Top 5 upsets

Varsity Field Hockey vs. East Grand Rapids

The win for Forest Hills that went down as the varsity field hockey team’s best game of the 2018 season was its triumph over field hockey powerhouse East Grand Rapids. The Rangers were able to control the game from the minute the game commenced to the minute the whistle blew at the end. Senior Madisyn Bunke dominated the field for her team. Madisyn assisted in helping secure the team’s victory by scoring the second goal which made it even more difficult for the Pioneers to come away with a win. The FH defense also made it extremely difficult for the Pioneers to get out of their own half, and their constant pressure had a significant impact on the Pioneers defense. They started to break down and turn the ball over many times. In the end, Forest Hills’ intensive pressure and incredible defense played a huge factor in the outcome of the game.

“I was pretty confident going into the game because I knew that we could beat them,” Madisyn said. “It felt amazing to win the game because we hadn’t beaten them in two years, and they are our biggest rivals.”

Boys Soccer vs. Rockford

In the District quarterfinals, the Rangers drew one of the toughest District draws in the state. First, they started off with a game against Rockford, a team they had already lost to earlier in the season 1-0. In the day leading up to the game, people around the school were already counting out the Rangers. However, no one on the team doubted themselves. The Rangers started off with an aggressive play style, putting early pressure on the Rockford defense. With a couple chances early on, the Rangers finally capitalized with a goal from senior Alec Norris, putting the Rangers up 1-0 with 13 minutes remaining in the first half. After the goal, the Rangers hung back a little bit, and Rockford had some huge chances. The defensive trio of junior goalkeeper Kyler Williams and the center back pairing of seniors Geoffrey Batterbee and Josh Koets proved resilient, stopping attack after attack from the Rams. During the second half, there were some chances for the Rangers, but Rockford continued to have a majority of the chances. Junior defensive midfielders Dani Ahmetovic and JT Guntern made continuous stops, and if they didn’t, their defensive line behind them did.

“It was amazing to be a part of a team that had a bit of a rough start at the beginning but came back and won a massive game for our program against Rockford,” junior captain Sammy Postlewait said.

Volleyball vs. Forest Hills Northern

After suffering a devastating loss earlier in the season to their arch-rivals in the Forest Hills Northern Huskies, the Rangers were seeking a different outcome in their second chance at victory. Starting off strong, the Rangers were able to secure two of the first three sets; the first set favored the Rangers 25-22 followed by the second set which went to the Huskies. In the third set, the Rangers picked up their game and utterly dominated the Huskies, winning 25-13. In the fourth and final set, the Rangers were able to pull through in an extremely close fought set 25-22. Junior Lauren Schofield and freshman Sophia Shields were key offensive factors in the Rangers victory. Lauren was able to finish sixteen total kills, and Sophia contributed twelve. The Rangers’ incredible defense and their ability to attack the Huskies played an important role in their inspiring victory.

“We were very confident going into the match and definitely wanted some revenge after losing the first game to them, ” Lauren said. “Even so, it was such an incredible feeling to beat FHN because it has been a couple of years since we have beaten them, and it was such a great accomplishment for our team,”

Freshman football vs. Cedar Springs

Knowing this game would be the toughest test for the rest of the season, the freshman football team didn’t take any days off in preparation for Cedar Springs. Right away, the Ranger offense marched down the field with confidence, scoring on their first drive with a touchdown from freshman Quentin Rudolph. With the quick score, you would think the Rangers would get another possession in the half, but instead, Cedar Springs ran the ball for the remaining time in the half with their powerful run-heavy offense. In order for FHC to win this game, the defense needed to step up and make some stops. Freshmen Tate Greer and Colten Jenkins led the Ranger defense to multiple stops, leading to punts and more time of possession for the Rangers. After another stop, freshman quarterback Hunter Robinson found his favorite receiver Benny Scholler for the score with only three minutes remaining. However, with time lacking in the game, Cedar Springs made a quick trip to the end zone, giving them the 16-14 lead after two successful two-point conversions. As Hunter led the team down the field, they were left with a tough field goal. Freshman Luke Gustafson stepped up with confidence and nailed the 44-yard field goal for the win.

“That win felt great,” Hunter said. “To pull off a win in that fashion against a top-quality team was nothing short of amazing.”

Boys Cross Country vs. Rockford at Regionals

The Regional meet was one of the most intense races that the runners on the Rangers cross country team would ever compete in. Going head-to-head against twelve other schools from all around the state, the Rangers boys cross country team had a tough race ahead of them. Making it even tougher was the fact that they were racing against the Rockford Rams, a cross-country powerhouse that had beaten the Rangers many times before. However, given the extreme circumstances that the Rangers were given at the event, they were able to secure second place, which was very respectable given their competition. Furthermore, their greatest accomplishment of the day was not only securing third, but it was finishing over the Rams, who took third place. The Rangers beat out the Rams by only 2 points and had two runners place in the top ten compared to Rockford’s two runners. The top runner for the Rangers was senior Geoffrey Batterbee, who ran a 16:23.04 race time and finished sixth out of a total of 162 runners.