Fans who just glance at final scores would not have noticed much of a difference.
Last year, the Reeths-Puffer football team was competitive with powerful Forest Hills Central in the season opener, losing 21-10. The Rockets went on to have a 2-7 season.
Last Thursday, R-P again gave the Rangers a battle in the 2025 season opener, but lost 18-12.
The skeptics might think, “Here we go again.”
But Reeths-Puffer head coach Cody Kater – and a lot of the people in the big home crowd on Thursday – saw something definitely more promising in the current version of the Rockets.
R-P’s offense came to life in the fourth quarter, cutting an 18-point deficit to six points in the span of a few minutes.
The Rockets had all the momentum near the end of the game, and might have tied the score or taken the lead, if it weren’t for a fumble on their final offensive play.
“Last year was a much different game,” said Kater, whose team will try to rebound in another non-conference game on Friday at Caledonia. “Last year we didn’t execute in the fourth quarter very well. We got tired and didn’t execute at all. This year, if we would have had five more minutes…
“I was not surprised by the effort. This group has shown up and worked hard in the offseason and in camp. They take it very seriously and concentrate more on details.
“I do like this team’s connectivity, how they have bonded through their years together in football and in the hardships. They seem like they care more about the team and the program than the previous group.”
Defense made late comeback possible
The guys on offense got a lot of attention for their late-game heroics in the comeback attempt, but there would have been no drama in the fourth quarter if it weren’t for the R-P defense.
The Rocket D started out slow, allowing Forest Hills Central to take the opening kickoff and drive 88 yards on 13 plays for a touchdown.
But after that the defense settled in, holding the Rangers to just one more touchdown and a field goal the rest of the way. Forest Hills Central was forced to punt four times in the game.
The defense gave up 86 rushing yards and 155 passing yards, but 47 of the passing yards came on a touchdown completion in the third quarter.
The group was extra strong in the fourth quarter, keeping FHC from scoring and giving the R-P offense multiple chances to get the ball back and rally.
The defensive play of the day came with 2:55 left in the game, when Caledonia had a fourth-and-two situation deep in R-P territory.
Rocket senior linebacker Cal Millis burst into the backfield and made a tackle for a loss, giving his team the ball back and one final chance to tie the score or pull ahead.
A bunch of Rockets contributed to the defensive success, including Millis (10 tackles, 5 assists), Mason Darke (4 tackles, 6 assists), Connor McManus (3 tackles, 4 assists), Garrison Niklasch (3 tackles, 4 assists), Andrew Corradin (1 tackle, 7 assists) and Brendan Guikema (1 tackle, 8 assists).
“Our defense probably had 15 minus plays, and six of them came on that first series,” Kater said. “It kind of shows that maybe they were a little unsure and a little unfocused and nervous on the first series. But after that they were in the right positions and understanding their assignments most of the game. That big fourth quarter stop gave us a chance.”
Passing game looks promising
Reeths-Puffer has several talented receivers who are expected to provide a big spark for the offense.
They did just that late in the game.
Junior quarterback Braylon Swain completed late touchdown passes to Darke (33 yards) and sophomore wideout Ja’Michael Williams (18 yards).
Swain, making his first varsity start, put up some pretty nice numbers, completing 11 of 16 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.
McManus led the R-P receivers with five catches for 39 yards. Williams had three receptions for 55 yards, while Darke, Millis and Brendan Guikema each had one catch.
The Rockets never really got their running game going, accumulating only 37 yards on the ground.
“We were not really letting the ball rip in the first half, but we weren’t able to establish a run game like we hoped, so we had to start leaning on our receivers and Braylon to make some plays, and they executed them,” Kater said.
On to better days
Kater is expecting a better overall performance from his team on Friday.
He noted that last week, most of the Rockets were playing in positions that they had never played before in a varsity game. They got their feet wet and did reasonably well, and now the trick is to take take that performance and build on it.
”We only had one guy on offense who had started a game in his position before – Connor McManus – and only three on defense – Cal Millis, Cole Piper and Gus Pulos-Siegel," Kater said.
“We are expecting a big jump from Week 1 to Week 2.”
R-P will be looking for a little revenge at Caledonia, after the Fighting Scots beat the Rockets 35-7 last year in the first ever matchup between the two teams. Caledonia finished the season 4-5, ending a three-year streak of making the state playoffs.
The Fighting Scots, with a new head coach and a newly-renovated stadium, started off their season last week with a 36-0 victory over Windsor Holy Names, a Canadian team from Windsor, Ontario.
Caledonia pulled away with a 21-point second quarter.
The stats suggest that the Fighting Scots have a dual-threat quarterback. Junior Bryce Backus completed 8 of 14 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns and had 13 carries for 102 yards and one TD.
Three other running backs had at least 38 yards, including Ryne Wysocki, who rushed for 70 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns.
“Last year they had their ups and downs, but a lot of really competitive games,” Kater said about the Fighting Scots. “We had never played them before, but now we’re a lot more familiar with each other, and it will mean a little more to our players and our staff.”