Reeths-Puffer went toe to toe with Forest Hills Northern on the road Friday night, but a trio of untimely turnovers doomed the Rockets in a 31-13 O-K Green Conference battle.
The two teams were evenly matched in first downs (the Huskies had one more than R-P) and total offensive yards (six more for FHN). But two lost fumbles, another fumble that the Rockets recovered but lost 20 yards in the process, and an interception wiped out some solid drives, compared with zero turnovers by the Huskies.
"I thought we did a decent job at times moving the ball, but it felt like we were waiting for something bad to happen," R-P coach Cody Kater said. "Our guys just had a tough time executing and staying disciplined throughout drives."
R-P (2-3, 1-1 O-K Green) knew going into the game that it faced a tough task physically due to the Huskies' impressive front line. Colton Sawyer ran for 154 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries, but the Huskies did not complete a pass and R-P would've earned some key defensive stops but for some penalties.
"We gave up a couple fourth down (conversions) on defense and we had a couple personal fouls that moved the chains on fourth down, and that just can't happen, especially when you're outmatched, which we were," Kater said.
When the Rockets weren't turning it over, they were efficient offensively. Bryce Muskovin gained 101 yards on only 10 carries, and Mason Darke completed 12-of-18 passes for 160 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Lukas Johnson caught one of those scores and had 68 yards receiving, and Marvin Moore had 62 yards.
On defense, Elliot Schneider had eight tackles, three for loss. He also caught Darke's other touchdown throw.
Kater said the Rockets will just have to keep battling, crediting his team with strong effort against more talented foes but knowing the mistakes must be cleaned up to produce wins - especially because things aren't getting any easier with a home tilt with Byron Center on deck.
"We're in a tough spot within our schedule and we knew that going into it," Kater said. "We feel like we toed up (FHN) well. We knew we were outmatched up front and it would be difficult to slow them down. The staff has done a great job preparing the team for these different teams, and I'm sure it'll be no different going into Byron Center. We'll get the guys in, and we're doing it the hard way now in terms of following the success the teams of the last two years laid down."
