Reeths-Puffer still feels it has plenty of work to do to become the team it wants to be, but the Rockets were able to get on the board in the win column Friday, defeating local rival Spring Lake 26-14.
R-P (1-2) led 19-0 after three quarters before the Lakers battled back with a pair of touchdowns. However, Bryce Muskovin finished off a terrific 198-yard game on the ground with a 48-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to salt the game away for the Rockets.
"The boys executed really well and Bryce was able to stay behind his offensive line and execute the things he needed to execute," R-P coach Cody Kater said. "He's been really good the last two weeks too, but we haven't been able to use him as much because of the score. He did a great job again."
The Rockets again struggled with penalties and surrendering big plays on defense, two areas that have been a constant thus far. After nine penalties last week, R-P committed 11 Friday.
"We're still lacking with penalties and drive-killing penalties," Kater said. "Defensively, I think we're doing a great job stopping the run, but we give up big plays behind us. It was the first time, tonight, that someone marched on us and punched one in. So hat's off to those guys for finding a weakness in our defense and pounding the rock on us."
In addition to Muskovin's work, Mason Darke was efficient, completing 6-of-9 passes for 101 yards, including a 62-yard score to Lukas Johnson. Darke also had 21 rushing yards and a score. Cal Millis led R-P's defense with five tackles.
Taking a win over a local rival - although the Rockets and Lakers hadn't met on the gridiron since 1994 - should give R-P a boost heading into an O-K Green opener against Union, a team it defeated the past two seasons.
"Any win's a good win," Kater said. "There's a little bit of a rivalry between the two programs, a lot of history there. Being able to revisit that was a fun experience for our boys tonight. We're excited to start conference play. We know what we need to work on, but we need to find aa way through practice, reps and habits off the field to improve at the things we've identified in these first three non-conference games."
