Rockford, Majerle make (fashion)
statement
Jane Bos | The Grand Rapids Press
MUSKEGON -- Rockford coach
Steve Majerle, clad in a shocking orange pinstriped suit with black
shirt and tie, shed the jacket in the pre-game.
It took his Rams a bit longer to shake off host Muskegon.
But by the time Rockford posted a 69-63 victory, it held more significance
than simply an O-K Red Conference victory.
Not only did Rockford, ranked eighth in Class A, recover from a
startling 77-52 loss to Kalamazoo Central on Saturday, snapping a
10-game winning streak, it also marked the first time the Rams had
won in Muskegon since 2003.
Rockford, 11-2 overall and 8-0 in the O-K Red, is now two games
ahead of the rest of the conference pack, too. Muskegon is 10-3,
6-2.
Think it was the pants?
"I was trying to take the focus off from the loss Saturday," said
Majerle, who also earned his 200th win as the Rams coach in 12 seasons. "It
was a one-time deal. I bought it for our regional final a year ago,
then chickened out. I knew we needed something tonight. When I walked
in the locker room, the kids' eyes lit up. They said, 'Yeah, coach,
let's go play.' "
Gabe VanderJagt, a senior guard, played tough.
After committing his fourth foul early in the third quarter, VanderJagt
stayed in the game. He wound up scoring 21 of his 26 points in the
second half -- 17 after his fourth foul -- to keep the Rams atop
the O-K Red heap.
The Rams needed almost all his points. Leading 46-40 late in the
third quarter, Rockford trailed 47-46 entering the fourth and 58-53
with four minutes remaining.
VanderJagt scored eight of his team's 15 points the rest of the
way, helping the Rams rally.
"I just tried to stay off a little bit on defense, and coach
let me work through it, let me keep my head," VanderJagt said. "This
is a tough place to play, and they are a really good team. This puts
us in a good place in the conference. Maybe it was the pants. When
he wears them, it picks us up a little bit."
Rockford, which led 33-28 at halftime, also received eight rebounds
and 21 points from sophomore Ryan Majerle, the coach's son. Jon Prins
added four blocked shots and seven rebounds.
"We didn't fold like a lawn chair like we did Saturday," Majerle
said. "We learned from that. Last year, we lost by 35 points
here in Muskegon. We learned from that, too."
Muskegon coach Bernard Loudermill, whose team played most of the
game without 6-foot-6 Donley Rashard, who was on the bench in foul
trouble, hopes for the same from his team.
Karey Webb led the Big Reds with 18 points, and Michael Pollard
added 13.
"We did get a little tired and Rockford did a good job, but
at the same time, we need to learn to deal with adversity," Loudermill
said. "We can do better, but to catch Rockford now, we need
some help."
Or maybe some bright red pants?
Before Majerle became coach in 1997, it took six coaches at Rockford
23 years to win 206 games. He won 12 in less than a dozen seasons.
