With 11 minutes remaining in the game, senior defensive back Tyler Hudkins sealed the fate for the Portage Central Mustangs.
Hudkins intercepted a pass downfield and returned it for a touchdown to finish off an impressive defensive performance that led to a 26-6 FHC victory.
Hudkins gave credit to his coach and teammates who allowed him to have this great play.
“Coach Rogers called a great defense that play, 3 deep,” said Hudkins, who is also committed to Northwestern to continue his football career. “Quarterback threw it up, and I made a play. It was just a really good team effort, and coach Rogers drew up a great scheme for the entire night.”
To start off the game, the Rangers scored on their first drive with a touchdown from senior quarterback Mason McDonald from 3 yards out. Although the team was not able to gain the extra point, FHC led 6-0 with six minutes left of the first quarter.
Head coach Tim Rogers knew who and what needed to be done in order for the team to come out with the win.
“We challenged the guys on the inside, Chase Enbody, [Orion] Roskam, [Matt] Sexton, J Coe,” Rogers said. “The pressure was on them with what they do on offense, and I thought they did a real good job with staying low, moving people against their will, and staying in control in the box, and if you can stay in control of the box, you can win the game.”
Senior Quinlen Sutherland, who was both on the offensive and defensive trenches, was feeling the pressure with the sizes of the Mustang players.
“We thought that they would destroy us up front,” Sutherland said. “They are all big, but that was our key focus of this game was winning the up front, and that would win us the game.”
The Rangers would be able to hold off the Mustangs for the rest of the first half. In the midst of the defense keeping Portage Central at bay, FHC scored another touchdown with a pass from McDonald to Hudkins from 11 yards out. However, the 2-point conversion pass to Hudkins was incomplete.
Later in the half, McDonald ran the ball in from 3 yards out for another touchdown. The extra point was good to leave the Rangers in the lead 19-0 at halftime.
Rogers was pleased with the play of his senior quarterback, Mason McDonald, who looked more comfortable in game two compared to a bit of a shaky first half last week at Jenison.
“He wasn’t a starter last year,” Rogers said. “So that was his first game starting in his high school career. Now he did step in late, but he definitely had some butterflies, and he admitted that. Once he got the butterflies out and blew the rust off, he is a really good football player.”
Portage Central opened the second half with a long drive down the field. A crucial false start pushed them back to the 6-yard line, but the Mustangs scored a touchdown on the third down but would miss the 2-point conversion, still leaving the Rangers in the lead 19-6.
Hudkins dominated much of the game with several catches that showcased his ability to find open space and make plays. Hudkins noticed that the coverage was different this week.
“We put in a couple more screens,” Hudkins said. “They didn’t double team like Jenison last week, but I just praise my offensive coordinator for helping me get the ball in the right spots.”
Hudkins proved himself as a threat throughout, but the key highlight was his interception, resulting in the Rangers sealing the win over the Mustangs.
The FHC Rangers are gearing up toward the next game next week at Christian.
“They are a pretty good team,” Hudkins said. “They like to throw the ball a lot and have good weapons, so it will be a fun game on the road.”
