ZEELAND - The Zeeland East football team had an answer for just about everything that the Reeths-Puffer Rockets dished out on Friday night.
But the Chix had no answer for Brody Johnson when the outcome was on the line, and that made all the difference.
R-P and Zeeland East went touchdown-for-touchdown for three quarters in a cold, heavy rain on the Chix’ home field.
The Rockets would score, then the Chix would score, and the scoreboard was dead even midway through the fourth quarter.
At that point Johnson, Reeths-Puffer’s All-State senior running back, had clearly seen enough and put the game on his shoulders.
After the Chix tied the game for the third time, he put his head down and plowed ahead for runs of 35, 11, 15 and 14 yards on the next drive, giving R-P the ball at the ZE eight-yard line.
QB Antrel Jones hands off to Brody Johnson. Photo/Tyler Lirones
Bryce Ross capped the drive by making a brilliant cut and scoring from eight yards out. That proved to be the winning touchdown in the Rockets’ exciting 35-21 victory in O-K Green conference action.
The win gave the Rockets a 6-2 record and very likely a spot in the upcoming Division 2 state playoffs. It’s the first time the Rockets have qualified for the playoffs for two years in a row.
Johnson finished with 176 yards on 33 carries with two touchdowns, and his biggest runs came when the Rockets needed them most, on that final go-ahead drive.
“He’s a great weapon, but I am also proud of the player and teammate and human he’s become,” R-P head coach Cody Kater said about Johnson. “That’s the best part about it – he’s such a good person and you want to see good things happen for him.
“He grew up thinking about being in these moments, and he owned the moments tonight, one play at a time. He’s a hell of a player and it was a hell of an effort.”
Kater had similar praise for his entire team for grinding, playing hard and finding a way to win on the road against a good team in miserable weather.
R-P's Bryce Ross gets around a Zeeland East defender. Photo/Tyler Lirones
He said his Rockets have been showing that kind of stubborn resolve for the past few weeks, since halftime of their loss to Muskegon, and now it’s allowed them to reach their goal of making the playoffs for the second straight year.
“There was a lot of adversity tonight, but I think this is the most complete game we’ve played in terms of fighting," Kater said. "We didn’t buckle at all. It was one play at a time, our program versus theirs, and it was exciting to see our guys execute like we’ve been preaching.
“This is just a different team, and a different program than maybe it was in the past. Guys are finally starting to understand what it takes to get over the hump.”
The game started on a very positive note for the Rockets when Zeeland East muffed a punt on the opening possession, giving Reeths-Puffer the ball at the Chix' 25-yard line.
Quarterback Antrel Jones scored from a yard out a few plays later, the PAT was good, and the Rockets led 7-0.
But Zeeland East punched back on its very next drive, a pattern that held up for most of the night. The Chix used 13 plays to find the end zone, with the long drive ending on a four-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Austin Keur, and the game was tied 7-7 with 9:35 left in the second quarter.
R-P's Shaun Haley (12) and Max Dibble (80) combine on a tackle. Photo/Tyler Lirones
The Rockets answered with a long drive of their own, using 10 plays to go 65 yards and reclaim the lead.
A huge play came when R-P faced a fourth-and-five at the ZE 30, and Jones completed a 28-yard pass to Travis Ambrose to move the ball to the Chix’ 2.
A penalty moved the ball back to the seven, but Jones ended up scoring again from a yard out, and the PAT gave the Rockets a 14-7 lead with 3:10 left in the first half.
Zeeland East made good use of the remaining time, however, returning the ensuing kickoff to the R-P 41, then scoring on a 17-yard pass with 15 seconds left.
The game was tied 14-14 at halftime.
The teams followed the same pattern in the third quarter, with the Rockets returning the opening kickoff to the ZE 43, then scoring seven plays later on a three-yard run by Johnson.
Antrel Jones makes a pass for the Rockets. Photo/Tyler Lirones
Zeeland East counterpunched again with another long drive that resulted in a touchdown. The Chix converted on a fourth-and-three at the R-P 27, then scored on a two-yard run by Keur with 42 seconds left in the third quarter.
The drive that led to the Rockets’ winning touchdown started out problematic, with two penalties leaving R-P with a second-and-21 at its own 17.
That’s when Johnson went to work, breaking loose for a 35-yard run to give the Rockets a much-needed first down.
Then on fourth-and-one at the R-P 37, Johnson plowed through the middle of the line and gained 11 yards for another first down.
Two plays later he had a15 yard run, and two plays after that he gained 14.
Two plays later Ross found the end zone and the Rockets led 28-21.
R-P's Luke Callender kicks an extra point. Photo/Tyler Lirones
The back-and-forth scoring pattern was finally broken on the following kickoff, when Zeeland East’s returner fumbled the wet ball and R-P’s Shaun Haley jumped on it, giving the Rockets possession at the ZE 22.
Johnson scored from a yard out with 1:46 left on the clock, and the Rockets sealed up the win.
Johnson admitted that he took the game on his shoulders on the final go-head drive, “Not just for myself but for my team to be successful,” he said. “It feels amazing, and I think we deserve it for all the hard work we put in over the summer and all season.
“Having the opportunity to go to the playoffs back-to-back is really what pushed us to go out and get it done. It was a battle back and forth, but we came through in big moments and came out on top.”
