R-P's Caleb Zimmerman

There’s a lot to be said for quiet leadership and setting a great example for teammates.

Reeths-Puffer’s Caleb Zimmerman fits that definition perfectly.

He doesn’t make a lot of noise on the field. He just goes about his business on both sides of the ball, doing the dirty work in the trenches without getting much recognition.

But his coaches and teammates have certainly noticed his consistent effort, and honored Zimmerman last week by choosing him as a team co-captain.

The other captains are quarterback Brady Ross and linebacker Caiden Bolduc.

R-P varsity football co-captain Caleb Zimmerman

While most teams name captains before the season begins, the new coaches at Reeths-Puffer decided to wait until they got to know the players better, and helped the group understand their expectations of team leaders.

“He’s a high character kid,” R-P head coach Cody Kater said about Zimmerman. “He enjoys the grind. He’s the type of guy you want to build a program around. With him it’s all heart.

“He deserves all the recognition he can get. He deserves to be a captain.”

Zimmerman, a third-year varsity player, has demonstrated his dedication to the team this year by doubling his duties.

Last year he was primarily a defensive lineman and came off the field to rest when the Rockets had the ball.

Zimmerman closes in on a Grand Rapids Union ball carrier.

During preseason workouts this year, he filled a spot on the offensive line in what was supposed to be a temporary assignment. But he performed so well that he remained there as the season got rolling, and now he’s a full-time two-way player, grinding it out on offense and defense.

“Last year they tried me out both ways, but I don’t think I was conditioned well enough and it didn’t go too well,” Zimmerman said. “I tried to do it for half a game, then ended up playing straight defense for the rest of the season.

“This year I was talking to an offensive line coach, and he said they would put me in there and test the other guys out, and I could teach them and they could take over, but I ended up staying there.”

Zimmerman also shows his selflessness by playing hard every week without piling up personal stats.

Defensive linemen often get their share of attention by making a lot of tackles. In R-P’s new defensive scheme, however, the linemen are charged with neutralizing the other team’s offensive linemen and leaving much of the tackling to others. 

Zimmerman gets ready to block against Muskegon.

That means Zimmerman rarely makes the Rockets’ list of leading tacklers - but he sets the table for the guys who do.

That list includes Caiden Bolduc, who leads the area in tackles.

“I would say his stats are Caiden Bolduc’s stats,” Kater said about Zimmerman’s defensive contributions. “He’s able to take care of the D line work so the linebackers and other guys can make the tackles. If it weren’t for guys like Zimmerman they wouldn’t have the stats they have.”

Zimmerman has no problem with the new defensive strategy.

“Last year I felt like I recorded a decent number of stats, but this year I’ve been doing it for the cause,” he said. “Our job is to read our keys and trust the linebackers to do their work. We do the dirty work. I’m fine with it. I live for my team. It’s all about working together to win.”

Zimmerman and the Rockets had an unexpected scare last week from Zeeland East, a one-win team that pushed Reeths-Puffer hard. Only a failed two-point conversion attempt near the end of the game allowed R-P to escape with a 20-18 victory and a 5-1 record.

Zimmerman (61) celebrates a touchdown with teammates. 

“It was nerve-wracking,” Zimmerman said about the tense moments at the end. “I had to dig down deep and just do my job and count on my teammates to do theirs. We got it done.”

Now the Rockets are facing their biggest test of the season, going up against two powerful opponents in two weeks – Zeeland West on the road on Friday, then O-K Green conference leader Mona Shores at home next week.

A sweep would give the Rockets at least a share the conference championship, which would be a huge accomplishment for a team that went 3-6 last season.

Zimmerman said the close call against Zeeland East was the result of a poor week of practice, and that problem has been addressed.

“I can say for sure you’re going to see the best Reeths-Puffer team this week,” he said. “We’re having a good week of practice and we’re putting in the work. It was Homecoming last week and there were a lot of distractions. Coach kept telling us we weren’t as focused as we should have been, and we were worried about the wrong things.

“We are coming into these next two weeks better prepared and focused. Coach reminded us that we have conference right in our hands, and it’s up to us to take care of business.”