The ladies fought but fell to the Algoma Christian Knights in their second game of the season, which was played at “home” at Cedar Springs Middle School on Dec. 9. Faith Watson led the ladies scoring efforts with six points and was supported with points from Brianne Calkins, Holly Fahling, Hannah Hofstra, Tori Wierda and Devin Slocum. Zoe Roesner and Autumn Watson contributed valuable defensive minutes and were key players in the game. The Lady Chargers showed growth in their confidence in their roles and are looking forward to their next challenge against Aviation Academy on Dec. 22. Everyone got in on the action and was able to gain game experience. The girls are making progress and are demonstrating a stronger grasp on their offensive and defensive roles. Creative Technologies Academy Boys Varsity Basketball won against Algoma Christian with a final score of 67- 61.

Brad Brechting going for the shot.

By Kendra Coons 

The boys varsity basketball season has finally come to a close. The Red Hawks took on Sparta, and Forest Hills Northern last week. And on Monday, February 3, the Red Hawks played their first round of Districts against Rockford. Cedar Springs did defeat Sparta 58-42, but unfortunately lost to FHN 58-53 and lost in the first round of Districts against Rockford 59-55. The varsity team ended up 12-9 overall, and 6-4 in conference.

The Sparta game was held on Tuesday, February 25. In the first half, the Spartans scored a total of 24 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Red Hawks and they scored a total of 30 points. In the second half, the Spartans scored 18 more points to bring their score to 42. The Red Hawks scored 28 more points making the final score 58-42, with the Red Hawks taking home the win.

“We played a much better second half in which we got back to some things that had been successful for us earlier in the season,” commented head Coach Jeff Patin.

During the Sparta game, sophomore Taylor VanDyke and junior Brad Brechting led the team in total points coming in at 12 each. Senior Mitchell Kooiman also scored for the Red Hawks scoring a total of 8 points for the game. Seniors Aaron Mabie and senior Dakota Bekins also contributed with 5 points.

“It was a good road win for us in the last week of the season,” stated Coach Patin.

On Thursday February 27, the Red Hawks played their last conference game of the season against Forest Hills Northern.

In the first half, the Huskies had a lead of 28-21 over the Red Hawks. In the second half, Cedar Springs tried to fight back and scored 30 more points, but it wasn’t enough to take the lead away from the Huskies, who scored 32 points to take home the win 58-53.

“This game was a physical battle from start to finish. It came down to a couple of possessions and unfortunately we didn’t come out on top,” explained Coach Patin.

Junior Brad Brechting scored a total of 21 points for the Red Hawks. Also scoring for the Red Hawks was senior David Kearney with 6 points, sophomore Taylor VanDyke, senior Cameron Link, and senior Kyler Marble each also scored 5 points.

“In any game you play, you want to give yourself a chance at winning. We had opportunities to win, but it just didn’t work out for us,” said Coach Patin.

Also this week, Monday February 3, the boys had their first round of districts against Rockford. The loss against Rockford concludes the season for the Red Hawks. It was a very close game, but the Red Hawks were defeated 59-55.

In the first half, the Rams of Rockford led Cedar Springs into halftime with the score being 36-25. The Red Hawks came back out after halftime trying to fight back, but came up short, scoring 30 more points while Rockford scored 23. Rockford is now advancing to the second round of Districts.

“We talked before the game about leaving everything out on the court and having no regrets. I feel we did that. We fought hard throughout the whole game and just came up short,” stated Coach Patin.

Junior Brad Brecthing led Cedar Springs in points with a total of 33 for the game. Senior Cameron Link also scored for the Red Hawks with a total of 12 points. Senior Dakota Bekins and senior Austin Hilyer also contributed by Bekins scoring 5 points and Hilyer scoring 4.

The community of Cedar Springs would like to congratulate the boys on such a fantastic season.

“Like almost all seasons, this one had its ups and downs as far as wins and losses. One constant was the effort these 14 guys gave every day. The weather this winter brought its scheduling challenges and really disrupted any type of rhythm we could get into, but it was like that for everybody this year,” stated Coach Patin.

Especially, congratulations to the seniors for all of their hard work they have put into the basketball program for the past 4 years.

Coach Patin concluded, “The hardest part of every season is knowing that you won’t have your seniors anymore. We will be graduating 9 this year, and they will be greatly missed.”

Photo by K. Alvesteffer

Cedar Springs boys varsity basketball suffered two tough losses last week. On Tuesday, February 18, the boys took on the Yellow Jackets of Greenville high school. Last time the boys played Greenville the Red Hawks defeated the Yellow Jackets 88-55. This time around, the tables were turned and Greenville took home the win 61-55.

“We didn’t play well defensively for 32 minutes, which is our goal, and that ended up being our eventual downfall,” commented head Coach Jeff Patin.

The lead changed a total of 9 times throughout the game and was tied a total of 6 times. In the first half, Greenville led Cedar Springs 35-32. And then in the second half, Cedar Springs added on 23 more points making their final score 55. But it wasn’t enough because Greenville came back and added on 26 more points making the final score 61-55.

Junior Brad Brechting led the team in total points coming in at 25 for the game. Brechting went 9 for 14 on his shots. Senior Cameron Link also contributed to the Red Hawks score by scoring 9 points for the game, making 2 of 6 on shots. Also scoring for the Red Hawks was senior Austin Hilyer with 6 points, senior Aaron Mabie with 5 points, and sophomore Taylor VanDyke with 4 points.

“Our defensives lapses put more pressure to score on each offensive possession.  We were able to cut our deficit to 2 points on a couple of occasions, but couldn’t get the big stop to get us over the top,” stated Coach Patin.

Also the Red Hawks took on the Wildcats of Northview. The game was originally scheduled for Friday, February 21, but due to the weather the game was moved to Saturday February 22. The first time the Red Hawks played the Wildcats, Northview defeated Cedar Springs 66-49. And the same outcome happened once again with Northview beating Cedar Springs 65-36.

“Northview came out defensively this game and really pressured the ball.  We allowed the pressure to take us out of what we wanted to do offensively,” said Coach Patin.

In the first half, Northview scored a total of 37 points while Cedar Springs scored 21. Then in the second half, Northview took hold of the lead even more by adding 28 more points while Cedar Springs scored 15. Northview took home the win by defeating Cedar Springs 65-36.

“It was disappointing. We didn’t come out and play anywhere near our best.  We have to put it behind us and get ourselves ready for the remainder of the season,” exclaimed Coach Patin.

Senior Cameron Link led the team in points coming in at a total of 14. Link went 3 for 4 on his free throws and had a shooting percentage of 62.5% for the game. Junior Brad Brechting also scored 9 points for the Red Hawks. Brechting went 3 for 5 on his free throws and had a shooting percentage of 42.9%. Also scoring for the Red Hawks was senior Dakota Bekins with 4 points, Mitchell Kooiman with 4 points, and Nate Sorenson with 2 points.

This week the boys varsity basketball team take on their last conference game of the season. On Friday, February 28, the boys go up against Forest Hills Northern. The boys are looking to defeat the Huskies once again. Also, the boys first district game is on Monday, March 3, at Cedar Springs High School against Rockford High School. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. for both games so come on out and support your Red Hawks!

Red Hawk Austin Hilyer takes the ball down court. Photo by K. Alvesteffer.

By Kendra Coons

The boys varsity basketball team had one tough lineup last week. On Tuesday, February 11, the boys played the Grand Rapids Christian Eagles. The game was a long hard fought battle, but in the end Grand Rapids Christian came out on top 64-56.

In the first quarter, the Red Hawks came out scoring fast and put a total of 15 points on the scoreboard. Grand Rapids Christian wasn’t far behind them coming in at 12. Going into the second quarter GRC came back and put up a total of 17 while Cedar Springs put up 7. The Eagles went into halftime with the lead 29-22 over the Red Hawks. Cedar Springs came back out after halftime and put up another 17 points. This wasn’t enough to take back the lead though. The Eagles scored a total of 14 points in the third quarter making the score 43-39 in favor of GRC. Then came the fourth quarter and Cedar Springs put up another 17 points, but GRC came back with 21, giving the Eagles the win 64-56.  The game had a total of 3 lead changes throughout and was tied twice, but in the end GRC came out on top.

“This was the second of back-to-back games and it was against a quality opponent.  We knew it was going to be a battle,” commented Head Coach Jeff Patin.

Cedar Spring’s players senior Cameron Link, junior Brad Brechting, senior Aaron Mabie and senior Kyler Marble were all big scorers for the Red Hawks. Link led the team in points coming in at a total of 14. Brechting wasn’t far behind him with 11 and Mabie and Marble both came in at a total of 8 points. Cedar Springs went a total of 23/48 on their field goals and had a shooting percentage of 47.9 percent.

“We gave a great effort throughout the game. Christian is a very athletic team, and we were able hang with them,” stated Coach Patin.

Also this week the boys varsity basketball team took on the Falcons of West Catholic for a second time this season. The first time the boys played them the Red Hawks fell to the Falcons 43-46. This time around on Friday, February 14 Cedar Springs returned the favor and defeated West Catholic 56-45, bringing home a great Valentine’s Day present to all Red Hawks!

In the first quarter, the Red Hawks were up 19-14. In the second quarter, West Catholic came back and scored 7 more points. The 7 points still wasn’t enough to take the lead though because the Red Hawks put up 11 keeping the lead going into halftime, 30-21. The Falcons came back fighting hard after halftime and scored 13 points in the third quarter while Cedar Springs scored 9. The Red Hawks still had the lead though at 39-34. In the fourth quarter West Catholic scored 11 points and Cedar Springs came in and finished strong putting up 17 more points to take home the win, 56-45.

“The first time we played West, we felt we let one get away from us. This time, at their place, we knew we had to play a complete game to stay in the hunt for the conference championship,” said Coach Patin.

The Red Hawks fought exceptionally hard for this game. Junior Brad Brechting and Seniors Cameron Link, Aaron Mabie and Kyler Marble played a huge role in the win for Cedar Springs.

“Cam Link led us with 23 points.  Brad Brechting had 15 points, 18 rebounds, and 7 blocks. In the fourth quarter we had a big 3-pointer by Aaron Mabie and two big defensive plays (a blocked shot and a charge) by Kyler Marble,” remarked Coach Patin.

The boys varsity basketball team’s record is now 11-5 overall and 6-1 in conference. The boy’s next game is Friday, February 21 at Northview. Tip-off is at 7:30 PM. This game is expected to be a very great match-up. So come on out and support your Red Hawks!

Red Hawk Kyle Chaney (21) is fouled while Trey Reed looks on.

The Cedar Springs boys varsity basketball team traveled to Sparta last Friday to take on the Spartans. Sparta had defeated the Red Hawks earlier this season in overtime, in a game Cedar Springs let slip away. The Red Hawks were determined to avenge that loss, and prevent a Sparta sweep this season.
“Anytime you beat Sparta, it is a good feeling,” said head coach Andy Secor. “They haven’t swept us in a long, long, time, and this team didn’t want to allow that to happen this year.”
The first quarter saw no scoring by either team in the first two and a half minutes. Then a Spartan 3-pointer gave them the lead. A Jason Gingrich lay up opened the scoring for the Red Hawks, who had 6 different players score in the quarter. Alec Hanmer got on the board with a put back lay up. Field goals by Hank Porter and Derek Ash, followed by a Hanmer 3-pointer gave Cedar an 11-7 lead. Then after an Andrew Klompstra power lay up, Tyler Covell found an open Trey Reed at the top of the key in the closing seconds of the quarter. Reed hit the 3-pointer to give Cedar Springs a 16-10 lead after one quarter.

The Red Hawks listen as Coach Secor gives instructions during a time out.

Klompstra gave Cedar an 18-10 lead with an inside lay up to begin the second quarter. A Porter 3-pointer and a Ryan Dines lay up were all the Red Hawks could muster the rest of the quarter as Sparta finished with a 10-5 run, and Cedar led 23-20 at halftime.
In the third quarter, after a Gingrich 3-pointer, Sparta battled back to tie the game at 26 with 5:23 to go. Then the Red Hawk offense started hitting on all cylinders. Hank Porter went on a personal 7-0 run to give Cedar a 33-26 lead. Then a 3-point play by Klompstra, and 3-pointers by Porter and Gingrich gave Cedar a 10 point lead after 3 quarters.
The Red Hawks had to fight the most of the fourth quarter to keep their lead as Sparta was awarded 13 free throw attempts in the quarter. A Tyler Baker lay up and a Kyle Chaney free throw kept the Red Hawk lead at 8 with 6 minutes left, but the Spartans cut the Cedar lead to 4 at the 5:20 mark. A Klompstra free throw, a Gingrich 3-pointer, and a big three point play by Ryan Dines, built the Cedar lead back to nine points, 56-47. After a Sparta free throw, Andrew Klompstra scored on a lay up to give the Red Hawks a 10-point lead with under 2 minutes to go. But Klompstra was injured on the play, and left the game.
The Spartans were desperately pressing, and Cedar was able to break the press and score in the final 2 minutes to preserve their lead. Dines found a wide open Chaney, who converted the lay up to keep the lead at 9. Then Dines drove the lane and scored on another lay up. Chaney then hit 2 free throws in the final minute for the final points of the game and Cedar had a hard fought 64-53 victory.
The 64 points was the highest point total of the year for Cedar Springs, who shot 59.2 percent on 2-point shots and 44.4 percent from behind the arc for the game. The Red Hawks put 4 players in double figures for the first time since 2008. Porter led the Red Hawks with 16 points and also had 3 assists. Gingrich had 11 points and 5 assists. Ryan Dines had 10 points and a game high 6 assists. Andrew Klompstra had 10 points with a perfect 4-4 from the floor. Alec Hanmer had 5 points and a game high 7 rebounds for the Red Hawks, while Kyle Chaney had 5 points and 3 boards. Trey Reed had 3 points and 4 assists, while Tyler Baker and Derek Ash had 2 points each.
“I thought we played one of our best games of the year, against a team that was in 2nd place in the OK Blue,” Coach Secor commented after the game. “Our three starting guards all had very good games. We do feel a little snake-bit with Andrew Klompstra’s ankle injury, as we were just getting Hank Porter back to full strength.” Klompstra will miss at least 1 game with an ankle sprain.
Secor continued, “We have a very tough week this week, with a 9-4 Tri County team and a Coopersville team now in 2nd place in the Blue.”
The Red Hawks defeated Coopersville on the road earlier this year in a close game. The Red Hawks are home to take on the Coopersville Broncos on Friday, February 11, at 6 p.m. Then the Red Hawks travel to Godwin High School on Tuesday, February 15 to take on the Wolverines. Game time is 7:15 pm.

Kyle Chaney (21) goes up for two with Andrew Klompstra (54) and Jason Gingrich (10) looking for a rebound.

The Cedar Spring boys varsity basketball team traveled to Coopersville Friday to take on the Broncos in an OK Blue League match up. The Red Hawks entered the game with a 2-5 record and had yet to win a close game, having lost three games after leading in the 4th quarter. That changed Friday as the Cedar Springs stopped Coopersville on the last possession of the game to hang on for a slim 43-42 victory.
In a fast paced first quarter, Coopersville was able to break the Red Hawk full court press and made 5 of their first 7 field goal attempts. During this time, the Red Hawks could not buy a bucket, missing their first 13 field goal attempts. An Andrew Klompstra free throw was the Red Hawks only point as the Broncos were out to a quick 13-1 lead. With 1:22 left in the first quarter, Kyle Chaney drove the lane and scored the Red Hawks first field goal to make the score 13-3 after one quarter. It was Chaney’s first score since returning from a knee injury which forced him to miss 3-1/2 weeks.
In the second quarter, the Red Hawk offense got going. After a Klompstra Lay-up, Jason Gingrich took a pass from Chaney and canned a 3-pointer. After a Ryan Dines free throw, Gingrich went to work with 5 assists on the next 5 Cedar field goals. Buckets by Alec Hanmer and Trey Reed cut the Broncos lead to 17-13. Then Hanmer took over for the Red Hawks. The senior wing scored the next 13 Red Hawk points, including three 3 pointers. With the Red Hawks trailing by 5 late in the third quarter, Chaney found an open Gingrich who sank a 3-pointer to cut the Bronco lead to 31-29. Then another Hanmer Field goal brought the Red Hawks within one, 32-31 after 3 quarters.
Tyler Covell sank 2 free throws to give Cedar their first lead of the game early in the 4th quarter. In the next four minutes, there were 2 ties and 4 lead changes. A Klompstra free throw and a big three point play by Trey Reed again gave the Red Hawks a one point lead with 4 minutes left. After a Bronco basket, Klompstra gave Cedar the lead for good with a put back lay up. Then with 1:28 left, Jason Gingrich got the ball to Klompstra who hit a huge turn around jumper to give the Red Hawks a 3-point lead. After a Bronco field goal, Gingrich threw a perfect pass from half court to a wide open Klompstra for an open lay up that gave Cedar a seemingly comfortable 4-point lead with 30 second left. The Broncos hit a 3-pointer to cut the Cedar lead to 43-42. Then the Broncos forced a Red Hawk turnover with 8 seconds left, but Red Hawk defense held on for the hard fought come from behind victory.
“We essentially shredded the game plan in the first five minutes and had to make plenty of adjustments. I think our players adjusted well and it’s great to comeback and win a game you trailed 13-1,” said Coach Secor. “It was good to win a close game like this. Hopefully it will give us the confidence that we can make plays down the stretch to win games. We have been right in every game, and that is a credit to how well we have played defensively.”
Coach Secor continued. “Alec Hanmer had his best game as a Red Hawk and kept us in the game when we were struggling offensively. Andrew Klompstra had a double-double and made a big bucket late in the game. Jason Gingrich’s 7 assists and Tyler Baker’s 2nd half defense were other big individual performances,” noted the coach.
Hanmer finished with 17 points. Klompstra had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Gingrich scored 6 points and Trey Reed had 5. Derek Ash had 7 rebounds. Chaney had 2 points and 5 rebounds, and Covell had 2 points.
The Red Hawks continue OK Blue play with a home game Friday at 6 p.m.  against the Forest Hill Northern Huskies.

Derek Ash goes way up for the rebound as Andrew Klompstra boxes out.

The Cedar Springs boys varsity basketball team traveled to Wyoming to take on the Lee Rebels last Friday. The Red Hawks got their first win of the young season, easily defeating the Rebels 52-29.
“We came out with good energy and intensity,” said head coach Andy Secor. “Our starting group did a good job of getting us going offensively. I thought we played very well defensively for the second game in a row. Our team defense was very good.”
Derek Ash won the opening tip, and 19 seconds later Kyle Chaney got the Red Hawks going with a three pointer from the corner. Then Chaney assisted on the next two Cedar buckets, three-pointers by Hank Porter and Jason Gingrich, and the Hawks were off to a 9-0 lead. An 8-0 run by the Rebels cut the Cedar lead to one, but an Ash free throw and 5 straight points by Porter gave Cedar Springs a 15-8 lead after one quarter. The second quarter began with field goals by Andrew Klompstra, Trey Reed, and Ash, all assisted by Porter. Then a Gingrich free throw and a Porter lay-up gave Cedar a 24-13 lead. Alec Hanmer became the seventh Red Hawk to score in the half when he buried a three-pointer to give Cedar a 27-15 Lead.
In the third quarter, buckets by Ryan Dines, Klompstra, Porter and a three-pointer by Gingrich stretched the lead to 15. Then Junior Tyler

Hank Porter led the Red Hawks with 14 points.

Covell hit two three-pointers in a span of 21 seconds and the Red hawks lead was 42-24 after three quarters of play. In the fourth quarter, Gingrich hit a three, then Porter made two free throws followed by a Reed lay-up and the score was 49-26. An Isaac Gloczynski free throw followed by a pair of Brandon Slater free throws rounded out the scoring for the Red Hawks as they cruised to the 52-29 victory.
Coach Secor was pleased. “We started to knock down some perimeter shots, Hank and Jason are shooting the ball with a lot of confidence,” he said. “We got some big contributions from our bench. Tyler Covell hit two big three-pointers in the third quarter and Andrew Klompstra played very well, leading the team with 8 rebounds. Alec Hanmer quietly had a solid game. He handled the ball well for us, knocked down a three-pointer, and was second on the team with 6 rebounds.”
Porter led the Red hawks with 14 points and 6 assists, Gingrich had 10 points and 3 assists. Covell finished with 6 points and Klompstra had 4 points to go with his 8 boards and 2 assists. Ash, Chaney and Hanmer had 3 points each, Dines and Slater two each and Golczynski one.
“It was good to get some of our reserves much-deserved playing time.” said Secor. “Those guys have been working hard in practice everyday to improve and they deserve any minutes we can get them.”
The Red Hawks started OK Blue Conference play this week with a game at West Catholic on Tuesday, December 14th at 7:15 p.m., followed by the home opener against arch rival Sparta on Friday night, December 17 at 6 p.m. at Cedar Springs High School.

Hank Porter (12) elevates and looks to pass to Derek Ash as Trey Reed (left) follows.

Derek Ash (40) goes up for the shot as Kyle Chaney (21) and Hank Porter (12) look on.

Cedar Springs boys varsity basketball coach Andy Secor said last week that there will be times when “it will be challenging (for us) to score.” Unfortunately for the Red Hawks, that was true in their first game Tuesday night at Greenville. Cedar scored only 29 points in a loss to the big and physical Yellow Jackets.
Hank Porter scored the first 5 points for the Red Hawks, sinking a pull up jumper and then a 3-pointer. A Derek Ash lay-up and a Ryan Dines 3-pointer gave Cedar a 10-8 lead after one quarter. Tyler Baker scored on a baseline jumper and then a lay-up to start the second quarter. Then Porter hit another jumper and Jason Gingrich canned a 3, and Cedar went in to the locker room trailing 22-19 at the half.
Greenville built a 5-point lead and a Trey Reed 3-pointer cut the Yellow Jacket lead to 2 points 27-25, with 3 minutes to go in the third quarter. That was the closest Cedar would get as Greenville went on a 12-0 run over the next 7 minutes to build their lead to 39-25 with 3:30 to go in the game. Greenville held on for a 46-29 victory.
Coach Secor was disapointed with the loss but found some positives in the team’s performance. “I am very happy with the energy and effort we played with. Our kids really played tremendous half-court defense. We held their Cornerstone University bound post player to 6 points and played great team defense,” he said. “On the flip side, we really struggled on the glass and with offensive execution.  We will get to work right away on that film, breaking it down, and improving our offense.”
Porter led the balanced Red Hawks with 8 points and took an impressive three charges. Baker, Gingrich and Ash had four points each. Reed, Dines and Alec Hanmer had 3 points each. Reed also took a charge. Kyle Chaney contributed with one rebound, solid defense and no turnovers. Brandon Slater had a rebound, a steal and an assist. Derek Ash led Cedar with 6 rebounds, Andrew Klompstra had 5 rebounds and Porter 4.
The Red Hawks travel to Wyoming Friday night to take on the Lee Rebels. Game time this Friday is 7 p.m.