MUSKEGON TWP. - It’s good for a young football team to finally get a blowout victory, and the little bit of swag that comes with it.
A few weeks ago, when Reeths-Puffer started the season, something like that seemed far away.
The Rockets weren’t scoring much in their first two games, against Forest Hills Central and Caledonia, and their defense was giving up a lot of big plays.
There just wasn’t much in the way of swag there.
Photo/Tyler Lirones
R-P finally broke through with an imperfect but important 26-14 victory over Spring Lake in Week 3, which gave the players a sense of confidence that they could win.
Then on Friday the Rockets officially became one of those teams capable of putting a big hurt on inferior opponents, much like the R-P squads from the past two years.
They scored early and often with lots of big plays.
Mason Darke connected with Marvin Moore for an 85-yard touchdown pass. Bryce Muskovin added touchdown runs covering 82 and 42 yards.
Photo./Tyler Lirones
Darke found Muskovin for a 20-yard TD pass. Moore ran 50 yards for a score. Muskovin punched the ball in from five yards out, then capped things off with an 80-yard touchdown run.
It ended in a 48-13 victory over Grand Rapids Union in front of a Homecoming crowd, and it became clear to everyone that the Rockets are starting to mature and click.
“It was very important, especially for this young group,” said R-P head coach Cody Kater, whose team is now 2-2 overall and 1-0 in O-K Green conference play. “We had two very tough opponents to start the season, and Spring Lake is challenging for every team they play. Going into the season, the kids maybe questioned themselves and whether they had what it takes.
“Going into Week 1 we were really immature in different spots in the program, Our defense had six returning starters, but with only two playing in the same spot as the year before. We had a whole new offensive backfield and skill group. Because of those things, it was kind of trial and error and coaching them through it.”
Photo/Tyler Lirones
The Rockets still did not play the complete game on Friday that Kater has been waiting for, but he said it was a definite step in the right direction.
“We were going for a shutout and a better execution rate on offense,” the coach said. “We did those things for about 2 ½ quarters. We’re still aiming for a four-quarter game from the guys. But we were focused and disciplined most of the time, and we were finding ways to create turnovers and explosive plays.”
The Rockets’ obvious growth is coming at just the right time, because the schedule is about to get more challenging again, starting on Friday when they travel to play Forest Hills Northern in their second O-K Green matchup of the season.
R-P and Forest Hills Northern have only played once in football, back in 2007, when the Rockets won 31-13. The Huskies are one of the new teams in the revamped O-K Green.
Photo/Tyler Lirones
The Huskies, like the Rockets, are 2-2 this season, but have gone in the opposite direction.
They started the season with wins over Kenowa Hills (21-10) and Jenison (28-6), lost a 17-13 heartbreaker to powerful Forest Hills Central, then put up a good fight before falling to Muskegon 47-28 last Friday.
On the surface, at least, it seems like the Rockets and Huskies may be very similar. It could be a very competitive game between two teams that want to move forward with a winning record.
A victory would be particularly huge for R-P, because the schedule gets even harder over the last four weeks of the season.
Photo/Tyler Lirones
The Rockets will return home on Oct. 4 against Byron Center, which is currently 3-1 and has made the state playoffs for five straight seasons. On Oct. 11 they will visit the Muskegon Big Reds, who are 1-2 (they had no game in Week 3) but are still the powerful defending state champions.
On Oct. 18 R-P will visit rival Mona Shores, which is currently undefeated at 4-0, and on Oct. 25 they will host Forest Hills Eastern, a team that is currently 3-1 and has made the playoffs for four straight years.
“That’s why I’m glad we’ve just been going day-by-day and week-by-week for the past three or four weeks,” Kater said. “We have been doing everything we can to try to prepare ourselves for this part of the season.
“We’re going to have a big opportunity right away. We know that Forest Hills Northern is a very good football team that played Muskegon really tough last week. We know what we’re getting ourselves into, and there’s no running away from it. The kids are excited. They know it’s going to be difficult, but they are excited.”