long run for another touchdown, with a little under 8 minutes left of the first half, advancing the lead to 21-6. Northern came back with a touchdown shortly after with a successful two-point conversion, making the game close, 21-14. Carries by Hooker, Campione and Ostrom-Howell get the Hawks close to a touchdown, but not quite into the end zone. Northern took advantage and made another touchdown in the last minute of the second quarter, tying the game 21-21.
Going into the third quarter, Jordan Ringler, Ryan Ringler, Hill, and seniors Dustin Shaw and Austin Basso held off the Huskies for a while, until they get a touchdown with 8 minutes left, leaving the Hawks behind, 21-28. Runs by Todd, Campione, and Hooker got Ryan Ringler into the endzone with 2 minutes remaining. The two-point conversion was good and Cedar had their lead back, 29-28.
The fourth quarter became a tough 12 minutes for both teams. Tackles by Ryan Ringler, junior Nate Patin, and senior Jaron Spencer kept the Huskies out of the endzone until halfway into the quarter. With a good two-point conversion from Northern, Cedar found themselves down 36-29. Carries by Ryan Ringler and Hooker got the Hawks to Northern’s 8-yard line, and a timeout was called. The pass from Campione to senior Nick Scott was intercepted in the end zone and shut the door on a Hawks win and another trip to the playoffs. Tackles by Jordan Ringler, Hill, Ryan Ringler, and Basso kept the score where it was and the game ended with a tough loss, 36-29.
The Red Hawks are now 2-2 in conference, and 3-4 overall.
The game against hard competition was a constant fight, but it was a night of great football. Cedar Springs travels to Forest Hills Central this Friday, October 15 to take on the Rangers (3-2 in conference, and 5-2 overall).
