The Reeths-Puffer football coaches have been determined all week to keep Muskegon from beating their team twice.
By that they mean they don’t want the hangover from last Friday’s disappointing loss to impact the Rockets this Friday.
Of course everybody knows that the Rockets fought hard and won a lot of respect last week in a 28-20 loss to perennial power Muskegon.
It was Reeths-Puffer’s best showing in years against the Big Reds and signaled its arrival as an area power.
The problem was that the players really wanted to win and seemed a bit down when they reported for practice on Monday, according to head coach Cody Kater.
R-P's Brody Johnson breaks through a hole for a gain against Muskegon.
The challenge for the coaches was to convince them to take the positives away from the Muskegon game and quickly put it behind them, because another big challenge is quickly approaching– Grand Rapids Union.
The Red Hawks, a rejuvenated team after years of losing, will arrive at Rocket Stadium on Friday with a perfect 3-0 record.
The Rockets, 2-1, will have to perform well if they hope to get back on the winning track and remain in the hunt for an O-K Green conference title, Kater said.
“That was the big scare – we don’t want Muskegon to beat us twice,” said Kater, whose team is 2-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play. “It’s hard to move on after a close game like that. Hindsight can be good for growth, but now it’s time to move on as a program and a staff.
“(The coaches) might have lost a day of prep over the weekend because we were kind of sour about the way we lost, but I know that our staff is focused on Union, and we’re doing everything we can to prepare.”
The Rockets celebrate a touchdown at Hackley Stadium.
Any lingering disappointment seemed completely gone on Wednesday when the Rockets hit the practice field.
The players were flying around, laughing and cheering, even after three hard hours of drills, and looked like they could have practiced another three hours.
Even Kater got into the fun, taking snaps at quarterback during a few drills, although he was touched when he ran the ball, not tackled.
“I’m usually the scout team quarterback,” said Kater, who of course was a state champion QB in high school. “I’m used to it. I love it.
“We had great energy out there. It was really fun coaching those guys tonight.”
Brody Johnson cruises into the end zone for a touchdown.
Part of the team’s lightened mood was due to the realization that last Friday’s game was far from a complete loss. The Rockets gained a lot of confidence against a team that had beaten them badly in recent years, and now they know they can compete with just about any opponent.
“We’ve been R-P vs. R-P for the past four months, focusing pretty much on ourselves, so it was nice to see that we’ve closed that gab,” Kater said. “I think we’re back on track.”
Several Rockets had impressive games against the Big Reds.
Quarterback Brady Ross completed 13 of 19 passes for 123 yards and one touchdown.
Brody Johnson rushed for 110 yards on 12 carries, scored twice on the ground and had one TD catch. Tayte Vanderleest caught three passes for 66 yards.
The R-P student section was out in force at Hackley Stadium.
Caiden Bolduc led the R-P defense with four solo tackles and 19 assists to go along with an interception. Vanderleest had three solo tackles and 11 assists, Tyviea Williams had two solo stops and 11 assists and Sage Stiller had 11 assists.
"I liked the way we competed,” Kater said. “There were times when we were a little unsure of ourselves and the environment, probably because of prior experiences, but we competed well for 3 ½ quarters, and that was the bright side coming out of it. We learned we can play in big games in stressful environments.
“I didn’t like our execution toward the end. I think our big game inexperience kind of showed. We weren’t focused enough on details. There were about four plays in the fourth quarter that we didn’t execute as well as we wanted to.”
The Rockets will have to execute their plays well to beat Grand Rapids Union, which is far from the pushover it was in the recent past.
The Red Hawks, led by former Grand Rapids Christian Coach Don Fellows, started rebounding last year by posting a 4-5 record. Those four wins were as many as Union had compiled in the previous 11 seasons.
R-P's Sage Stiller makes a tackle.
One of those victories came over Reeths-Puffer, 43-42, in a wild Week 9 game last fall.
This year Union is off to a 3-0 start with convincing wins over Ottawa Hills 59-12, Godwin Heights 48-18 and Wyoming 48-20.
Union has a number of dangerous offensive weapons, including running back Elijah Taylor, who ran for 218 yards and had three touchdowns against Wyoming. Another player to watch is third-year starting quarterback Tommy Stevens, who rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns against Ottawa Hills.
“When you look at the scores and the product, they’ve got guys flying to the ball on defense, they have a dynamic quarterback and great size up front,” Kater said. “We have a very tough task ahead of us.”