Coming into week 3 where the Rangers will play the Grandville Bulldogs, the JV football team enters with a record of 0-2. The past two weeks have been spent against two challenging non-conference opponents, with games against Jenison and Byron Center. Both of these games came down to the wire, with both games being lost by 7 or fewer points. Even though they were close, the players all know they have a ton of work to do.

The Bulldogs are coming off a huge win over Warren De La Salle, where they defeated the Pilots by a resounding 54-14. Because of this, a big focus for the Rangers this week in practice is defense. The Bulldogs use a run-heavy offense, so the defensive line is getting prepared for a tough task. Sophomore defensive linemen Mason Wiltz, Sam Tuori, and Aidan Paciorek will look to stop the Bulldog offense near the line of scrimmage and force the Bulldogs to throw it, which is where the secondary will come in to create turnovers and extra possessions for the Rangers.

On the other side of the ball, the Ranger offense is looking to finish off drives, as they have been easily reaching the opponent’s side of the field in previous games but are struggling to find the end zone. Sophomore quarterback Carson Mocherman is looking to match the scoreboard every time Grandville reaches the end zone. This will be key in keeping the game from getting out of control if the defense cannot stop the run. Although the opponent looks to be tough, the Rangers are looking to cap off an impressive non-conference schedule with a huge win.