On the turf at Houseman Field, the Rangers took on the Ottawa Hills Bengals. After thrashing the Bengals last year, the team was careful about coming in too confident after rumors spread of a new offensive system and improved team for Ottawa Hills. However, the Rangers stood strong and thrashed the Bengals by a score of 48-14.

Right out the gate, the Ranger offense looked much improved from last week. On the first drive of the game, sophomore Luke Matelic returned the deep kick to the opposing 25-yard line. The Rangers drove down the short field with their dominant run game to get the offense down to the 3-yard line, where sophomore quarterback Maguire Mahacek ran the ball in himself for the touchdown. 

Following the first touchdown, the run game continued to dominate. Sophomore running back Sawyer Bosch and Maguire picked the Bengals front seven apart. Sawyer ran one in the end zone from a few yards away, which was then followed by a touchdown run by Maguire to send the Rangers into the locker room at the half leading 20-0.

“I thought our offensive line really showed up today,” Maguire said.

The offensive linemen made up of sophomores Aidan Paciorek, Sam Tuori, Jason Downey and freshman Parker Vredenburg blocked extremely well, creating constant gaps in the middle for the running backs and quarterback to run through.

Resuming action, Sawyer carried another 2 touchdown runs into the end zone, with one of them being a huge 45-yard touchdown. Sophomores Cam Roth and Isaac Gurley also put themselves on the stat sheet with a touchdown each to their name.

Even though the score may not show it, respect has to be shown to Ottawa Hills. They were a tough opponent who held the Rangers to minimal gains in the first quarter.

“It was a very physical game from the start, but we fought harder and came out with the win, ” Sawyer said.

Overall, it was a quality game for the Rangers. This win gives them a 3-4 (3-1) record overall. With some shake-ups in the remaining two weeks of play, the Rangers could potentially win their conference with only one loss.

Next week, the Rangers will be taking on the Lowell Red Arrows for a rivalry game on FHC’s home field. This matchup also happens to be a crucial game for the Rangers’ Conference Championship aspirations.