The Cedar Springs Red Hawks were unstoppable last Friday night against the Mount Pleasant Oilers. Photo by Kelly and Rob LaLone.
By Judy Reed
The Cedar Springs Red Hawks powered their way to another win and a Division 3 district title last Friday night, November 2, when they beat the previously undefeated Mt. Pleasant Oilers on their own turf by a score of 44-14.
The Oilers were 10-0 going into the match up, and had only allowed 74 points total all season. But that didn’t phase the Red Hawks, who went on to claim their 10th straight victory. They will now face the unbeaten and nationally ranked Muskegon Big Reds for the regional title this Friday.
“Anytime you can go on the road in the playoffs and beat an undefeated team by 30 points, you have to feel good about your team,” said Coach Gus Kapolka. “Our guys played a great game Friday and we hope to carry that momentum forward this Friday against Muskegon.
“The Big Reds are a tough task for us. They have no visible weaknesses. We need to play our best game Friday in order to put ourselves in a position to compete with them. Anything less than our best effort will make it tough for us to have a shot.”
The first score of the game occurred with 6:12 on the clock in the first quarter when Cedar Springs’ Ben Shaw intercepted a pass from Oiler QB Jackson Ostrowsky at the Mt. Pleasant 46 and ran it into the endzone for a touchdown. The referee called the extra point run as no good. The second score in the first quarter came with 1:08 left when Red Hawk Ryan Ringler ran up the middle for a four-yard touchdown, and Lucas Pienton ran in the extra points. At the end of the first, it was 14-0 Cedar Springs.
Mt. Pleasant scored their only two touchdowns in the game in the second quarter. Both were short runs by Zach Mogg, with kicker Evan Brown adding an extra point. Cedar Springs also scored again the second quarter, when Sage Serbenta ran 33-yards for the TD, and Kolby Swank ran in the extra points. At the end of two quarters, it was CS 22, MP 14.
The Red Hawks got the ball after the half, and drove down the field to score with 9:43 on the clock on a one-yard run by Kolby Swank. Swank also ran in the extra two points. The Red Hawks kicked off to the Oilers but scored again less than a minute later when Sage Serbenta intercepted a pass at the Mt. Pleasant 39 and returned it to score. Swank then passed to Pienton for the extra points. At the end of three, it was CS 38, MP 14.
The Red Hawks scored once more at the beginning of the fourth quarter, on a seven-yard run by Serbenta. The extra points run was no good. The game ended with a score of 44-14.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our team and the improvement they’ve made since a week 1 loss at Swan Valley,” remarked Coach Kapolka. “In my 24 years coaching (15 as a Head Coach) I’ve never had a group that’s improved as much as this group has over the last 11 weeks.”
The Red Hawks racked up 319 yards on the ground and 27 in the air. Leading rushers were Serbenta with 88; Swank with 72; Pienton with 65; Ringler with 58; and Pienton with 19.
Mt. Pleasant gained 221 yards on the ground, with Zach Mogg turning in 169 yards.
Red Hawk Ryan Ringler led the team in tackles with 13; Landon Totten had 11; Zack Schmid and Lucas Pienton both had 10; Ben Shaw had 8; and Gage Gardner had 6. The rest of the players had 4 or less.
The Red Hawks will travel to Grand Haven High School on Friday to take on the top-ranked and undefeated Muskegon Big Red. Kick off is 7 p.m. Come on out and support your Red Hawks! There is a blackout theme, so come dressed in black to support your team.
Tickets are $6 and can be purchased on Thursday and Friday in the Cedar Springs High School athletic office until 3 p.m. For more information follow Cedar springs Athletic Boosters on facebook, or Twitter @cedar_athletics
