ADA TWP. – The Reeths-Puffer football team had a lot of graduated talent to replace when it assembled for the 2024 season.
After one game, it appears that there is enough new talent to adequately replace the old guard, but some adjustments and improvement will definitely be necessary.
The Rockets put up a good fight on the road on Thursday night but ultimately fell 21-10 to Forest Hills Central, the defending Division 3 state champion, in their season opener.
“We learned a lot,” said R-P head coach Cody Kater, who kicked off his third season. “We have to get better at some of the things we identified in camp. We’ve got to do a better job of looking inward and responding. I don’t think this is the best version of ourselves, and we’ll have to figure out how to eliminate mistakes.”
R-P quarterback Mason Darke lets go of a pass. Photo/Tyler Lirones
Part of what hurt the Rockets was an inability to prevent big plays on defense. The Rangers scored on three possessions that lasted just one, two and four plays, respectively.
“We have a lot of new guys back there,” Kater said about his defense, which allowed FHC quarterback Nick Williams to complete 11 of 16 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. “We have guys who played different roles (outside of the defensive backfield). Our rotation might have been a little off tonight, and we’ll have to look into that. But I thought our guys played hard.”
Two turnovers on the Ranger side of the field ultimately played a big role in the Rockets’ loss.
“It’s huge,” Kater said about the need to take better care of the ball. “But both guys who committed turnovers are younger guys. It’s a learning opportunity here and I hope we don’t make those mistakes again. We do enough ball security to prepare ourselves. But that’s high school football and we just have to make teams earn it more.”
The Rockets celebrate Darke's touchdown run. Photo/Tyler Lirones
The Rockets did have some success on offense, getting points on the board with a field goal and touchdown.
They were led by junior quarterback Mason Darke, who ran for 81 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries and completed 8 of 12 throws for 79 yards. Sophomore running back Bryce Muskovin, totaled 85 yards on 19 carries.
Both were making their first starts for the R-P varsity.
The teams each had one offensive possession in the first quarter, but there was no score. 
R-P's Bryce Muskovin finds running room. Photo/Tyler Lirones
The Rockets had the ball to start the second quarter and drove to the FHC five-yard line, but were stuffed on a third-and-goal play.
Owen Ritsema followed up by splitting the uprights on a 26-yard field goal attempt to give Reeths-Puffer a 3-0 lead.
That remained the score until Williams found Ty Ryan on a 37-yard touchdown pass to give Forest Hills Central a 7-3 lead with just 57 seconds left in the first half.
On the first possession of the third quarter, Reeths-Puffer turned the ball over on downs just short of midfield.
The Rangers immediately scored on a 45-yard touchdown run by Williams, and the extra point made the score 14-3 with 8:30 left in the third quarter.
R-P's Owen Ritsema kicks a field goal. Photo/Tyler Lirones
The Rockets responded with a 16-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with a three-yard touchdown run by Darke. The PAT kick made the score 14-10.
In the fourth quarter, Williams found Brendan Cargill on a 27-yard touchdown pass to extend the Forest Hills Central lead to 21-10 with 10:49 remaining.
The Rockets drove all the way to the Ranger 16 with under seven minutes remaining before an interception gave Forest Hills Central the ball back.
The Rangers then ran out the clock to send the Rockets home with a season-opening loss for the first time in the Kater era.
Sage Secrest had eight tackles for R-P while Cal Millis totaled five.
Reeths-Puffer will look to bounce back in Week 2 when it hosts Caledonia on Sept. 6.