MUSKEGON TWP. – It’s cool to watch young football players experience their first big moments at the varsity level.
Sometimes it’s pretty entertaining, too.
Take Reeths-Puffer sophomore Paul Smith, for example. Smith caught the first touchdown pass of his varsity career in the third quarter against Forest Hills Northern last Friday
The play only covered three yards, but it was more interesting that it might have been, because Smith was running into the end zone and did not see the ball right away as it reached him.
Sophomore Paul Smith juggles before hauling in his first touchdown catch.
It hit the side of his helmet, then he turned, got his hands on it, and made everyone hold their breaths as he juggled it three or four times before hauling it in as he fell to the ground.
“I felt it in my facemask, then I felt it in my hand, and I just thought ‘I gotta catch that,’” Smith said. “It was actually my first catch of the season. It was super exciting."
Smith is one of 12 sophomores who were listed on the R-P football roster last Friday. He was joined by fellow 10th-graders Cole Piper, JaMichael Williams, Garrison Niklasch, Jaxon Lee, Travis Henderson, Hunter Adams, Evan McHugh, Wyatt Gardner, Aiden Neal, Troy Swingley and Srecko Walker.
That’s a lot of sophomores for a big-school varsity football team, and they aren’t all reserves.
Nine were starters in the game last Friday, including two who started on both sides of the ball.
Sophomore JaMichael Williams (4).
In some ways, their presence is not a surprise, because the Rockets only have nine juniors on the team, so somebody had to fill the roster spots. But the presence of so many in the starting lineup, and their rapid improvement as a group, is pretty noteworthy.
The sophomores – who still have a lot of physical and emotional growth ahead of them – have been facing the challenge of playing against much bigger, stronger juniors and seniors while learning a lot in the process.
Ironically, the sophomore football class is low in numbers, too, which has meant a lot of freshmen have been starting and learning on the JV squad, in place of the sophomores on varsity.
Some of the varsity sophomores began the season with the big team (including four who have been starting since Week 1), while others were called up over the course of the season through the “fifth quarter” rule, which allows kids to play junior varsity for a full game every week, as well as one quarter at the varsity level.
Sophomore Troy Swingley (50).
A few began as fifth quarter players, performed well, and are full-time on the varsity now.
A few are not seeing much regular game time on varsity, but do get in for some special teams work and are valuable in practice as scout team players.
Quite a few of the sophomores have done some very significant things on the field this year.
One real standout has been Piper, who had been a starting defensive back and kick returner since Week 1, and lately has been getting playing time at running back and quarterback.
He has rushed for 228 yards and three touchdowns, returned kickoffs for 368 yards, returned a punt for a 29-yard touchdown, and has 15 tackles on defense,
Sophomore Cole Piper (3)
Williams, a wide receiver, has also raised some excited eyebrows, catching 15 passes for 241 yards and four touchdowns, including one TD reception covering 95 yards.
“Cole has already done a lot of things for us, and now we’re starting to get the ball in his hands,” said R-P head coach Cody Kater. “We’re excited about him. JaMichael has some skills, and we’re excited about him, particularly after he gets a full offseason.”
On defense, Garrison Niklasch has 25 tackles, Hunter Adams has 20, Troy Swingley has 15, Smith has 10 and Travis Henderson has five.
Kicker Evan McHugh has a field goal to his credit and is 13-for-16 on extra point tries. He also handles kickoff duties.
Sophomore Travis Henderson (12).
So these are not just young understudies who are observing and learning. They are out on the field doing some of the most important work – and as a group they look like they could form the nucleus of a really good team in a year or two.
“I think all of us are optimistic when we look at the future,” Kater said. “We’re excited. We knew going in that we weren’t going to have the numbers, and we would have to move some guys up. But watching the learning and growth that they’ve shown, especially in the last three weeks, makes us believe that they will give us a strong foundation.”
Smith and Niklasch admit they were both nervous when they faced varsity competition, and a lot of much bigger players, for the first time.’
“Before the first game I was talking about how nervous I was going out there, but I think I have just gotten used to it,” Smith said. “I like going against better competition. I think I hold my ground out there.”
Sophomore Evan McHugh (34).
“Especially week one, I had a lot of nerves, but each week I have felt more confident,” Niklasch said. “It’s a different level of work at varsity practices, and if you practice hard you play good.”
Smith and Niklasch both say their sophomore group has come a long way in just a few weeks, and they are not surprised by how much or how well they've been playing.
“I just think we’ve matured as a group,” Smith said. “We all kind of grew up together playing football, and we’ve gotten a lot better, just in general. We come here to practice and work hard every day and put so much into it.”
“We’ve got a good group of guys here who could take this thing a long ways,” Niklasch said. “I am not surprised. I saw it coming.”