MUSKEGON TWP. - Everyone knew that the young Reeths-Puffer football team was facing a butcher of a schedule this season, with eight of the nine opponents coming off playoff appearances last year, including two that won state championships.
That’s why everyone was fairly impressed after Week 1, when the Rockets played tough against state champion Forest Hills Central and only lost by 11 points.
R-P hung tough again on Friday against state-ranked Caledonia, at least for part of the contest. The game was scoreless after one quarter, and the Rockets only trailed by five points at halftime.
But you can only keep a great quarterback down for so long, and Caledonia’s Brody Betser is pretty darned good.
R-P's Lukas Johnson escapes from a tackle. Photo/Jeremy Clark
He ended up throwing four long touchdown passes, including two late in the first half and two more in the second, and R-P was left on the short end of a 35-7 final score in its 2024 home opener.
“I know I have a group of kids who can respond and practice hard and grow, just by the way they came out tonight,” said R-P head coach Cody Kater. “The result may not show it, but we feel we improved in some aspects of the game.”
For the Rockets, there was reason for optimism and concern.
The optimism came on the defensive side of the ball. Despite giving up four big touchdown passes, the Rocket D stopped Caledonia on two fourth-down plays, forced two punts, and limited the damage that the Fighting Scots might have done.
R-P quarterback Mason Darke launches a pass. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Kater called Betser a “special player” who is going to make big plays, but also said “I think the defense made great strides over the past week.”
The concern came on the offensive side, where the Rockets failed to put together any scoring drives and, with the exception of a couple big plays, struggled to move the ball much at all.
The Rockets only managed 97 yards through the air and 79 on the ground, compared to 180 and 182, respectively, for Caledonia.
The Fighting Scots had 17 first downs, compared to 7 for R-P.
R-P's Shaun Haley goes in for a tackle. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Reeths-Puffer only converted 3 of 12 third-down plays and turned the ball over three times, all on interceptions.
R-P’s biggest offensive play of the night came in the second quarter when sophomore Bryce Muskovin took a handoff and rushed for 40 yards to the Caledonia 45, but the drive eventually stalled on downs.
“Offensively we need to look inward from every position, from center to quarterback to wide receivers,” Kater said. “We are not executing and we had a lot of penalties. The kids have to take a little bit of ownership of how they are practicing and executing in practice and making the changes we need to make.
“We need to clean it up on the offensive side. We need to find an identity and we need to find one quick.”
A quiet start, then the big plays hurt
The first quarter was quiet and scoreless, and so was much of the second.
Caledonia finally broke the stalemate with 1:36 remaining in the second quarter when Betser found Aaron Collins for an over-the-shoulder 27-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone. The PAT attempt failed and the Fighting Scots led 6-0.
The Rockets got the ball back and punted on their fourth play, giving Caledonia possession at its own 44.
On the very first play, Betser hit River Swanlund with a 56-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds left in the half. The PAT attempt failed again, and the Fighting Scots led 12-0.
Darke passes as a defender closes in. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Rockets didn’t go the locker room quietly, however. Lukas Johnson fielded the ensuing kickoff at the R-P 29 and electrified the crowd by returning it 71 yards for a touchdown. Owen Ritsema nailed the PAT kick, and the score was 12-7 at halftime.
R-P fans were hopeful as the third quarter got underway, particularly after the opening Caledonia drive ended on downs at the R-P 23.
The Rockets took the ball but quickly punted, then Caledonia went on a 10-play, 70-yard scoring drive that ended with Betser throwing a 27-yard TD strike to Parker Little with 54 seconds left in the third. The PAT pass was good and the Fighting Scots led 20-7 heading into the fourth quarter.
Reeths-Puffer drove to the Caledonia 29 on its next possession, largely due to a 38-yard pass from quarterback Mason Darke to sophomore Connor McManus, but the drive stalled on downs at the 29.
Caledonia took the ball and struck again when Betser threw a 32-yard TD pass to Collins with 4:34 left in the game. The PAT run was successful and the score was 28-7.
R-P's Connor McManus tries to avoid a Caledonia tackler. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Darke threw an interception on R-P’s next possession, Caledonia returned it to the Rocket 32, then Betzer capped his night with a seven-yard touchdown run with 2:05 left in the game. The extra point was good and the Fighting Scots had their final margin of victory.
Betser was not very efficient through the air, completing only 6 of 16 passes, but ended up with 154 yards and the four touchdowns.
Darke completed 11 of 22 passes for 97 yards with three interceptions. Muskovin led the R-P ground game with nine carries for 65 yards
Cal Millis led the Rocket defense with nine tackles.
Reeths-Puffer was called for nine penalties for 95 yards.