The freshman Red Hawks lost a close game to Sparta last Thursday. Pictured from the Red Hawks are #10 MavRick Cotton and #36 Alex Jacob. Photo by R. Klompstra.

Lose close game to Sparta

The freshman Red Hawk football team faced off against Sparta on Thursday, October 20. “The boys played hard like they did all season, we just came up a little short in the end. We as coaches are proud of the way they kept playing until the very end.” said Coach Covey.
Sparta scored in the first few minutes of the game. The Hawks answered with a touchdown of their own, but Sparta came right back and scored again. At the end of the quarter the score was Sparta 12, Cedar 6. Both teams scored a touchdown in the second, but only Sparta made their 2-point conversion to make the score to 20-12 Sparta.
With the rain still falling, Cedar came back out strong and evened the score with a touchdown and 2-point conversion. Sparta took back the lead with a touchdown and 2-point conversion. Cedar continued to battle and scored and Sparta immediately responded by scoring again. The third quarter ended with Sparta leading 36-26.
Going into the fourth quarter they could have given up, especially with the weather conditions, but they didn’t. The Red Hawks scored and made the 2-point conversion, but it wasn’t enough to take the lead. The last game of the season ended with the Spartans edging out the Red Hawks 36-34.
The loss, however, did not alter their position in the standings. It was a great season for the freshman team with 7 wins, 2 losses—good enough to take first in the conference.
“This is a great group of kids with great attitudes, they have the ability to do great things in the future,” said the coaches. “We look forward to watching them throughout the years. Thank you to the parents and fans for their support.”

Red Hawk Tyler Luevano #5 intercepts the ball in the end zone. Photo by R. Klompstra.

The Cedar Springs freshmen Red Hawks won after a forfeit by Fremont on October 6, and then concentrated on tackling West Catholic October 13. “The boys stepped up to the challenge of facing one of the top teams in our league (West Catholic) and were very focused leading up to game day,” said freshman football Coach Kirk Covey.
With many players in positions they hadn’t practiced all season due to injuries, it was a tough game. The first quarter was a back and forth battle at midfield until the Red Hawks scored, ending the quarter 6-0.
The battle continued in the second quarter when Tyler Luevano made an interception in the end zone denying West Catholic a touchdown. Late in the quarter our offensive line, once again, provided the opportunity for a running back to gain some yards. Jesse VanHemert took advantage of that opportunity and ran it in for another Cedar Springs touchdown. The Falcons responded with a touchdown of their own with one minute left in the half. The Red Hawks were still going strong and with 40 seconds left in the first half, MavRick Cotton scored a touchdown. With a successful 2-point conversion, the first half ended with Cedar 20 and West Catholic 6.
The Falcons came back from halftime determined to even the score. Both sides battled hard, but the Falcons were the only ones to score in the 3rd quarter, bringing the score to Cedar 20 and West Catholic 13.
Early in the 4th quarter, the Falcons intercepted the ball in the end zone preventing a Red Hawk touchdown. Midway through the quarter, the Falcons scored a touchdown bringing the score to Cedar 20 and West Catholic 19. With 5 seconds left, the Falcons threatened to take the lead on a field goal but the kick wasn’t successful and the game ended with a score of Cedar 20 and West Catholic 19.
Our guys showed a lot of heart, most of them were out on the field 100 percent of the time without rest and they hung in there at the end when it counted most. Great job guys! Good luck with your last game of the season at Sparta on October, 20.

Jesse VanHemert (#51) on the carry.

The threat of a thunderstorm lingered as the Red Hawks fought for a win against the Comstock Park Panthers on Thursday, September 29. The Hawks started early with a touchdown in the first quarter and made good on their two-point conversion. The Hawk’s defense fought hard against a comeback by the Panthers, with an interception in the end zone ending the quarter with Hawks 8 Panthers 0.
“Defense was able to step up and create turnovers, which was key, at the beginning of the game, preventing Comstock Park from scoring early. The offensive line was able to create some nice holes up front and the running backs made some great runs,” said Coach Covey.
The 2nd quarter had another successful touchdown by the Hawks. Although the two-point conversion was not any good, the score remained in Cedar’s favor at 14 to 0.
The battle continued through the 3rd quarter, without gain for either team. The Panthers put 8 on the board in the 4th quarter. The Hawks answered back with a touchdown of their own. Late in the 4th quarter, the Panthers continued to fight, but the Red Hawks’ defense made another interception in the end zone to end the game. The final score was Cedar Springs 20, Comstock Park 8.
The Red Hawks, now 5-1, will take on Fremont on Thursday, October 6, at Red Hawk Stadium, and West Catholic on Thursday, October 13, also at home. Games start at 4:30 p.m.

Freshman Red Hawks Jesse VanHemert (51) and Nate Sorensen (78) bring down the Greenville ball carrier in the opening game of the season. Photo by R. Klompstra.

The freshman football team is well on their way. The first game, on August 25 was against Greenville, a tough opponent. Despite some setbacks, Cedar continued to drive the ball, and landed a 14-12 victory. The second game, on August 31, against Forest Hills Eastern, fell short with a loss of 21-8. But the Red Hawks bounced back with a 44-22 victory against Fruitport on September 8, with the special teams keeping them in a good position throughout the game. “It was our best week of practice this season and with it being a holiday week the boys stayed focused the entire time,” said head coach Kirk Covey. “They are a very cohesive and coachable team. Offensively they are beginning to understand our playbook and are gaining confidence as they learn the plays. Defensively they are becoming more aggressive and getting to the ball quicker. They also have better discipline in pass coverage situations. They came into the game Thursday very eager to play and focused, including during our pre-game preparation.” The Red Hawks will take on Coopersville at home on September 15 and play at Forest Hills Northern on September 22.