Ram D-pole Ryan Hartnagel helps the Rams to a victory against Grand Haven. Photo by STEPHANIE LARSEN
Rockford’s boys lacrosse team started their state regional tournament run with an offensive explosion against Grand Haven last week, defeating the Buccaneers by a score of 15-3. Leading the scoring attack for the Rams were juniors Mitchell Newton and Ryan Hartley. Newton had three goals with two assists, while middie Hartley also recorded a three-goal hat trick. Senior Erik Datema and sophomore Karson Konkle each scored twice for the Rams, as did freshman Kane Wolfer. Also finding the back of the Bucs’ net for the Rams were Blake McDonald, Anthony DeDamos and Alex Pouba.
Rockford’s defense was led by a tremendous game from junior long-stick Ryan Hartnagel, whose key takeaways and ground balls kept Grand Haven back on their heels all game.
“Tonight’s win was a nice send-off for our seniors’ final game at the Ted,” said Rams Coach Pete Sims after the contest. Those seniors are Datema, Adam Kroll, Cam Daisy, Charlie VanderZee and Elliott Vickers.
The Rams play in a regional quarterfinal game this Wednesday, June 1, against the Holt Rams at Holt. Rockford is ranked 15th in the state, while Holt is seventh, based on the MHSAA ratings posted by LaxPower.com.
Coach Sims said, “…we are looking forward to redeeming ourselves against Holt after our early season loss to them.”
Holt defeated Rockford 14-9 on March 29, prior to spring break.
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