MUSKEGON TWP. - The Reeths-Puffer football team is not used to ending the season in Week 9.
For the past two years, the Rockets have qualified for the state playoffs. After playing the final game of the regular season, they gathered somewhere on the following Sunday to watch the MHSAA playoff show to see who their first-round opponent would be.
It was the first time that R-P qualified for the postseason in back-to-back years in team history, and it coincided with the arrival of head coach Cody Kater in 2022.
Photo/Jeremy Clark
But this year’s team has struggled to a 2-6 record through eight games, and the two-year playoff run has come to an end.
So the Rockets will wrap things up with a non-conference road game at Forest Hills Eastern on Friday night. It will be their third trip this season to that area, following previous trips to FH Central and FH Northern.
In the absence of a playoff game this year, the Rockets are preparing for Friday with a lot of intensity, because it’s their last chance to show what they can do before the curtain comes down on 2024.
“It’s really important,” Kater said about the final game. “It’s really important for the seniors. I guess you can say this is our state championship game. After all of the work we put in all season, and all of the adversity that came our way, it’s important that we go out there and get the kind of results we are looking for.”’
The wear and tear of a long season
The Rockets knew from the beginning that this would be a challenging season, with a much more difficult schedule than the previous two years, and a lot of new starters playing key positions.
But they also expected to be competitive with every opponent, and for most of the season that was the case.
They started out with a 21-10 loss to defending state champion Forest Hills Central in the season opener. A week later they lost 35-7 to Caledonia, but only trailed by five points at halftime.
R-P strung together two impressive wins in Weeks 3 and 4, against Spring Lake (26-14) and Grand Rapids Union (48-13), and it seemed like things were turning around.
Photo/Jeremy Clark
Then came a disappointing loss to Forest Hills Northern (31-13), followed by a scrappy performance against a very good Byron Center team that ended in a 42-28 loss.
Things changed dramatically in the last two weeks, however, when R-P fell to Muskegon 47-7, then Mona Shores last Friday 40-0.
A rash of injuries to key players has been one reason for the sudden decline. Another is simple wear and tear on the offensive and defensive lines, according to Kater.
The Rockets have a relatively low number of linemen, and they are small compared to many of the opponents they have locked horns with, the coach said.
Photo/Jeremy Clark
R-P has a lot of linemen weighing in the 225-240 pound range, while some opponents average around 260-270 pounds up front.
That doesn’t mean the R-P players can’t compete with the bigger linemen. But it does lead to fatigue as the season goes by, Kater said.
“We have three linemen going both ways (on offense and defense),” Kater said. “That makes it tough going up against programs that don’t have as many players going both ways. We don’t have the heaviest guys, and playing four quarters both ways has been detrimental as time went on.
"They have played very tough, but it’s just the wear and tear of the games and the season.”
One more shot at another victory
If the Rockets want to end the season on a positive note, they will have to perform well on Friday, because Forest Hills Eastern, like most of their opponents this year, is very good.
The Hawks are currently 6-2 and will use the game to warm up for a playoff opponent.
They have beaten Montague (48-7), Greenville (35-7), Grand Rapids Christian (51-6), Hamilton (28-7), Spring Lake (34-28) and Wayland (48-28).
Their two losses have been to always tough Hudsonville Unity Christian (44-20) and Grand Rapids West Catholic in a 24-23 heartstopper two weeks ago.
Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Rockets will have to dig deep, one more time, to get some better results this week.
It will be a test of character for the team, to brush off the tough losses of the last two weeks and leave it all on the field on Friday.
“I think our confidence has taken a little bit of a beating, but we’ve worked very hard to produce a culture of character and to learn how to lean into our hardships,” Kater said. “That’s what we’re all about, and when we get into the harder weeks, that’s where we have to live.”
Win or lose, the Rockets will obviously be taking a close look at what went wrong this season and what they will have to do to be better next year and return to the playoffs.
Photo/Jeremy Clark
R-P will have a lot of starters coming back next season, so the building blocks should there for a rebound in 2025.
“Every year is a little different, and a lot of things go into it,” Kater said, when asked about the goal of returning to the playoffs next year. “Everything from leadership to strength of schedule to the weight room. It’s important for us to take ownership of all of it and improve. We want to figure out the facts behind this so we can figure out how to change them.
“Every team we played except for two are going to make the playoffs, and most of them have continued to be state-ranked all season. The kids know that, and they are calloused up. Now it’s about starting to build that desire. We need to reflect and find out what we need to do going forward.”