MUSKEGON TWP. - The Reeths-Puffer football team now has three wins in a season for the first time since 2023.
That’s significant in a number of ways.
The first is the simple fact that the Rockets only won two games in both 2024 and 2025, so the third win this year represents forward progress.
But there’s more to it than that. With a 3-3 record and three games to go, the R-P coaches and players are starting to utter a word that hasn’t crossed their lips since 2023 - playoffs.
Some fans might be surprised to hear it, but if the regular season ended today, the Rockets would be in. They are currently ranked 31st among Division 3 teams in the state in playoff points, and the top 32 make the postseason.
It would take at least two wins in the last three games to remain in the hunt.
“We want to extend our season for as long as we can, for the seniors and for the program,” said R-P head coach Cody Kater, who led the Rockets to the playoffs in his first two seasons, in 2022 and 2023.
“We want our guys to be focused on things that will give us the opportunity to do so. We understand the playoff point system and what we need to do to get there. We need to win two of the last three to have a fighting chance.
“To be one of the 32 teams, every program and every senior wants to fight for that, for the program, for the school, for the community. We are doing everything we can to play our best football at the most important time. We want to get boiling hot at the right time."
Huge game against the Huskies
The Rockets’ playoff push will begin with a very big encounter on Friday night on the road against O-K Green conference foe Forest Hills Northern.
After that, the Rockets will host powerful Byron Center (4-2), then visit Whitehall (2-4).
R-P will probably be considered an underdog against Byron Center and a favorite against Whitehall, so the Forest Hills Northern game will probably be pretty critical in the grand scheme of things.
Going in, it looks like a pretty even matchup.
The Huskies are currently 2-4 on the season, following last week’s 30-7 loss to Muskegon. Two of their losses have been by a touchdown or less – 28-21 to Forest Hills Eastern and 34-31 to Jenison.
FHN apparently has two main offensive weapons, according to media reports. Senior quarterback Owen Ostipow is a dual threat guy who is averaging 79.3 rushing yards per game, and junior wide receiver Greg Williamson is averaging 25.5 receiving yards per game.
The Huskies are almost certainly playing with a lot of motivation this fall, since this is the final season before retirement for their head coach, Eddie Ostipow. He has been a head coach at five different high schools for a total of 27 years, including the last eight at FHN.
While Reeths-Puffer may have the slightly better record so far this year, the Rockets have not had any luck against the Huskies in the two years they've been playing them as conference opponents.
FH Northern beat R-P 31-13 in 2024 and 40-27 last year in a homecoming shootout at Reeths-Puffer.
“We struggled with them the last two years,” Kater said. “They have produced some bigger guys than what we have had. They do a good job of getting them stronger and in the right spots.
“They graduated a lot up front, and some of their running backs and skills guys, but their quarterback is very good, one of the best we will see this season, with his big play ability and what he can do with his legs. They have a receiver who is very talented, as well, and they do a really good job on defense of giving you different looks.
“We have to find ways to get off the field on defense, take care of the ball offensively and win up front.”
Getting back on track
If R-P fans want a reason for optimism, all they have to do is look at last week’s 35-6 homecoming win over Grand Rapids Union.
While the Rockets typically beat Union by big scores pretty much every year, this season’s encounter was an extra challenge, because R-P was coming off two very demoralizing losses in the previous two weeks against its two biggest rivals.
The Rockets got a bad case of fumble-itis and lost to Muskegon 45-14 in Week 4, then were badly beaten by archrival Mona Shores 42-13 in Week 5.
Two bruising defeats in a row would have been enough to throw a lot of teams into a midseason tailspin, but the Rockets quickly pulled themselves off the mat and took care of business against Union.
They wasted no time, scoring touchdowns on their first two offensive plays of the game, and on their first three offensive possessions.
Ke’Ondre Sanders scored on an 18 yard run, Jamichael Williams caught a 48-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Braylon Swain, Sanders scored on a three-yard run and Bobby Gamble caught a 14-yard scoring strike from Swain, giving R-P a 28-0 lead after one quarter.
Jared Stenberg scored the Rockets’ final touchdown, catching a 28-yard TD pass from Swain in the third quarter.
Swain completed 12 of 13 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns. Sanders ran the ball eight times for 70 yards and two touchdowns. Williams had four catches for 75 yards and Stenberg had four catches for 68 yards.
Defensively, Ty Ross had seven tackles and three assists, Travis Henderson had four tackles and one assist and Troy Swingley had three tackles and two assists.
“"We learn from the past, we don’t live in the past," Kater said. "We talked about what a privilege it was to have another opportunity to practice, then play in front of a big crowd at homecoming and showcase our ability to respond.
“The previous two weeks were tough, but they were also learning moments, and a lot of good came out of them. We are proud of the way the kids responded to it. They also understand that the season is a marathon, not a sprint, and there is a lot of football left to play.”
Kater did not disregard the significance of getting the third win of the season and increasing the victory total over the previous two years.
“We always try not to look at the scoreboard, so to speak, but we are in a competitive environment and we want to win.” the coach said. “It’s nice to see some of our hard work turn into success on the scoreboard.”
