MUSKEGON — Reeths-Puffer's season has unfortunately followed a
familiar script in recent weeks, especially since the team was beset by a
run of injuries; the Rockets hang in early, but eventually the
opponent's depth is too much.
The same was true Friday night,
as unbeaten and Division 2 No. 2-ranked Mona Shores ballooned a 13-point
halftime lead to a 40-0 Sailors' victory that ended the Rockets' hopes
of reaching the playoffs.
It was also senior night for R-P,
which explained the emotional postgame scene between coach Cody Kater,
his staff and his senior players who had hoped to end their careers with
a third consecutive postseason berth.
"We've got one more game," Kater said. "We're going to do everything we can to end in
victory here. We've got a lot to play for. There's a lot of
love in this program. There's a lot of growth that these guys
have shown the last three years. We really want to
do everything that we can to make sure that we end this thing in
the way that we want."
The Rockets had chances to make Shores
sweat early, but couldn't take advantage. Shaun Haley picked off Mona
Shores quarterback Jonathan Pittman on the Sailors' first drive, and
later a long run by Mason Darke, back from his Achilles tendinitis, gave
R-P a scoring chance, but neither opportunity turned into any points.
The Rockets got into the red zone in the final minute of the first half,
but a 33-yard field goal went awry when Owen Ritsema lost his footing
on the attempt.
The Sailors converted several damaging
third-and-longs as the game went along, maybe none more so than late in
the second quarter. That drive ended with a third-and-15 run for a
19-yard score that featured Pittman running the option with Tyrese
McCorvey-Hill receiving the pitch and taking it in for a 13-0 lead.
Shores'
star running back Tamarion Steward began breaking more and more tackles
as the night progressed and R-P was worn down by his physical running
style. Steward got in the end zone once on the ground but added a second
touchdown on a 100-yard interception return in the final minute.
"Tonight resembled what you've
seen all season," Kater said. "We played well for a half. It's hard
to make adjustments when we've got five guys out right
now and you're trying to find ways to move the ball. I made a dumb play call at the end of the game
there (on the pick-six). It would have been nice to put some
points on the board. It is what it is. We're going to continue learning and growing from this."
R-P
will get one more chance to take the field together against Forest
Hills Northern. Kater expects his Rockets to be ready to go for that
one, because despite the physical and mental toll the injuries have
taken, his players have proven they deserve that faith.
"Our practices have
been good from start to finish," Kater said. "We've
had a lot of injuries these last two weeks and we're up to five starters out this game, but
we haven't seen that in practice. It's kind of been day
by day, period by period, finding ways to prepare for the game through practice. That is a great sign, just showing
how (seriously) they're taking it. They're not
making excuses. We're not having kids quit. We're not having kids fall to the wayside and act out of character.
"They've
been showing up every single day and trying to find a way
to prepare. I guess that's all you could really ask for out
of these guys and I'm expecting that to happen this last week, and I
think they're really going to take this challenge and find a way to do
that."
