MIDDLEVILLE - It’s tough to win football games when you spot your opponents big early leads.
It’s a tendency that’s going to have to change if the Reeths-Puffer football team wants to find success this season.
Last week, in the season opener, the Rockets allowed Forest Hills Central to score 18 points before they got on the scoreboard themselves, and the deficit proved too much to overcome.
On Friday night against Caledonia, the issue was far more pronounced.
Photo/John Willoughby
The Rockets fell behind 34-0 before finally scoring late in the first half. In the end that spiraled into a tough 56-21 loss to the Fighting Scots in a game played at Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg High School, due to problems at Caledonia’s stadium.
“We’re young and inexperienced,” R-P head coach Cody Kater said about the slow starts. “We knew we had inexperience up front. We have good skill guys, but games are won up front. We have to figure out how to get off to quicker starts on offense.”
Reeths-Puffer scored its first touchdown when quarterback Braylon Swain connected with Mason Darke for a one-yard touchdown pass with 3:41 left in the second quarter.
R-P trailed 42-7 at halftime.
Photo/John Willoughby
With 36 seconds left in the third quarter, Swain found Darke for a 23-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to cut the Rocket deficit to 42-14.
After Caledonia scored again, Reeths-Puffer collected an 11-yard touchdown run from Cal Millis with 2:30 remaining in the game.
Caledonia scored the final touchdown of the night with 35 seconds left.
The Fighting Scots ended up with five passing touchdowns, including four from starting quarterback Bryce Backus, all within the first 13:21 of the game.
Photo/John Willoughby
Swain had a productive night through the air for the Rockets, going 17-for-26 for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Darke finished with his two touchdown catches for 24 yards.
R-P’s Conner McManus finished with 49 yards on six catches while Ja’Michael Williams totaled 29 yards on five receptions.
Millis rushed for 43 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
Darke led the R-P defense with four tackles and one assist. McManus, Bobby Gamble and London Rankin each had three tackles.
Photo/John Willoughby
The Rockets will travel to Spring Lake next Friday, hoping to collect their first win of the season.
For that to happen, the players will have to stick together and focus, according to Kater.
“We have an opportunity now to see how we respond,” the coach said. “We have to see if we’re willing to move past the things we’re talking about. We have to see if we’re going to live by the codes that we talk about.
“Character always kind of drives the process, so we have to see if we’re going to live off the core values we’ve talked about.”