By Zach Fanko, WKTV Contributor
Points were at a premium in this match-up, as East Kentwood kept its playoff hopes alive with a 14-6 victory over West Ottawa.
Following a scoreless first quarter, the Falcons found the scoreboard as quarterback Casey Joppie connected with Nate Cobbs on a 14-yard scoring strike. East Kentwood clung to a slim 7-6 lead at the half.
With 3:53 left in the third quarter, running back Ben Cash punched it in from 2 yards out for a 14-6 advantage. The Falcons defense, led by linebacker Stellan Bowman with 15 tackles, held on to the lead with a scoreless final quarter.
Bowman also forced two fumbles, added a sack, as well as 78 rushing yards. East Kentwood Coach Tony Kimbrough had high praise for his star linebacker.
“He’s the best linebacker in the state,” Kimbrough said. “Show me another guy that plays with the passion he has for the game.
“Nobody loves the game more than he does and it’s infectious. Makes everyone around him better football players.”
The biggest takeaway for the Panthers tonight was the missed opportunities offensively, according to Coach Pat Collins.
“Had some short fields, but just couldn’t convert on those opportunities,” Collins said. “Got to examine what went wrong for us tonight.
“A lot of losing moments. A lot of winning moments, too. We will look at those and improve.”
Despite an inconsistent performance from the offense, Kimbrough was pleased to get back into the winning column.
“You take the wins any way you can get them in this league,” Kimbrough said. “A lot of talent in this league and the coaching is outstanding.”
With this crucial win, East Kentwood (4-3, 3-2 OK Red) turns its attention to a home date with Hudsonville (2-5, 2-3 OK Red) next Friday.
West Ottawa (3-4, 1-4 OK Red) travels to Caledonia for next Friday’s game.
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