Bad Moon Rising - Red Hawks Roll Through Yellow Jackets
GREENVILLE — Under a full moon on a clear 68-degree night, Cedar Springs brought energy from the opening whistle against rival Greenville and never let the Yellow Jackets find their footing.
The Red Hawks scored on the first play from scrimmage, turned turnovers into points and leaned on a punishing ground game to earn a 52-12 win on the road.
Cedar Springs kicked off to start the game, and on Greenville’s first snap, the Red Hawks forced a fumble behind the line of scrimmage. Henry Metiva recovered it for a touchdown, and Kolin Brott added the two-point conversion to give Cedar Springs an 8-0 lead just 13 seconds into the game.
Greenville answered with a touchdown drive of its own, but Cedar Springs stopped the two-point try to stay in front 8-6.
The Red Hawks responded with a strong rushing drive. Spencer Schoenborn, Deegan Pike and Nick Robinson each helped move the ball downfield before Schoenborn finished the possession with a touchdown run. Schoenborn also added the two-point conversion, extending the lead to 16-6.
The Yellow Jackets came back with another score late in the first quarter, cutting Cedar Springs’ lead to 16-12, but the Red Hawks quickly answered. After a facemask penalty moved Cedar Springs deep into Greenville territory, Robinson found Schoenborn in the end zone on the first play of the second quarter. Brott ran in the two-point conversion to make it 24-12.
From there, Cedar Springs took control.
Greenville moved into the red zone on its next possession, but Pike came up with a tipped interception to stop the drive. Moments later, Jakson Bravata broke loose for a touchdown, and Robinson connected with Schoenborn on the conversion to push the Red Hawks ahead 32-12.
The Cedar Springs defense followed with a fourth-down stop near midfield, and the unrelenting Jakson Bravata struck again on the next drive, running in another touchdown. Schoenborn smashed his way through the line for the conversion, making it 40-12 with 4:11 left in the half.
The Red Hawks added one more defensive score before halftime when they forced another Greenville fumble near midfield. Deegan Pike picked it up and and never turned around, returning it 50 yards for a touchdown, giving Cedar Springs a 46-12 lead.
Greenville’s final drive of the half started deep in its own territory after a penalty, and Cedar Springs kept the Yellow Jackets pinned back before forcing a punt. The Red Hawks ran out the final seconds and went into halftime firmly in control.
The second half opened with a Cedar Springs fumble, giving Greenville a chance to cut into the deficit. The Yellow Jackets drove inside the Red Hawk 10-yard line, but Cedar Springs held on third down and then forced an incompletion on fourth down to take over at its own 10.
The Red Hawks responded with another steady drive on the ground. Schoenborn, Pike and Bravata helped move the ball out of trouble and into Greenville territory. Pike broke a run to the Yellow Jackets’ 26-yard line, and Schoenborn and Bravata continued the march inside the 15.
A false start briefly pushed Cedar Springs back, but it did little to slow the Red Hawks. Schoenborn took the ball around the right side and scored again, stretching the lead to 52-12 with 6:10 left in the third quarter.
Greenville put together one more scoring threat late in the third quarter, completing a long pass over the middle to reach the Cedar Springs 12-yard line as the quarter ended. The Yellow Jackets pushed the ball inside the 5 early in the fourth, but the Red Hawk defense came up with another stand, forcing a fumble and recovering it at the Cedar Springs 7-yard line.
Bravata gave the Red Hawks breathing room with a run out to the 20. Cedar Springs later lost a fumble near its own 18, but the defense again refused to give Greenville much room. The Yellow Jackets recovered their own fumble on the next possession, but Cedar Springs continued to stuff the run and keep Greenville out of the end zone.
With the game well in hand, the Red Hawks closed out the rivalry win with the same formula that carried them all night: physical offense, disciplined defense and pressure that turned Greenville mistakes into Cedar Springs points.
Head coach Gus Kapolka said he liked what he saw from a defense that has been working through personnel adjustments.
“By process of elimination, we’ve kind of worked our way through the depth chart,” Kapolka said. “I felt really good about 10 of the 11 positions on defense tonight. Our defense played well. Our offense has been tremendous the last three weeks scoring a lot of points.”
Cedar Springs now turns its attention to Kenowa Hills, a matchup Kapolka expects to test the Red Hawks in a different way.
“We were option-sound all night, which I like, because it means we’re playing disciplined, sound defense,” Kapolka said. “But Kenowa presents different problems with the skills that they bring. So, it’s a tall task with a really good football team.”
