Thursday night’s convincing win was a step in the right direction for a Ranger team with incredibly high expectations on their season. A platoon of Rangers got in the action and contributed to the win. Here is the reaction from around the Ranger locker room after the win over Jenison.

Senior captain, defensive end and left tackle Elijah Gurley on the overall performance Thursday night:

“All offseason we have really strengthened our team chemistry and have grown so much as a unit. We played (yesterday) for the guy next to us, not ourselves. As a team, we wanted to come out fast but in control. Our offense came out a little bit slow, but our defense played great assignment football and was able to recover for early offensive miscues. We made some good adjustments at the half and came out a lot stronger offensively in the second half. It was a great start to our season, but this is only our first step. We have to stay focused week to week and move on now to West Ottawa.”

Senior middle linebacker Isaac Torrey talking about the defensive effort:

“It was a fun way to start our season. Our defense did a great job stepping up in tough situations and each of us were able to come out and do a job to help the unit as a whole. [In] each play we all know we need to do our one eleventh and that’s how we got it done.”

Junior running back Cam Deines on the offensive line:

“Our offensive line will be key throughout the season, especially since some of them are going both ways. In the second half especially, our line came out faster which allowed our backs to hit holes harder. It helped our offense last night find our flow and lead the long drives down the field.”

Senior special teams specialist and defensive lineman Will Kuiper on special teams:

“Our special executed pretty well last night. On Bryce’s punt return for a touchdown, it took all ten blockers for us to open up a hole and Bryce made a great play to take it up field. [Bryce] used his athleticism to make some great plays for us last night.”

Junior wide receiver Tate Hallock on the senior leadership:

“The captains are great leaders and really motivated us and kept us ready for last night. Bryce did a crazy job last night and is just a freak athlete. I love playing with him and I really strive to play the game like he does. We’re always helping each other get better in practices and motivating each other in the locker room too.”

Senior tight end Michael Peliotes on the halftime offensive adjustment:

“Some missed alignments and assignments were hurting us in the first half of the game. We made a couple changes and calmed everyone down at the half and came down and executed especially up front. Everyone was hyped up in the locker room after the game. Week one wins are always big.”

Junior quarterback Luke Majick on coming in for injured quarterback Jace Thornton:

“I just tried to be a great leader for my guys. I knew Jace went down and someone had to step up as the vocal leader on offense. I really just encouraged our o-line and everyone else and tried to give confidence to everyone to help us get the job done.”

Senior defensive back Kade Shomin on the ability to turn the ball over on defense:

“It came down to remembering all of our drill work last night and all the things we work on a day to day basis. We carry that over to our games and it allows us to be super aggressive in the secondary. It will be huge for us to keep playing like this in our secondary so we can come up clutch in tight situations.”

Senior running back Moise Guerrier on his role this season as a transfer athlete:

“My role is to run hard and to scrap for as many extra yards as I can get. Whatever I can do to continue a drive downfield or get that first down is my job to get this team to where we want to be. When [the offensive line] sees how I’m running and firing into holes, it fires up everyone else and keeps them in it and ready to play.”