MUSKEGON - Reeths-Puffer head football coach Cody Kater was downcast after Friday’s 28-20 nail-biter loss to Muskegon at Hackley Stadium, because a loss is never any sort of victory in his book.
But there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the close game against the Big Reds signaled the Rockets’ arrival as a team to be reckoned with.
When he took the R-P job late last year, Kater said the goal was to close the gap with area powers like Muskegon and Mona Shores, and it appears it’s been closed.
“It’s a telling tale of where our program is,” said Kater, whose team is now 2-1 on the season. “We’ve grown and gotten better. We’ve closed the gap in the county. It was inexperience in big games and environments like this that ended up costing us.
R-P's Brody Johnson breaks loose down the sideline.
“We were here to play. It’s nice to make statements, but at the same time we want to win these games. We have to make sure we grow and move forward from this.”
The Rockets’ biggest headache on Friday was Muskegon quarterback M’Khi Guy, who rushed for 205 yards, scored two touchdowns and made big plays at key moments all night.
"I thought about it, and we can’t be the team that goes 1-2, we want to be the team that carries on the legacy,” Guy said. “We can’t be the team that loses early the playoffs. We’ve got to be the team that goes back to Ford Field and wins.
“A win is a win, but we can’t focus on this one. We’ve got to be ready for the next one. I think we should be able to do way more than we did tonight.”
The first series of the game left everyone thinking that maybe nothing had really changed, and Muskegon was still far superior.
Reeths-Puffer's Tayte Vanderleest fights Muskegon's CJ Ivy for the ball.
The Big Reds took the opening kickoff and marched 87 yards on 10 plays, with Guy running in a two-yard touchdown with 5:56 left in the first quarter. The extra point gave Muskegon a 7-0 lead.
But the Rockets immediately served notice that they came to play.
Bryce Ross returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for what appeared to be a touchdown, but a block in the back call left R-P with the ball at the Muskegon 47.
On the first play from scrimmage, R-P tailback Brody Johnson broke through the line and scored a 47-yard TD, and the extra point made the score 7-7.
Muskegon’s next possession ended at the R-P 24 when Guy’s pass was picked off by R-P linebacker Caiden Bolduc on the first play of the second quarter.
R-P's Brooks Johnson (3) and Caiden Balduc (8) move in to make a tackle.
The Rockets then drove 69 yards in 10 plays, with Johnson breaking loose for a 30-yard touchdown run, and R-P led 14-7 with 7:45 left in the half.
Muskegon answered that challenge before halftime, going on a 10-play, 74-yard drive to even the score.
Guy put the ball in the end zone on an eight-yard run with 1:27 left, and the PAT left the score tied 14-14.
Reeths-Puffer threatened to take the lead again before halftime after quarterback Brady Ross threw a pass to Tayte Vanderleest around the R-P 40, and he broke loose all the way to the Muskegon 20 for a 63-yard gain.
But the drive stalled on downs at the Big Red 15 with seven seconds left and the score remained knotted at halftime.
Muskegon forced the Rockets to punt on the opening drive of the third quarter, then took the lead back.
R-P's Sage Stiller pursues Muskegon's Destin Piggee.
Guy had a huge run on third and 11 at the Muskegon 38 when he ducked out of the pocket and scrambled to the Rocket 32 for a 30-yard gain.
Seven plays later running back Jakob Price, seeing his first action of the season after returning from an injury, scored from seven yards out, and the PAT gave Muskegon a 21-14 lead.
Reeths-Puffer fought back again early in the fourth quarter, going 55 yards on seven plays for a touchdown.
Johnson broke a 22-yard run to put the Rockets at the Muskegon nine, then two plays later Brady Ross threw him a four-yard TD pass. The extra point kick missed the mark, leaving the Big Reds clinging to a 21-20 lead with 10:20 left in the game.
The Big Reds scored their final points on their next possession with a drive covering 65 yards.
Guy scrambled for runs of 18 and 14 yards, Price added a 17-yard burst, then Wanyai Johnson ran the ball in from 13 yards out. The PAT kick was good and the Big Reds led 28-20 with 7:25 left in the game.
Both teams turned the ball over on downs over the next few minutes. Reeths-Puffer had a final possession, starting at its own 31 with 2:45 left, but the Rockets could not get the equalizer.
Brody Ross completed 13 of 19 passes for the Rockets for 123 yards and one touchdown.
Johnson rushed for 110 yards on 12 carries, scored twice on the ground and had one TD catch.
Vanderleest finished with three catches for 66 yards.
Bolduc led the R-P defense with four solo tackles and 19 assists to go along with his interception. Vanderleest had three solo tackles and 11 assists, Tyviea Williams had two solo stops and 11 assists and Sage Stiller had 11 assists.