MUSKEGON TWP. – The Reeths-Puffer football team may not always win, but the Rockets frequently provide fans with an exciting play or two every game, and they frequently come from wide receiver Mason Darke.
That trend continued on Friday night when the senior speedster provided R-P’s only points with a thrilling 84-yard kickoff return touchdown, and also passed the 500-yard mark for receiving this season.
His performance was a bright spot in a 61-7 loss to the powerful Muskegon Big Reds at Rocket Stadium.
The ironic part is that Darke, who established himself as an All-State track and field athlete in the spring, was originally planning on skipping football altogether this season.
Mason Darke on his long kickoff return touchdown. Photo/Jeremy Clark
If it hadn’t been for some conversations over the summer at the home of R-P head coach Cody Kater, a lot of really fun plays never would have occurred.
“I honestly wasn’t going to play,” Darke, who was R-P’s starting quarterback last year, said in the minutes following Friday’s game. “But there were a lot of good conversations. They gave me the time and love that I needed to play football again.”
“He came over to the house and we talked through things,” Kater added. ”We talked about what things might kind of look like this year. Now he’s sitting around like 800 total yards for the year, and he’s been a consistent guy for us.”
Darke transitioned to wide receiver this fall and has taken off in the new role. His specialty has become big pass receptions for lots of yards and touchdowns.
R-P's Paul Smith (33) fights for yards. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Perhaps the most exciting one came on the first play of the game against Spring Lake in Week 3, when he caught a 79-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Braylon Swain.
He also caught touchdown passes covering 81 yards against Byron Center, 54 yards against Mona Shores and 33 yards against Forest Hills Central.
Darke now has 31 catches for 501 yards and seven touchdown on the season, according to stat totals reported by the school.
His long kickoff return TD on Friday was just the latest example of what Darke can do with a football in his arms.
R-P's Evan McHugh (34) tries to haul down a Big Red runner. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“This is the most fun I’ve had in my football career,” Darke said, when asked about all the big plays. “Shout out to Coach Kater, because it wasn’t easy making the switch. Playing quarterback was my first love, but he and the coaching staff definitely changed my outlook on football.”
While Darke gets notoriety for his big plays on the field, it’s his leadership on and off that Kater is most thankful for.
“Mason is the type of kid we need in our program,” the coach said. “Not because of his athletic ability, but because of his character. He was voted a team captain this year for a reason.
"He’s high character in the locker room and his responses are something that some of our sophomores need to hear right now. So, I’m just proud of him and what he’s done for our program.”
R-P's Jamichael Williams (4) tries to break free from tacklers. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Despite the Rockets now being 2-6 overall and 1-4 in conference play, Darke is thankful he came out and finished his football career.
“I’m so grateful,” he said. “This team has changed my life. Yeah, we’d like to win more. But you learn a lot more in losing. There will be tough times, but we’re going to be really tough men and good fathers because of what this program has done for us.”
Darke’s kickoff return touchdown came after Amiere Chandler, Lamar Bradford and Arquez Petty all scored first quarter touchdowns for Muskegon, and the Big Reds, ranked No. 2 in the state in Division 2, were in full control.
Darke made sure the scoreboard would not remain bare on the R-P side. His long runback down the sideline brought the R-P crowd to life and made the score 20-7.
R-P's Braylon Swain gets ready to throw with a Big Red closing in. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“It was the plan all week,” he said about the kickoff return. “We knew that we had to get to the numbers, and we did. There was a hole that I hit, and I just took off.”
The last score of the first quarter came on a Chandler run that gave Muskegon a 27-7 lead headed into the second.
In the second quarter, Bradford and Louis Gressett each scored touchdowns to make the halftime score 40-7 in favor of Muskegon.
Bradford’s big night continued in the third quarter with two more touchdown runs, giving Muskegon a 54-7 lead after three quarters.
Darke looks for running room against the Big Reds. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The final score came on a run by Gressett in the fourth quarter.
Muskegon finished with 410 total yards, including 339 on the ground, while Reeths-Puffer had 118 total yards.
Cal Millis led the Rocket defense with seven tackles, including two sacks, while Darke added three tackles.
The Rockets will try to close out the season with a win next Friday when they host Forest Hills Eastern.