Slowly, but surely, the JV and freshman boys grow together and become one team; the chemistry is there. Now, the only issue is production in the field. Sometimes with the first few games of the season, there is a little rust to rub off, this was the case for both teams on Wednesday night. The boys came out slow on offense, but the defense is a different story.

On Wednesday, August 31, the JV Rangers faced off against the Portage Central JV squad. Sophomore Brenden Cargill put the Rangers offense on his back, carried the boys over the finish line, and improved the JV and freshman record to 1-1. Brenden was not the only hero of the game though. Sophomore Orion Roskam had himself a game on the other side of the ball. There were four forced fumbles and three recovered by Orion.

“The game was great,” Orion said. “I think the extra players on the sideline helped pump us up and get us in the groove. Our defense stepped up and had a great game too, Brady[Osterhouse] also played a good game and proved he could be our QB1.” 

On the leg of sophomore Eli Lipke, the JV and freshman Rangers consistently put Portage Central behind the sticks. Eli had three punts over forty yards and the Ranger’s special teams had great reads and even better tackles. Late in the third quarter, the Rangers were positioned at the sixteen-yard line, and after came a long pitch and catch by sophomore Brady Osterhouse to Brenden for twenty-three yards.

Brady, at quarterback, faked the hand off and took it into the endzone on a sixteen-yard run up the middle. This ended up being the last touchdown for the Rangers, but the Portage Central squad couldn’t find any traction on offense other than a six-yard touchdown from running back Dashawn Johnson.

The Rangers closed the game in the fourth quarter with some solid tackles from freshman Henry McNamara, an interception by sophomore Ty Ryan, and an onside kick recovery by sophomore Matthew Geib. The JV and freshman boys would win it 14-6. Their next game is on Thursday, September 8, at Byron Center High School. Kick-off is at 6:30 p.m.