Head varsity football coach Tim Rogers has been waiting for this moment for a long time. FHC has made the playoffs.

FHC handled Cedar Springs on Friday night. The score (31-20) does not depict how dominant the Rangers were. With four seconds left in the game, Cedar Springs scored a touchdown to make the game appear closer than it truly was.

At the beginning of the game, Cedar Springs received the kick and drove right down the field. After a few strong run plays, Cedar Spring’s quarterback threw a deep ball over the middle of the field. It was caught by their tight end, and Cedar Springs was on top 7-0. After that possession, the Ranger defense took over and shut down Cedar Spring’s Wing-T offense completely.

“We made some adjustments,” Rogers said. “We loosened up our outside linebackers so they could make easier reads.  That was our biggest change on defense.”

FHC’s defense swarmed all over the field and gang-tackled their opponents all night. Unfortunately for the Rangers, they will lose a key player in the secondary. Senior Nick Beaumier suffered a dislocated shoulder during Friday night’s game. That leaves a big hole in the secondary. Junior Kade Shomin and Senior Jack Uecker will be expected to fill the void. Big hits were delivered all night from seniors Sal Sidebotham,  Alec Elzinga, Harrison Engler, and  Nick White. Nick had multiple tackles and also racked up 2 tackles for loss.

“Our defense stayed low,” Nick said. “Running our feet and making tackles was something we emphasized this week in practice. We carried it out in the game, and it helped us get the win.”

On offense, the Rangers started strong and didn’t let up until the final whistle. They were led by senior Ty Collins, who racked up over 100 all-purpose yards and a score on a sweep to the outside. Senior Tanner Hallock accounted for two passing touchdowns and one rushing. The FHC receivers and running backs got open nearly every pass play, and Tanner delivered them the ball for big gains. On one occasion, Tanner hit Ty in stride on a wheel route that went for 35 yards. He also threw great passes to junior Jace Thornton and Jack for touchdowns. FHC’s coaching staff found a weakness on Cedar Spring’s defense and took advantage of it.

“The stretch plays worked really well,” Ty said. “They couldn’t contain the play, so we just ran all over them on the outside.”

FHC will take on Wayland next Friday and looks to improve their resume for the playoffs. FHC hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2011, when they lost a hard fought battle to Lowell 13-7. This year, the Rangers are looking for more. Their first goal was to make it. Now that they’re in, FHC wants to go as far as they can.

“We want to make a run,” Rogers said. “We didn’t get into this thing just to make the playoffs.  We want to make a long run and wind up at Ford field.”