WXMI — Rockford 53, Northview 49
Nearly 3,000 people came to watch as Rockford avenged Northview from its blowout loss to the Wildcats in the 2022 district final.
"We've been working for this all year because we lost to them last year in the district. I mean, we came to practice every day just working for it." Caden Pokorzynski, a Rockford senior, told FOX 17 Friday night.
"We played a very demanding schedule and we made our motto 'next step' because we wanted to get to this part, you know, and last year, they just destroyed us, quite frankly, and so for 365 days it's been about 'How can we take the next step?' Defensively, when these guys are dialed in, we're a pretty tough team," Rockford head coach, Kyle Clough, added.
The Rams will head to West Ottawa Monday to take on Hudsonville after the Eagles won their district title Friday night, 59-51 over Zeeland West.
The Wildcats end their season 19-5.
Rockford 53, Northview 49 - Final
— FOX 17 Blitz (@FOX17Blitz) March 11, 2023
The Rams are district champs! pic.twitter.com/009wwJYpMV
Calvin Christian 43, Covenant Christian 38
The Squires pulled off the victory, winning back-to-back district titles.
"It was great! You know, we won it last year, which is what we strived for last year and Vel coming in this year, you know, we really wanted to get him that win...First year coming in as a coach can be tough, but he pushed us to be our best that we could be...and we persevered through it," Carson DeHaan, who scored 13 points Friday night, said.
"You know, at half time we talked. This is what we expected. We didn't come out as quick as we needed in the first half, but we talked about it at half time. We came back. We fought back. We extended the lead, which we needed to do," Matt Elderkin, a Calvin Christian senior, added.
FOX 17 also talked with first year head coach Matt Veltema, who said: "It feels really good. You just don't, you don't forget how hard it is to win one of these. Our district is always a battle."
Cadillac 57, Hart 32
Hamilton 80, Allegan 51
The Hawkeyes started strong and did not let up. They led the Tigers 60-33 at the end of the third quarter and went on to become district champions for the first time since 1987.
Grand Rapids Christian 51, Ionia 36
Fremont 57, Sparta 55
The Packers and Spartans were tied with just two minutes to play and Fremont pulled off the victory to win the title.
Fremont 57, Sparta 55 - Final
— FOX 17 Blitz (@FOX17Blitz) March 11, 2023
The Packers are district champs! pic.twitter.com/v7fVUhvILV
For more scores, highlights, and the latest news on high school sports in West Michigan, go to the FOX 17 Blitz page.
