GRAND RAPIDS – The Reeths-Puffer football team was desperate for a win on Friday night to stay in the state playoff hunt, but couldn’t get out of its own way in a gut-wrenching 21-19 road loss to Forest Hills Northern in an O-K Green Conference matchup.
“I’m just confused,” said R-P head coach Cody Kater after his team fell to 3-4 overall on the season and 1-3 in conference play. “I need to figure out what to do as the leader of the program.
“We have to play within the rules and figure out how to win. We talk about one play at a time all the time, and work on fundamentals. But we just can’t seem to crack the code.”
Two of the biggest mistakes from the Rockets led to 14 points for the Huskies, and made all the difference in the outcome.
Bad defensive coverage allowed Forest Hills Northern quarterback Owen Ostipow to find Liam Rozier for a 38-yard touchdown pass with just 12 seconds left in the first half.
R-P's Ke'Ondre Sanders hauls in a pass just as he's hit. Photo/John Willoughby
“It absolutely stayed with us to start the third,” Kater said about how deflating the late touchdown was. “We tried to use as much time as we could offensively. We knew they were explosive and could score quick. But they put one of their best players in space and we absolutely just missed it.”
In the third quarter, a botched punt attempt from the end zone gave the Huskies the ball at the Rocket 2-yard line, leading to a touchdown three plays later.
Another unfortunate set of circumstances came late in the game. The Rockets scored and pulled within two points, and tried to convert a critical two-point conversion, but two consecutive penalties sent them backward and the effort failed.
“It’s not any single person’s fault,” Kater said about all the mistakes. “But we found out tonight that the little things matter, and we had mistakes on offense, defense and special teams.”
The night started out strong for the Rockets. They went 65 yards in five plays and took a 6-0 lead when Ke’Ondre Sanders punched in an eight-yard touchdown run just 2:02 into the game.
R-P quarterback Braylon Swain throws downfield. Photo/John Willoughby
The two teams then traded punts before Ostipow scored on an eight-yard touchdown run, and the extra point gave Forest Hills Northern a 7-6 lead with 1:28 left in the first.
That score remained until R-P quarterback Braylon Swain scored on a five-yard keeper to give Reeths-Puffer a 13-7 lead with 1:14 left in the second.
The lead was short-lived, however, because the Huskies scored just before halftime on the broken coverage play to take a 14-13 halftime lead.
The Huskies were marching down the field at the start of the third quarter, before R-P’s Connor McManus intercepted a pass at the Rocket two-yard line to shut down the drive.
The Rockets could not move the ball, however, and lined up to punt from the end zone, but the effort went bad, giving the Huskies the ball at the R-P 2.
R-P's Hunter Adams (6) wraps up an opponent. Photo/John Willoughby
Three plays later, Charlie Brandstatter scored on a four-yard run to extend the Huskie lead to 21-13 with 4:46 remaining in the third.
The Rockets forced a turnover on downs to begin the fourth quarter and took over at their own 31 with 11:30 remaining.
They drove downfield, then Swain connected with McManus on an 11-yard touchdown pass, capping a 13-play drive and making the score 21-19.
The Rockets attempted to tie the game with a two-point conversion, and appeared to be successful, but the play was called back due to an ineligible receiver downfield penalty.
Reehs-Puffer lined up to try again, but was assessed a delay of game penalty, pushing the two-point attempt back to the 12-yard line. The effort fell short after that, leaving FHN with a two-point lead.
R-P's Jamichael Williams gets past a defender. Photo/John Willoughby
The ensuing kickoff was a successful squib that pinned Forest Hills Northern back at its own five-yard line with 4:52 remaining in the game, so there was still plenty of hope for R-P.
But the Rocket defense was unable to get a stop as the Huskies picked up multiple first downs and ran the clock out for the win.
“We have to find a way to make a play,” said Kater about the inability to get a defensive stop. “We could’ve gotten a stop and got the ball back on our side of the 50. We’re going to keep chopping at it, but it’s incredibly frustrating.”
Sanders led the Rockets with 94 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 carries while Swain was 16-of-20 passing for 159 yards with one touchdown.
Jamichael Williams totaled 67 yards on six catches while McManus and Brendan Guikema each had an interception to lead the defense.
The Rockets will host Byron Center next Friday in the last conference game of the season.
