The Cedar Springs Red Hawks earned their fifth straight victory last Friday, September 28, when they took the win over Forest Hills Central at the Rangers’ homecoming. Photo by Kelly and Rob LaLone.
By Judy Reed
The Cedar Springs Red Hawks kept their winning streak alive last Friday, September 28, when they upset Forest Hills Central 24-14, on the Rangers’ home turf. However, it was a bit of a nail biter for Red Hawk fans, when the Rangers defense did something no other teams’ defense has been able to do this year: they kept the Red Hawks scoreless in the first half.
“This was a big win for us,” said Coach Gus Kapolka. “Being down at the half and fighting our way back really makes me proud as a coach. Our guys hung tough together and found a way to get it done.”
The first score of the game came with :36 seconds left on the clock in the second quarter, when Forest Hills Central’s Cameron Deines ran right for a 4-yard touchdown, and the extra point kick was good. So Cedar Springs went into the locker room at half down 0-7.
The Red Hawks came out with renewed vigor in the second half, and scored with 7:08 left in the second quarter, when QB Kolby Swank passed to Kaden Liggett for a 10-yard touchdown, and then passed again to Sage Serbenta for another two. They led 8-7 at the end of the third quarter.
The Red Hawks scored again in the fourth, with 8:28 left, when Serbenta ran to the right for a 5-yard touchdown, and then he ran it into the end zone again for the extra two points.
The Rangers hit the scoreboard again just a couple of minutes later (6:53 left) when Cameron Deines ran to the left for a 19-yard touchdown. The extra point kick was good. The score was now 16-14, Red Hawks, and plenty of time for it to go either way.
Cedar Springs sealed the win with 2:04 left on the clock when Lucas Pienton ran left for a 1-yard touchdown, and then Swank passed to Serbenta for the extra two points.
“We really controlled time of possession in the second half (20 minutes – 4 minutes), and we converted all three of our two-point conversions in the second half,” noted Kapolka. “I felt that was the difference in the game.”
The Red Hawks rushed for a net total of 295 yards, with Serbenta running for 99 on 14 carries; Pienton had 89 on 17 carries; Ringler 77 on 19 carries; and Swank had 23 on 5 carries. Ethan West and Zach Schmid also contributed.
Cedar Springs also garnered some passing yardage, with Swank completing 5 out of 8 passes for 47 yards. Receivers included Pienton, Serbenta, West, Liggett, and Nate Webb.
FHC had a total of 75 yards rushing, with Deines getting 39 yards on 7 carries; and Jimmy Scholler 30 yards on 12 carries.
Ranger QB Jimmy Scholler racked up 148 yards on 14 of 20 passes.
On defense, Ryan Ringler led with 8 tackles; Pienton had 7; Schmid had 6; Gage Gardner and Xavier Anderson both had 5. Pienton also had an interception.
The Red Hawks lead the OK White Conference with a record of 3-0 in conference and 5-1 overall. One more win will guarantee them a spot in the playoffs. On Friday, the Red Hawks will host Lowell (1-2, 1-5 overall) in their annual pink game at Red Hawk Stadium at 7 p.m.
