By Shae Brophy

While the Hawks could not have asked for a better start, the game last Saturday, May 30, did not end the way they would have hoped. After kicking off to start the game, the Battle Creek Coyotes fumbled the return, allowing the Hawks to recover and score a touchdown on their opening drive. Wide receiver Ryan Bell pulled in a pass from quarterback Jeff Krebs on 4th down, for the first score of the game. Team captain Ryan Bell had this to say about the touchdown: “It was just a great pass from Jeff that took advantage of a mistake by the Battle Creek defense. I was just there to capitalize.”

After a defensive struggle in the first half, the Hawks had a punt blocked at their own goal line with 1:27 left in the 2nd quarter, which Battle Creek recovered in the end zone for a Coyote touchdown. Battle Creek led 9-6 at halftime, in a half that could have been considered a washout because of the nonstop, down pouring rain.

Battle Creek rushed out of the locker room as a completely different team to start the second half, running out to a 35-6 lead after the 3rd quarter. The Coyotes eventually won the game, by a final score of 42-6.

Despite the lopsided score, the Hawks forced a whopping 8 turnovers and got some very solid contributions from every player who took the field.

“Our guys showed a lot of heart tonight, especially considering the fact that Battle Creek was a very highly ranked team, and the playing conditions were not what we would have hoped,” remarked head coach David Lange. “Moving forward, we know what we have to work on. It’s in the past now, and we welcome the opportunity to work hard in practice this week to prepare for our game this coming weekend. We played good, smash-mouth football in the first half. The second half got the best of us. This week our focus is to keep the same intensity for the entire game.”

This Saturday the Hawks will travel to Nappanee, Indiana, to take on the Michiana Thunderhawks, who are coming off a 42-40 loss to the Michigan Vipers. You are welcome to travel down to enemy territory with the team! We hope to see you there!

Shae Brophy is the Media/Public Relations Director for the West Michigan Hawks.