As high school football wraps up around the state of Michigan, there is one team especially that went out with a bang: the JV and freshman Ranger football team. The boys finished the season with a 7-1 record, but the record alone does not tell the full story. The Rangers won seven straight games after an opening loss to Jenison, they finished as the OK White JV football champs. They fought very hard this season, from early adversity with the starting QB injury to freshman stepping up and filling spots with a next-man-up mentality. 

Our JV Rangers started the season off with a tough game against rival Jenison, although the game did not go as the boys would like it to go, they learned some important lessons and learned how to embrace a next-man-up mentality.

“We lost our starting QB early in the season, [sophomore] Max Holster,” sophomore Orion Roskam said. “I knew we had the mental toughness to overcome the early adversity,” Orion stated. “Brady and the rest of the team stepped up in a big way.” The Rangers played well and went the rest of the season after Jension undefeated. 

The newly instated freshman also played with a big heart and an underdog mindset. No positions were just given to the freshman, they had to work very hard to out compete fellow teammates. At the end of the day, the freshman played well and some did find their spots on the team as the season progressed. Team chemistry on this specific team was a necessity because there were two different age groups that had different skill sets. The older sophomores played well on the field, but they also excelled in the locker room with their leadership qualities. 

As the season went on, the boys just kept getting better and better, as EGR week came around the boys were ready for their first test. The Rangers had prepared well, however they came out of the gates a little slow. EGR went into the half leading 6-0, after scoring on their first possession. The third went the same way as offense, then in the fourth quarter was when the scoring really started. Sophomore Matthew Geib capped off a nice scoring dive with a WR sweep. After that EGR started to unravel. The final was 14-6, this improved the Rangers to 3-1. This game was the turning point for the Rangers JV team, after EGR it was all gas no breaks.

This season was a special one for the Rangers, and even though the sophomore players will move on next year to varsity, there still is a lot of talent on the freshman team that will, guarantee, surprise most people. As football in Ranger Country slowly dissipates, fans know one thing: the JV Rangers Football Team had an outstanding season.

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