Muskegon Township – Reeths-Puffer (2-4) was well aware that the Bulldogs from Bryon Center (5-1) would put up a fight Friday night. After a week of practice that included an injury to their starting quarterback and several other starters out most of the week sick, the Rockets came out firing Friday night. They hung with the #4 ranked team in Division 2 for three quarters before the Bulldogs pulled away and were victorious 42-28.
The Rockets started the game going three and out after receiving the opening kickoff. Byron Center quickly moved down the field for a touchdown to jump to a 7-0 lead. Reeths-Puffer quickly responded behind the legs of Senior Sage Secrest. Junior quarterback Mason Darke suffered a foot injury in practice this week, requiring Secrest to fill that spot. On the second possession, Secrest kept it around the left end and sprinted 58 yards for the touchdown. The PAT failed, leaving RP down 6-7. Defenses for both squads stood strong until BC quarterback Landon Tungate broke loose up the middle, cut to the outside, and rushed for a 56-yard touchdown. The PAT was good, extending the Bulldog lead to 14-6 with just under 8 minutes remaining in the first half. That lead was erased on the ensuing kickoff when junior speedster Marvin Moore returned the kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown. A successful two-point conversion by the Rockets evened the game at 14-14. The teams headed into halftime with that score.
Video by Jeff Burel
Byron Center regained the lead on a quarterback keeper by Tungate on a fourth-and-1 from the one-yard line. The Rockets, not phased at all, strike back 0:18 seconds later when Secrest gets loose again, this time for a 60-yard run to even the game 21-21 with 4:16 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
Video by Tanya Burel
On the following kickoff, Bryon Center commits its only turnover of the night, fumbling the return, which the Rockets recovered at the 10-yard line. On 4th and 2, the Rockets go deep in the playbook and call a halfback pass, where sophomore Bryce Muskovin connects with senior Shaun Haley for the touchdown and the Rockets’ first lead of the night.
Video by Tanya & Jeff Burel
The fourth quarter the Rockets lost Moore to an injury. That combined with the Bulldogs showing their strength and depth, scored three touchdowns and not allowing the Rockets back to the endzone. Reeths-Puffer Head Coach Cody Kater was proud of how his team battled. “We are very proud of our guys, very proud of our defense, very proud of our offense. We’ve got a senior back there playing quarterback for the first time in his career because of some injuries. Our team believes in him and we believe in him, and he played his heart out. You don’t see a whole lot of middle linebacker quarterback combinations at the Division Two level.”
The Rockets need to win two of their final three games to make the playoffs. Regardless of how that plays out, Kater expects the Rockets to continue to grow and fight. “Continuing to coach the play, continue to coach the team. And that’s what I’m telling the coaches right now. Just continue to coach, let’s just continue to show up, continue to coach, be ourselves. We have what it takes and this isn’t nearly our ceiling of our program and that’s the message. That was last year’s message to the group of kids, you’re playing for the guys after you and you’re playing for the guys that came before you. Just continue to grind and continue to show up and put effort in and then see where this goes. We weren’t proud of ourselves last week, we weren’t proud of ourselves from in week one or week two, just because of effort and energy and focus. I felt like we showed that a little bit more today, but we just got to find a way to do it for four quarters.”
Reeths-Puffer Game Stats
- #2 Ethan Muskovin 4 tackles
- #5 Luke Johnson 4 carries 15 yards, 1 reception 35 yards, 5 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
- #10 Sage Secrest 7/13 108 yards passing, 22 carries 180 yards and 2 TD rushing
- #12 Marvin Moore 1 reception 32 yards, 1 tackle, 74-yard kick return TD#20 Bryce Muskovin 1/1 2 yards passing 1 TD, 5 carries 13 yards
- #28 Elliot Schneider 7 tackles
- Rockets defense gave up 469 yards (149 passing, 320 rushing)
- 5 penalties for 40 yards
Photos by Tanya & Jordyn Burel
Next Friday night, Reeths-Puffer will travel to Hackley Stadium to face the Muskegon Big Reds (2-3). CatchMark SportsNet will be there to provide updates throughout the game.
For more content on this fall football season, head to https://catchmarksports.com/category/fall-sports/!
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Jeff is the Directing Partner of Technology Services. He oversees all activities from end-user support to customer relationships. Jeff has over 25 years of experience in the IT field. He has held various positions within the technology space before moving into leadership roles. He is very detailed and process-driven which benefits our customers and all service areas at CatchMark. Jeff is always looking for ways to improve our processes and tools to make us more efficient in servicing our customers.
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