Schedule Breakdown: Rockford Rams

Coming off a great season with a brutal ending, Rockford heads into 2022 with plenty of talent but plenty of losses. The OK-Red as a whole is a daunting league, with teams like Caledonia on the rise and Grandville always playing tough. This season, Rockford is looking to pivot off their recent success and hopefully catapult back to a State Championship. Even though the Rams lost lots of talent, they still retain names such as <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11786324">[player_tooltip player_id="232200" first="Mac" last="VandenHout"]</a>, <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11786329">Jacob Oleneack</a>, <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13320108">Rick Beison</a>, <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11786326">[player_tooltip player_id="232201" first="Alex" last="McLean"]</a>, and others. It’s going to be an interesting year for the Rams, so here’s what they’re up against in 2022! <strong>Week 1 vs. East Grand Rapids</strong> EGR is still searching for a new coach, and they’re coming off of their worst season in over a decade. Like always, EGR is a talented squad, but unfortunately, they weren’t able to get it done last season. Now, with the talent they currently have, a great new Head Coach could shake things up, making this game extremely hard to gameplan for. If Rockford’s new leaders get off to a slow start, this could be a trap game, though the Rams will surely be favored. <strong>Week 2 vs. Mona Shores</strong> This is a huge matchup for both the Rams and Sailors, as these are two marquee programs on the west side, and both have their eyes on a State Championship. Mona Shores has size, athletes, and coaching, playing in the elite OK-Green. This is one of the biggest games of the season as whoever wins this game will have huge confidence and playoff implications. This game is one to keep a close eye on. <strong>Week 3 vs. West Ottawa</strong> Not a great stretch for West Ottawa, as on paper it seems that Rockford is set up well for a win. The Panthers went winless last season, and I see no real reason to believe they’re going to be significantly improved. <strong>Week 4 vs. Grand Haven</strong> The Bucs started off strong in 2021, but they went winless after week 4. Even worse, Grand Haven was a team full of seniors. Needless to say, Rockford will be favored in this matchup unless Grand Haven becomes worldbeaters. <strong>Week 5 vs. East Kentwood</strong> Now, on paper this may seem like a sure win, but East Kentwood has a few great players. [player_tooltip player_id="241629" first="Casey" last="Joppie"] is a great up and coming QB that will face his biggest test yet against Rockford, with them also having a few other up and coming talents. With the vigor of East Kentwood’s schedule, they could put up a fight, and I would not dismiss this as being an easy matchup. <strong>Week 6 vs. Grandville</strong> If you follow either of these teams, you know this is a significant matchup. With the exception of the latest playoff matchup between these teams, the past two matchups have gone into overtime, both going in the Rams favor. So yes, Rockford has a great winning streak on the Bulldogs, but these Bulldogs bite, and they could be the Rams kryptonite this coming season. If the Rams are unable to outlast the Bulldogs, it will serve major playoff and league implications. <strong>Week 7 vs. Hudsonville</strong> Hudsonville had the most heartbreaking season of any other team last season, going 4-5 and missing the playoffs, with all 5 losses being by one possession. In other words, if some very minor things were changed in 2021, Hudsonville could have looked at a playoff spot, heck, they could have gone undefeated. Even more unfortunately, Hudsonville loses quite a bit of talent. Still, this could be a tough game for Rockford as they’re usually a good team. <strong>Week 8 vs. Jenison</strong> It’s been a cold couple of seasons for Jenison, and I see Rockford taking advantage of their superior talent. This is a matchup that I don’t see being competitive. <strong>Week 9 vs. Caledonia</strong> I’m very confident that this will be the game that decides the OK-Red. Caledonia is brewing up something great, with them departing from the T-Wing offense last year, they discovered a gem QB in <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12946393">Mason McKenzie</a> as he’s been turning heads this offseason. Both teams will have been battle tested and geared up for a matchup that could be season-defining. Overall I’m very excited to see these two QB’s face off against one another.