See a shot you like?  Want info on how you can own a copy?  Visit Matt’s website to contact him for details!

Rockford took on a talented Romulus squad in today’s state semifinal game, and the Rams once again did what they’ve done all year– found a way to win.  Matt Philpott Photography was proud to bring you this selection of photos from this afternoon’s victory!

Be sure to visit Matt’s website to learn more about the services he offers, or to make contact if you’d like to purchase a copy of a picture seen here!

Grandville was host to back-to-back nights of intense basketball action, as Rockford High School took home the rights to advance to the Class A State Quarterfinals.

Matt Philpott Photography is proud to present you fans a collection of images from these two great games:

Like what you see?  Be sure to visit Matt’s website, to contact the photographer and learn how you can order copies!

Hockey playoff action continues to sizzle as teams find themselves one step closer to playing in Plymouth for a state title.  WMA’s Chris Carlisle and son Joshua recently took in a heated game between the East Kentwood Falcons and Rockford Rams.  Joshua was behind the pen and paper, and Chris was behind the lens, for the following coverage:

On Saturday night the MHSAA playoffs continued, with the Region 1 Finals, between the Rockford Rams and East Kentwood Falcons.  As the game started and  could barely tell the two teams apart, both with skill and speed,and right away it looked like it was going be a close game.  Rockford’s Zach Schwandt drew first blood with 11:02 left in the first period.  Hard as it was to believe early on, this would turn out to be Rockford’s only goal of the night.  Throughout the rest of the first period the game was very back-and-forth.  Despite the 1-0 score, the Falcons out-shot the Rams 11-5 in the first period, and the Falcons seemed to all of the momentum going into the locker room.

Midway through the second period East Kentwood’s Brett White was able to tie up the game, with what would turn out to be his first of two goals in the game.  Less than one minute after White’s goal, Tyler Collins pulled the Falcons ahead, putting another puck into the Rockford net.  Also adding to East Kentwood’s lead in the second was Austin Adams, scoring with 4:51 left in the period.  As the second period closed East Kentwood had out-shot Rockford 13-9, and more importantly, crawled to a 3-1 lead.

In the third period, East Kentwood added two more goals to their already comfortable lead.  Brett White scored his second goal of the night with 6:19 left in regulation, and Adam Goudelock found the back of the net with1:42 remaining on the clock.  When the final horn sounded, East Kentwood was able to keep their championship hopes alive with the 5-1 final score.

Fans, please be sure to visit Chris on the web, where you can purchase your very own prints of his great hockey photography!

The OK Red boys basketball season provided area fans with nonstop action and thrills week after week.  It was fitting, as such, that everything would build to two intense nights at East Kentwood High School, during which the fate of the conference championship would be decided.

On Tuesday, the Rockford Rams came in to face the East Kentwood Falcons, with a chance to separate themselves from the pack, but the Falcons had different plans, winning a nail biter that nearly saw final-second heroics force overtime.

Matt Philpott Photography was on the scene, providing fans with shots of this exciting game:

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Next, the Eagles from Hudsonville showed up to take on the Falcons.  East Kentwood wins, and they take home the OK Red for a second consecutive year. Hudsonville wins, and they know they share the title with at least East Kentwood, and possibly Rockford, pending their game against West Ottawa who had already beaten the Rams at Rockford (Rockford hung on 48-40 Friday night).

Friday’s battle took the plot of a Hollywood blockbuster– Hudsonville jumped out to an early lead in the first.  They then fell behind big over the next two quarters, only to come storming back in the fourth, eventually finding themselves trading shots back-and-forth in the dying moments, coming away with a one point victory. The OK Red is split between these three great teams whom are all very deserving!

Again, Matt Philpott Photography had a front-row seat for the action, giving you the following images:

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Like what you have seen?  Please take a moment to visit Matt Philpott Photography to learn more about the services he offers, or to contact the photographer about purchasing a print!

West Michigan All Star’s Chris Carlisle made his way to the rink once more, covering a Saturday evening match between Rockford and Manistee.  Along for the show was son Joshua, who provides us with the following recap of the action:

Griff’s IceHouse was the scene for a 5:00 Saturday drop of the puck, in a  game between the Rockford Rams and the Manistee Chippewas.  As the first period got under way both teams played very hard and physical, keeping one another off the score board.  Although the game was deadlocked at zero after the first period, Rockford had command of the shot totals over Manistee, 18-1.  The second got off to a quick start for Rockford when Keegan Knight lit the lamp with 14:47 left in the period.  Also contributing goals for Rockford in the second were Austin Cantu, Justin Ullrey, and Cam Bethum.  At the end of the second period, and very much in control of the game, Rockford once again out-shot Manistee, 23-1.  Going into the third, Rockford had the commanding 4-0 lead, but the Rams would go on to get one more goal before things were through, as Ben Glass  put one in with 5:03 left in regulation, giving us our 5-0 final.  Not to be lost in the score was the performance of Manisee goalie, Austin Wilson.   Despite allowing the five Rockford goals, Wilson still managed to stop 55 shots on net.  Rockford goalie Jake Rekuci had an easy night between the pipes, earning shutout, stopping all six shots that came his way.

Fans, please be sure to visit Chris on the web, where you can purchase your very own prints of his great hockey photography!

Rusty Yonkers was the man on the scene as the Muskegon Big Reds travelled to Rockford, hoping to play spoiler to the Rams and their conference title hopes.  Here is Rusty’s recap of the action from the court!

Rockford rammed in a three pointer right at the beginning to start the game with vengeance. That was the start of a night where Rockford kept sinking one basket after another from the three point line. When Muskegon was on the offensive they were constantly stopped by the two massive Rockford centers. Rockford often denied a basket attempt and would recover just about every rebound. Rockford was definitely setting the tempo of the game by the end of the half. The Rams ended the half with a score of 31-12. When the two teams came back out on the court for the second half the Big Reds seemed to have more energy and desire. But they just could not seem to stop the thundering herd of Rams on the court, especially those centers. Not only did Rockford out-rebound Muskegon, but they had ball handling and passing skills that were sensational. Many times the ball was flicking back and forth across the court in some of the most amazing feats of basketball acumen and skill. The Rockford players seemed to have a sixth sense of where others were that is reminiscent of Pistol Pete Maravich. Although the Big Reds were able to put points on the board in the second half they just were not able to catch up and Rockford ended with a 57-41 win for the night.

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Rusty was also on hand to cover the girls action, here is his breakdown of the ladies!

Rockford took a commanding lead at the beginning of the game. Muskegon was constantly plagued with turnovers and an inability to make their shots the entire first half. Rockford definitely controlled the court. The first half ended with the score 35 to 6. In the second half Muskegon came back fighting hard. They were energetic, and were able to start putting points on the board. Although they were able to get the ball in the net often and were able to answer Rockford baskets with scores of their own, they simply could not make up the deficit. Rockford won with the final score 64-36.

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For more from Rusty, please visit his website!

Our very own Chris Carlisle took to the roads last night to catch the Rockford Rams as they hosted the East Grand Rapids Pioneers in some spirited hockey action.  Joining him, and providing the following commentary was Chris’s son, Joshua.

Traversing the treacherous roads on Friday night was worth the effort, as two power house hockey teams from West Michigan took to the ice– with the Rockford Rams hosting the East Grand Rapids Pioneers at Griff’s IceHouse.  The game started off slowly as the two teams battled, feeling each other out.  At the end of the first period the scoreboard sat frozen at 0-0, with Rockford getting the upper hand in shots, 12-4 over East Grand Rapids.  The second period started like a mirror image of the first, until Rockford’s Nate Hill scored with 5:58 left in the period.  As the second period drew to a close, Rockford already had the advantage on the scoreboard, but the Rams also controlled the tempo of the game, once again out shooting East Grand Rapids, with a two-period tally of 24-11.  The third period of play started off with a bang when Rockford’s Ben Glass scored the second goal of the game for the Rams, with 12:43 left in regulation.  Rockford found the net twice more in the third with Cam Bathum and Zack Schwandt scoring, respectively.  When the final horn blew, the score was 4-1 in favor of Rockford, with the Rams out shooting the Pioneers 37-19.

Chris Carlisle was proud to bring coverage of this OK Conference battle.  Chris has photos from this, and many other events, available for purchase.  Please visit his website to order your shots today!

At first, it looked like a mismatch.  Rockford’s stifling defense held Grand Haven to only nine points in the first half, as the Rams made the Bucs look lost on the offensive end of the floor.

But that type of defensive intensity is hard to maintain.  The Bucs rallied from 17-down in the second half to pull within three points of the Rams with under a minute to play, before Rockford shut the door from the free-throw line.  Rockford held on to win a low-scoring, sloppy affair, 41-35.

After going 4-4 over the early part of the season against a brutal schedule, Rockford needed a victory on Friday night.  And it was apparent early that it wasn’t going to come on the offensive end of the floor.

Grand Haven's Alex Eidson | Murray Sports Photography

The Rams don’t have the kind of inside presence that they have had over the past couple years, and their shooting from long-range isn’t what it has been.  But the one constant for the Rams, the one thing you can count on from any Steve Majerle coached team, is that overpowering defense.  And on Friday, that defense turned Grand Haven over 17 times.

Of course, throwing in a duo of guards who can compete with any in the state in senior Ryan Majerle and junior Justin Klein doesn’t hurt.  Majerle led the charge for the Rams with 21-points including 9/10 from the line, while Klein added 7 of his own.

For Grand Haven, seniors Jordan Hoogerhyde and Marshall Rusco along with junior Alex Eidson each scored 11 points to lead a balanced, if a bit out of sync, attack.  Like Rockford, the Bucs find success on the defensive side of the ball.

Looking back at the game, even though Rockford was up big at one point, it’s tough to give them a clear nod over Grand Haven.  It’s apparent that both teams have talent, and even more than that both teams have fire.  That can get you a long way, particularly as a team begins to gel as the season progresses.

Rockford needed the win to get over some early season struggles, and they earned it.  But don’t sleep on Grand Haven just yet.  The season is just getting started.

Action shots of Friday’s game come courtesy of the man himself, Lou Murray of Murray Sports Photography.  For the full galleries click here.  Players, feel free to swipe the pics for your Facebook profile pics.  That’s why they’re there.

Quick Hitters:

• This was neither team’s best game, which may actually bode well for the Rams moving forward.  They gutted their way through a quality Grand Haven team, and held off a serious late-game push, all while the shots weren’t falling.  Looking to a potential playoff run, shots will either fall or they won’t.  But you still have to win either way.
• As a player with a decent amount of pride, it’s tough to reconcile a 9-point first half in your mind.  Given that, Grand Haven’s push to within three points in the second half was inspiring.

Janelle Bauchan paced the Rangers with 12 points, while teammates Christina Bowman and Jillian Hendrickson each scored 10.  For the Rams, Kimberly Weston lead the way with 13 points.

So far so good for the Rangers.  With a significant opening victory over Rockford, Forest Hills Central opens their season on a very positive note.