By Judy Reed

The Cedar Springs Red Hawks knew going into last Friday’s OK-White conference game against Northview that if they were going to have any chance at winning the game, they were going to have stop the Wild Cats’ explosive running back, Ja’kaurie Kirkland. 

When the Red Hawks took the field at Red Hawk stadium, they meant business. And it showed in the way they executed their game plan.

“We had a great week of preparation for the game, and we were really focused,” explained Cedar Springs Coach Gus Kapolka. “We wanted to limit their run game, establish our run game, and play inspired special teams—and we did all three of those things on Friday night.”

Cedar Springs kicked off to Northview to start the game, and after losing yardage in their first possession, Northview punted to Cedar Springs. They took possession on the Northview 47-yard line, and on the first play, with 9:54 on the clock, Red Hawk Nathan Elliston ran 47-yards for a touchdown. He also ran in the two-point conversion, to make the score 8-0 Cedar Springs.

The Wild Cats came back just a few minutes later to score when Daniel Frey passed to Kaden Boucher for a 6-yard touchdown. Kolbe Vandenberg then passed to Kinji Black for the two-point conversion and the score was now 8-8, with 6:18 left in the quarter.

Cedar Springs scored again on their next drive, when Ben Shaw ran for a 24-yard touchdown with 4:24 left on the clock in the first. Nathan Elliston ran in the two-point conversion. The score was now 16-8, Cedar Springs.

Northview failed to get a first down on their next drive, and tried a fake punt on fourth down. That resulted in Cedar Springs taking over on the Northview 36-yard line, with 2:57 left in the first. They worked their way down to the 10-yard line, where Aiden Brunin ran the ball in for a touchdown with 13 seconds on the clock. The two-point conversion was no good, and the score was now Cedar Springs 22, Northview 8.

Both teams scored again in the second quarter. Northview scored with 7:31 left on the clock on a pass from Daniel Frey to Kaden Boucher for a 9-yard touchdown. Eric Mendez then kicked the extra point. The score was now 22-15, Cedar Springs.

Then, with 2:42 left on the clock in the second, Northview’s Frey passed the ball to Boucher, who ran 3-yards and fumbled it. The ball was recovered on the CS 35-yard line by Red Hawk Miles Cartwright, who ran 65-yards for a touchdown. The extra point try was no good. The score was now CS 28, Northview 15.

Cedar Springs then kicked off to Northview, and on 3^rd and 11, Frey passed to Prade Horling but it was intercepted by Red Hawk Aiden Brunin at the Northview 50. Cedar Springs then took over, and after several plays, they scored on a 23-yard pass from QB Jeremy Champione to Brunin. Ben Shaw then ran in the 2-point conversion. With just 13 seconds left in the half, the score was now CS 36, Northview 15.

When the 3^rd quarter rolled around, Cedar Springs still had not run out of steam. Northview kicked off to the Red Hawks, and they started their drive on the Cedar Springs 35. Brunin ran for 10 yards on the first play, and then ran 55-yards for the touchdown. Champione then passed to Da’Montae Barnett for the two-point conversion. With 11:05 left on the clock in the third, it was now CS 44, Northview 15.

Cedar Springs scored again at the end of the 3^rd quarter with 1:12 left on the clock. Northview’s Frey attempted to pass to Kyle Vanderjagt but Red Hawk Miles Cartwright intercepted it at the CS 25, and returned it to the Northview 49. That set up the next play, when Zack Schmid ran 49 yards for the touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good, and the score was now Cedar Springs 50, Northview 15, with one quarter left to play. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter.

How important does Kapolka think the turnovers were for their team? “Turnovers are always really big, but when you can covert turnovers to points like Miles’ fumble return for a touchdown, it breaks the back of your opponent,” he explained.

The Red Hawks garnered 367 yards rushing, with at least 10 different players each having a piece of it, and 9 of them had yardage in the double digits. Brunin led the pack with 98; Schmid had 69; Elliston 54; Shaw 34; Barnett 29; Jeff Clark 27; Champione 24; Nathan Male 15; Dylan Greenland 11; and Logan Petty 6.

Champione completed two passes on two attempts for 32 yards, to Brunin (23 yards) and Kaden Liggett (9 yards).

The Red Hawks limited Northview to a total of 120 yards rushing. Half of that was Kirkland, who had 63 yards; Frey had 28; and Gavin Jones 20.

Frey completed 13 passes on 24 attempts for 170 yards in the air. Receivers included Boucher, Vanderjagt, Kirkland, Horling, and Jailen Tatum.

On Friday, September 20, the Red Hawks will travel to Greenville to take on the Yellow Jackets in a long-standing rivalry between conference foes. What does Kapolka think they need to do to win?

“We need to continue our improvement on the offensive and defensive fronts in order to beat Greenville,” he said. “This is a rivalry game for us, and we look forward to the challenge that the Yellow Jackets pose.”

Cedar Springs is now 1-0 in conference, and 2-1 overall. Greenville is 0-1 in conference, and 0-3 overall. They lost last Friday to Lowell in conference play, 40-0.

The varsity boys and girls teams ran at the 2019 MSU Spartan Invite on Friday, September 13, which took place at Forest Akers East Golf Course. The course was soft with high humidity but that did not stop both teams from putting out some great performances.  

The boys finished 14th out of 40 teams competing and this was against some of the best teams across the state and in all divisions. Competing in the Spartan Elite division, Corey Bowers secured himself a spot as a medalist finishing the race in 16:48 (29th);  Jaydon Moleski (17:08, 48th); Dilan Sargent (17:23, 68th); Gavin Braciak (17:47, 108th); Carter Moleski (18:46, 202nd); Austin Mann (19:19, 250th); and freshman Espen Wood (19:25, 256th) ran very strong in his first ever varsity race on a big stage. 

“In the face of some injuries and sickness, our varsity squad still finished well within the top half of what was arguably the toughest field in the state of Michigan we will see all season,” said Coach Justin Jones. “Our boys got out aggressive and held on to their positions very well. Corey walked away from this meet as a medalist, which is a big accomplishment as well. I was very proud of his patience and grit during the race. He’s a pretty special kid and proved he’s one of the most talented runners in Michigan.” 

The girls took to the course with Ally Ladd running a lifetime best of 22:04 finishing 184th; Isabel VanDusen (23:07, 263rd); Danika Fessenden ( 23:13, 268th); Larissa McGrath ( 23:33, 279th); Tonya Tepin ran her season best of 23:48 placing 291st; Molly Bentley (24:01, 298th); Alexis Wood had a personal record by 30 seconds running 24:09, placing 306th; Lily Howland (24:18, 310th); Paige Marsman ran her season best of 24:39 placing 320th; and Marjorie Hosking (27:08, 340th).  

“My purpose for them running this race was to get them engaged in tougher competition,” explained girls coach Melinda Stressman. “The field was very tough. We had some teams there that were the best in the state. It’s good that they get exposed to that so when we go to regionals, state finals, and so forth, it will make them better prepared, and you only get better put in situations like that. I was extremely impressed with how they ran the race. Race conditions were not ideal with the weather and the course, but they stuck to their game plan. I didn’t want them to focus on times, just see what they could do and where we stand right now. I think they handled it very well and worked together and made some moves as the race went on. Everyone ran so well,” she added.

The Red Hawks will compete at home in the Red Hawk Invitational this Saturday, September 21.  

On Saturday, September 14, the JV teams for the Red Hawks competed in the Sparta Invitational held at Fruit Ridge Hayrides.  

On the boys side of things, six members competed in the Blue Varsity race and the team placed 7th out of 10 varsity teams.  Gabe White (13th) had his breakout race with a time of 17:59, breaking into the 17s for the time time. Clayton Akerman (30th) had a personal best by 45 seconds with a time of 18:45 and Cayden Steinebach (33rd) had a season best of 18:49. Justin Voskuil (19:59, 49th) and Caleb Menefee (19:59, 50th) both broke into the 19s for the first time this season. Eli Malon round out the Blue Varsity race action for the Red Hawks with a time of 21:09 placing 54th.

All six of the boys who ran in the Blue Reserve race each had season bests. This team placed 7th out of 8 teams. Ben Mallory (35th) had a 52 second personal best time finishing at 20:08. Gabe Minnich (41st) ran his best race of the season in a time of 20:18. Logan Douglas (61st) finished in a time of 21:04. Connor Skelonc (63rd) finished with a 26 second PR at 21:06. Jonathan Reed (120th) had a 31 second PR coming in at 23:16 and Matthew McQueen (130th) ran nearly a minute faster than his first race with a new PR of 23:38.  

“Every one of our JV runners ran their best races of the season at Sparta. This was a really fun course, and it was exciting to watch these guys clip some fast splits. Our JV squad beat quite a few varsity teams as well. The future of our program is bright, and our community should be very proud of the way these boys competed,” said Coach Justin Jones.  

The girls team ran in the Blue Reserve race but only had four girls run which was not enough to score as a team; however, each girl running had either a season best or a lifetime personal best. Madison Golliver ran her season best of 25:12 coming in 21^st; Cloe Shoffner ran her lifetime PR of 25:38 placing 23^rd; Izzy Smith moved up as the race went on and finished strong in a time of 30:02 placing 57^th; and Rachel Gallup, who has not ran since her freshman year, ran a season best of 31:10, placing 62nd.  

“The weather was wonderful and the course was flat and fast but extra mud from the rain the day before didn’t help much in some spots. It was a good and fun race for them though,” said Coach Melinda Stressman.  

The Red Hawks will compete at home in the Red Hawk Invitational this Saturday, September 21.  

The Cedar Springs High School Lady Red Hawks Volleyball Program will be raising money for cancer research! Join us for a fantastically fun evening on Monday, September 30, as our Lady Red Hawks go up against Forest Hills Northern in the CSHS gym.  JV starts at about 5 p.m., with varsity following.

There will be a silent auction and a 50/50 raffle that will start at 5 p.m. There will be lots of great gifts to win when you bid and donate. You can purchase t-shirts with the logo “Volley For a Cure” through the High School office for $10, beginning Tuesday, September 24. They will be sold until gone. 

We also want to honor cancer survivors, those battling cancer and those we are remembering. Your $50 donation to honor someone will include a t-shirt, entrance for one to the game and you will walk out with one of the players while the honoree is announced. Introductions will be after the freshmen and JV games, shortly before 6 p.m. The forms to honor someone are available in the High School office and from volleyball team members. The deadline to turn them in to the office is September 26. 

The Cedar Springs Varsity Volleyball team (7-6-2 overall) competed in the NorthPointe Christian Invite Saturday, September 14th finishing 5-1 and 3rd on the day. The Red Hawks were undefeated throughout Pool and Crossover play with decisive victories over Fruitport Calvary, Ottawa Hills, Wellspring Prep and Loy Norrix. In the Gold bracket matches, the team won 25-10 and 25-16 in the semifinal match vs Grand River Prep before taking a tough loss to host team NorthPointe Christian 25-27 and 19-25. 

Leading the Red Hawks was Middle Blocker Arianna Rau with a team high 10 blocks, 33 kills, 20 service points and 7 aces. Grace Wilcox tallied 34 kills, 14 aces, and 32 digs. Setter Madi Outwin put up 66 assists, 11 aces and 43 service points, while Kyla Andres contributed 17 kills and 25 digs. Libero Elizabeth Fettig led the defense with 48 serve receives and 24 digs. Nicole Baker recorded 7 aces and 4 blocks, while Alyssa Detweiler also had 4 blocks. Rounding out contributions to the team’s success were Kayla Andres adding 8 kills and 21 serve receives; Kalli Green with 5 kills and 3 aces; Cassidy Canfield with 2 kills and a block; and Avery Peterson recording 9 serve receives.  

“The girls remained consistently competitive throughout the day and worked hard to push their mental toughness” states Varsity Head Coach Ashley Lowing.

The Junior Varsity Team also competed Saturday, September 14, when they traveled to the Reeths Puffer Invite, finishing the day in 2nd place after falling in the Gold Championship match to Kenowa Hills.

All levels begin conference play this week when they travel to Forest Hills Central Tuesday, September 17, and to Greenville on Thursday September 19. Freshman and JV matches begin at 5 p.m. followed by the Varsity match. Varsity and JV then compete in tournaments Saturday, September 21 at 8:30 a.m., with Varsity at Zeeland East and JV at Jenison.  

CTA boys’ soccer is off to a 1-1 start. The boys were victorious over Pineview, 4-2, but came up short versus Algoma Christian with a score of 3-2. Scoring has been provided by CTA sophomores, Sawyer Marek and Ivan Winters; Freshman, Cody Holman; eighth Grader, Kaden Winters. The boys have worked hard to improve as they enter into the second year of competition at the varsity level. Coach Mark Winters looks forward to watching his young team grow throughout the remaining games of 2019.

Mr. Ted Cusack has begun his first year coaching cross country at Creative Technologies Academy. He previously coached cross country at Carson City-Crystal High School where the varsity girls won back-to-back State titles in 1994 and 1995. CTA runners have participated in two meets thus far this season. The Baker Woods meet and Fremont Hill and Bale. Both boys and girls teams are working daily to achieve team and personal goals. Coach Cusack is looking forward to continued success this season.

By Judy Reed

The Cedar Springs Red Hawks knew going into last Friday’s OK-White conference game against Northview that if they were going to have any chance at winning the game, they were going to have stop the Wild Cats’ explosive running back, Ja’kaurie Kirkland.

When the Red Hawks took the field at Red Hawk stadium, they meant business. And it showed in the way they executed their game plan.

“We had a great week of preparation for the game, and we were really focused,” explained Cedar Springs Coach Gus Kapolka. “We wanted to limit their run game, establish our run game, and play inspired special teams—and we did all three of those things on Friday night.”

Cedar Springs kicked off to Northview to start the game, and after losing yardage in their first possession, Northview punted to Cedar Springs. They took possession on the Northview 47-yard line, and on the first play, with 9:54 on the clock, Red Hawk Nathan Elliston ran 47-yards for a touchdown. He also ran in the two-point conversion, to make the score 8-0 Cedar Springs.

The Wild Cats came back just a few minutes later to score when Daniel Frey passed to Kaden Boucher for a 6-yard touchdown. Kolbe Vandenberg then passed to Kinji Black for the two-point conversion and the score was now 8-8, with 6:18 left in the quarter.

Cedar Springs scored again on their next drive, when Ben Shaw ran for a 24-yard touchdown with 4:24 left on the clock in the first. Nathan Elliston ran in the two-point conversion. The score was now 16-8, Cedar Springs.

Northview failed to get a first down on their next drive, and tried a fake punt on fourth down. That resulted in Cedar Springs taking over on the Northview 36-yard line, with 2:57 left in the first. They worked their way down to the 10-yard line, where Aiden Brunin ran the ball in for a touchdown with 13 seconds on the clock. The two-point conversion was no good, and the score was now Cedar Springs 22, Northview 8.

Both teams scored again in the second quarter. Northview scored with 7:31 left on the clock on a pass from Daniel Frey to Kaden Boucher for a 9-yard touchdown. Eric Mendez then kicked the extra point. The score was now 22-15, Cedar Springs.

Then, with 2:42 left on the clock in the second, Northview’s Frey passed the ball to Boucher, who ran 3-yards and fumbled it. The ball was recovered on the CS 35-yard line by Red Hawk Miles Cartwright, who ran 65-yards for a touchdown. The extra point try was no good. The score was now CS 28, Northview 15.

Cedar Springs then kicked off to Northview, and on 3^rd and 11, Frey passed to Prade Horling but it was intercepted by Red Hawk Aiden Brunin at the Northview 50. Cedar Springs then took over, and after several plays, they scored on a 23-yard pass from QB Jeremy Champione to Brunin. Ben Shaw then ran in the 2-point conversion. With just 13 seconds left in the half, the score was now CS 36, Northview 15.

When the 3^rd quarter rolled around, Cedar Springs still had not run out of steam. Northview kicked off to the Red Hawks, and they started their drive on the Cedar Springs 35. Brunin ran for 10 yards on the first play, and then ran 55-yards for the touchdown. Champione then passed to Da’Montae Barnett for the two-point conversion. With 11:05 left on the clock in the third, it was now CS 44, Northview 15.

Cedar Springs scored again at the end of the 3^rd quarter with 1:12 left on the clock. Northview’s Frey attempted to pass to Kyle Vanderjagt but Red Hawk Miles Cartwright intercepted it at the CS 25, and returned it to the Northview 49. That set up the next play, when Zack Schmid ran 49 yards for the touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good, and the score was now Cedar Springs 50, Northview 15, with one quarter left to play. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter.

How important does Kapolka think the turnovers were for their team? “Turnovers are always really big, but when you can covert turnovers to points like Miles’ fumble return for a touchdown, it breaks the back of your opponent,” he explained.

The Red Hawks garnered 367 yards rushing, with at least 10 different players each having a piece of it, and 9 of them had yardage in the double digits. Brunin led the pack with 98; Schmid had 69; Elliston 54; Shaw 34; Barnett 29; Jeff Clark 27; Champione 24; Nathan Male 15; Dylan Greenland 11; and Logan Petty 6.

Champione completed two passes on two attempts for 32 yards, to Brunin (23 yards) and Kaden Liggett (9 yards).

The Red Hawks limited Northview to a total of 120 yards rushing. Half of that was Kirkland, who had 63 yards; Frey had 28; and Gavin Jones 20.

Frey completed 13 passes on 24 attempts for 170 yards in the air. Receivers included Boucher, Vanderjagt, Kirkland, Horling, and Jailen Tatum.

On Friday, September 20, the Red Hawks will travel to Greenville to take on the Yellow Jackets in a long-standing rivalry between conference foes. What does Kapolka think they need to do to win?

“We need to continue our improvement on the offensive and defensive fronts in order to beat Greenville,” he said. “This is a rivalry game for us, and we look forward to the challenge that the Yellow Jackets pose.”

Cedar Springs is now 1-0 in conference, and 2-1 overall. Greenville is 0-1 in conference, and 0-3 overall. They lost last Friday to Lowell in conference play, 40-0.

By Judy Reed

Do you know of someone that was an athlete or coach at Cedar Springs High School that excelled in their position, or went on to excel in sports outside of high school? That person might be a good candidate for the newly established Cedar Springs High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

The Cedar Springs Athletic Leadership Council (ALC), which is made up of student athletes and overseen by teacher Justin Harnden, has been working on this new Hall of Fame to “recognize and honor those Cedar Springs High School athletes, coaches, administrators, volunteers, and supporters who excelled in their respective sports or coaching/support roles.”

The student athletes have been working on the Hall of Fame for the last year—researching what other schools do, what Cedar Springs had before, planning how the nomination process will work, how the nominees will be elected, where it will be in the school. They will also design it and promote it as well.

Harnden said he knew they used to have something honoring athletes at the old high school (Red Hawk Elementary) and they had tried to find out what happened to it. He said his understanding was that it was more like press clippings and other things honoring the athletes, such as trophies. “This Hall of Fame will be something bigger and more prestigious—something at a higher level,” he explained.

Four of the students working on the project spoke with the Post on Monday, and went before the Board of Education Monday evening to talk about their plans.

“I think it’s a very special thing to start something as huge as this could be,” said Kaylie Andres, a senior. “It’s cool to acknowledge people I know and those who have been here before in athletics. It’s huge for the community.”

“We’ve been striving to improve the culture of the athletic department,” explained Harlow Hovarter, also a senior. “With this, the community gets to support our culture and see what we’ve been doing.”

Senior Kaden Liggett is excited about the work they’ve done, and will still be doing on the Hall of Fame. “I was really surprised we didn’t already have one,” he remarked. “When I have kids and bring them here, and I can point to it and tell them I helped create that. I had an impact here,” he said. 

He added that Cedar Springs is an athletically inclined community. “It’s a good way for the ALC to leave our mark,” he said.

Senor Desiree Wise has also been working on the Hall of Fame. “So many people focus on the here and now and don’t look at the success we’ve had. This will help us look at the show of leadership and be proud of what has come in the past.”

“It’s good to look at where we’ve come from and highlight Cedar Springs as a whole,” added Harlow. 

The goal is for forms for nominations to be out for distribution by Red Flannel Day, and they will take nominations through December. The forms will be available on the school website. Any community member can nominate someone, but Harnden said it would be a pretty stringent process. An athlete has to have been out of high school for 10 years. A coach has to have been at the school for at least 10 years, and then out of the school for at least five years. State champions or teams will automatically be considered, and do not have to be nominated. Once a person has been nominated, they will be up for consideration for five years. After that, they must be nominated again, and they can be nominated a total of four times.

No more than eight people will be chosen for the Hall of Fame each year, with a possible exception the first year. A board consisting 5-12 members will cast the deciding votes. To be elected, a nominee must get a yes vote from at least 75 percent of the board members. The board will be made up of the Athletic Director, a CSHS building administrator, a retired or former administrator, current and former coaches, current and former faculty members, and a current or former athletic booster member. They will each serve two-year terms. 

After the decisions are made, an induction ceremony will be held. 

The new Hall of Fame area will be in the hallway near the gymnasium, But it doesn’t come without cost. Harnden said that the Athletic Boosters have given them $1,000 in seed money, and if the community would like to donate to the Hall of Fame, they could do it through the Cedar Springs Athletic office. Any checks should note they are for the Cedar Springs Hall of Fame, and be sent in c/o AD John Norton.

Watch the Post for more information, as the forms for the first rotation of nominees for the Hall of Fame get ready to roll out!

The Red Hawks ran smart to secure their first OK White conference meet win on September 4 on the challenging course located at Lowell High School. They came away with a 42-point performance and a 6-point victory over Lowell and the rest of the OK White conference. 

Corey Bowers (3rd), Daniel Vermulm (4th), Jaydon Moleski (6th), Dilan Sargent (11th), and Gavin Braciak (20th) rounded out the top 5 each running smart and tactical races. Austin Mann (25th) and Carter Moleski (29th) rounded out the varsity squad with some nice insurance for the team. 

Gabe White (30th), Cayden Steinebach (47th), Espen Wood (53rd), Caleb Menefee (72nd), Justin Voskuil (74th), and Ben Mallory (NT) previewed what proves to be a bright varsity squad in a couple of years. Eli Malon (96th), Logan Douglas (101st), Connor Skelonc (104th), Jonathan Reed (121st), and Gabe Minnich (142nd) showed great improvement and determination that will prove to continue throughout the season. 

 “Our boys ran a smart, tactical race on Wednesday. Lowell’s course is one of the toughest we’ll see all season. We knew the Red Arrows were a much improved team this year and would be working hard to give us a run for our money on their home course, and our veterans came through in a big way. This was our sixth consecutive first-place finish in OK White competition. Our consistent preparation and mutual trust on race day has made that possible. We’ll be working to continue this exciting stretch of success throughout the remainder of the season and beyond,” said Coach Jones.

On Saturday, September 7, the team traveled to Central Montcalm High School where they took to the course at a grade level meet. All four of the seniors were in the top 10 finishers of their race with each receiving medals. These individuals included Jaydon Moleski, Daniel Vermulm, Gavin Braciak, and Dilan Sargent. All of the juniors competing also received medals and included Corey Bowers, Austin Mann, Justin Voskuil, Caleb Menefee, and Logan Douglas. The sophomores had four receive medals for their times.  These individuals were Carter Moleski, Gabe White, Cayden Steinebach, and Ben Mallory. Freshmen earning medals for the first time this season were Espen Wood, Clayton Akerman, Eli Malon, and Connor Skelonc.  

“This was a great opportunity for our younger runners to get a real idea on where they stand against runners their age. We had a lot of breakout performances, and I was very proud of our performance. Despite not having any team scores to show for it, I believe we had the strongest team performance that day. Our future is bright. Training will continue to intensify over the next couple of weeks. They are ready for some tough workouts that will prepare them for championship racing.  I’m looking forward to watching these guys continue to improve and hit some faster courses as the season progresses. Next Friday’s MSU Invite will be the first true test as to where these boys stand against some of the best teams in Michigan,” said Coach Jones.

The team travels to the MSU Spartan Invite for competition on Friday, September 13.