Entering week three of gameplay for the varsity football team, fans had no clue how the team would match up against its conference competition, but once again, the team showed up ready to rock; on Friday, September 9, the Rangers traveled to Bryon Center to brawl it out on Bulldog turf in what would be their toughest game yet.

The first quarter started like any other for the Rangers as they wasted no time getting to work moving the ball down the field. Senior Justin Osterhouse added heat to an already fired-up offensive line when his pass was complete to junior Ty Hudkins to get the Rangers fourth and two, positioning them into the prime spot to enter scoring range; just like clockwork, Justin takes his team from first and ten at the Bulldog seventeen-yard line right into the endzone to notch the Rangers into the lead going into the second quarter with a score of 7-0.

Even after a clean first quarter, the tables turned on the Rangers as Byron Center took matters into its own hands; the Bulldogs started the quarter with a thirty-two-yard touchdown, scoring 7-6 after a missed kick for an extra point. The scoring for the half didn’t stop there, though. Minutes later, Byron Center was back in possession of the ball and hauled its way right back into touchdown territory with a completed extra point attempt. This put the score at 13-7, with the Bulldogs in the lead going into halftime.

Although being down by six going into the second half can sometimes be discouraging, the Rangers didn’t let the pressure get to them and knew it was time to get down to business.

“The team started off slow in the first half,” senior Michael Campbell stated. “We made some simple mistakes that we shouldn’t have, but we rallied at halftime and finished the hand strong.”

Michael wasn’t the only one ready to get back at the Bulldogs, though; the locker room full of Rangers knew what they had to do to come back.

“We saw some adversity, especially in the first half, going into halftime down six,” sophomore Max Richardson recalled. “But in the locker room, you could definitely tell we were ready to come back in the second half, and the captains on our team definitely stepped up to put us in a position to win.”

The third quarter started, and both teams knew that they would have to stay strong to determine the rest of the game; the Rangers began with the ball at their twenty-yard line, but after a long run by junior JT Hartman followed by a short run by Justin, FHC sat at first and ten on Byron Centers eleven-yard line. Justin sealed the deal when his pass to Max Richardson was complete for another Ranger touchdown.

Going into the final quarter, with the lead of 14-13, FHC put everything on the line to claim its third win of the season, and the Rangers did just that. The Bulldogs turned the ball over to the Rangers and took over on their thirty-yard line. With eleven minutes left in the game, the Rangers score another touchdown extending their lead to 21-13 over Byron Center. Max Richardson had an interception with four minutes left in the game, but the score would stay at 21-13 as the game wrapped up.

This win was huge for the Rangers as they beat Byron Center the previous year 42-0 and wanted to show that they could come back and win again. With this win, FHC also jumped to a 3-0 record overall and started the conference season with a strong showing that will help them in the six weeks before the playoffs.

After three weeks of solid gameplay, FHC will return home next week, Friday, September 16, against East Grand Rapids, at 7 p.m.

“I think it was a great first conference win for us,” Max Richardson said after the game. “It’s always good to start off the conference with a win; as soon as you lose a conference game, you have to start hoping other teams lose. It’s always nice to be able to control your own destiny.”