MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP - They say the most valuable lessons are learned the hard way, and the best rewards come from battling through tough challenges.
New Reeths-Puffer quarterback Antrel Jones knows all about that.
He took the long road to the starting QB position, running into some trouble along the way and paying the price for it.
The key is that he never quit, and he learned from his mistakes.
Now Jones it the guy under center for the Rockets and seems poised to have a very good senior season, based on what he did last week in R-P’s 2023 opener.
R-P senior quarterback Antrel Jones
In his first varsity start, he completed 13 of 18 passes for 302 yards and four touchdowns, leading Reeths-Puffer to an impressive 41-13 victory over Grand Haven.
Jones said he was surprised by how well he did and credited the entire R-P offense for putting so many points on the board.
“It was way more than I could have asked for,” said Jones, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound athlete. “I made a lot of bad reads, but it all comes with the territory.
“Our first drive is always kind of slow, but once we get our momentum going we are hard to stop. When we’re going, we’re going.”
If Jones had not played his cards right, his big game and big chance this season might never have happened.
Photo/Joe Lane
Last summer, as a junior, he battled senior Brady Ross for the starting quarterback position and lost.
He admits he was frustrated because he very much wanted the job.
“It was kind of a shellshock for me,” Jones said. “I really wanted to be the guy so bad. I felt like I let myself down. Everything I worked for, I felt like it slipped away from me.”
Jones played defense for the Rockets for the first two games last year, then his season ended abruptly when he violated a team rule and was suspended for the rest of the schedule.
Photo/Joe Lane
He was given the option of remaining with the Rockets as a practice quarterback - away from the bright lights, the fans and the excitement.
At that point some kids would have walked away, but Jones stuck with it, going through grueling practices four days a week with no reward of a game on Friday night.
He used that experience to learn a great deal about playing QB, and about the value of perseverance.
Jones admitted it was a tough situation and a hard lesson learned.
Photo/Joe Lane
“It was the biggest lesson of my life – if you take things for granted they can go away,” he said. “Those seniors on the team last year, I wish I never would have done the things I did to put myself in a place where I couldn’t play with them."
R-P head coach Kody Kater, a former All-State quarterback at Montague and Division 1 college QB, worked closely with Jones in practices last season and it made a big difference.
“That helped me the most,” Jones said. “Having Kater in my ear every day, and going up against the starting defense, was the best thing that happened to me. The guys on defense wanted to battle every day. If it weren’t for that last year I wouldn’t be where I am now. Everything happens for a reason. Nothing God puts in front of you happens for no reason."
By the end of the 2022 season, Jones had earned his way back to full membership in the varsity football program.
When summer practices began this year, there was no doubt about who would be the Rockets’ starting QB.
Photo/Joe Lane
“He obviously had some of his season taken away last year, and I think that really hurt him and helped him mature,” Kater said. “He found a way, in his own way, to make it right. We wanted him to find his own way and use football to do it. He has shown a ton of maturity since then.”
Kater said he wasn’t stunned by Jones’ big performance in last week’s game, which began on Thursday, was stopped due to severe weather, and was finished on Friday.
“He did a great job of competing,” the coach said. “There weren’t really a ton of surprises, based on what we’ve seen from him in practice. It was nice to see him put it all together. He had some missed assignments that he will correct as time moves on. He’s a smart kid and someone who has always responded to coaching.”
