WHITEHALL — Reeths-Puffer faced an uncommon issue for a school of its size this week - a lack of bodies. But the Rockets didn't let that problem keep them from finishing their season with a win Friday against local rival Whitehall, pulling away in the second half for a 28-12 victory.
Despite their proximity, the contest was the first between the schools in 42 years, since the breakup of the old Seaway Conference both schools played in. Rockets' coach Cody Kater - who was familiar with the Whitehall field himself, having played two games on it as a Montague Wildcat - said the teams set up a game, in part, because of Whitehall's ambitious scheduling and the Rockets' constant travel in the O-K Green Conference.
"It's a lot more fun to be able to play people that are down the street and have communities be rivals," Kater said. "Our kids know each other. Our community knows each other. We have a lot of community members that used to go to Whitehall, or Reeths-Puffer guys who go to Whitehall and their family lives here. I think it is something I would like to continue."
The Rockets (4-5), Kater said, practiced all week with 24 players, in part due to injuries and sicknesses on the team. R-P ended up having seven or eight players on the team play both ways the entire game, which is relatively common at the West Michigan Conference level, but not something normally seen at the upper enrollment divisions.
That was seen early on, when the Rockets opened the scoring with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Braylon Swain to Hunter Adams - who wasn't even listed as an offensive player on the roster.
"He played tight end," Kater said of Adams. "He played outside linebacker. Our entire offensive line played both ways the entire game. Our running backs played both ways inside and outside. Connor (McManus) and (Brendan) Guikema played both ways at safety the whole time. It was 7-8 guys playing both ways and then on special teams too."
Whitehall's Liam Leeke gets past Reeths-Puffer's Brendan Guikema and into the open field during Friday's game at Whitehall. Leeke's big gain set up his second touchdown run, but R-P won 28-12.
That was a struggle early, and Whitehall was able to hang in and trail just 14-12 at halftime. But R-P got a second wind after halftime and overpowered the Vikings with a series of runs up the middle, despite Dre Sanders, the team's leading rusher, being one of those unavailable players. McManus, Ty Ross and Garrison Niklasch carried much of the load on the ground instead, and the trio combined for 114 rushing yards on 24 carries.
The Vikings (2-7) hung around for much of the way, and especially when Liam Leeke halted a Rocket drive by forcing a fumble that Whitehall recovered for a touchback late in the third quarter to keep it 14-12, it felt as though the tide may be turning. However, the Rocket defense held, and when a punt snap went awry, R-P took over in Whitehall territory. Guikema caught a short touchdown from Swain a few minutes later to give R-P control of the game.
Whitehall coach Tony Sigmon said the punt, seemingly intended to be a fake, was one of a few play calls that didn't work out for the Vikings that were more aggressive than his team normally is. With no playoff spot to play for, Whitehall felt more comfortable taking risks. Unfortunately, they didn't pay off, especially not an early trick play that doomed the Vikes' first possession when it turned into an 18-yard loss on a fumble.
"It was the last game of the season, so we were trying to just try to hang on to the ball," Sigmon said. "We were trying to regain momentum at any point. There are gambles and there are risks. If they pay off, you're a hero, and if they don't, you kind of look like you don't know what you're doing. That's really what we were doing with a couple of things there, and it just didn't work out."
R-P put itself in a big hole on its own first possession when a high snap sent Swain 21 yards backwards to recover it, but on third-and-31, Swain found his favorite target, Jamichael Williams, for 20 yards to make it a manageable fourth-and-11. Then, the Vikes jumped offsides, and R-P converted fourth-and-6 on its way to a touchdown.
Reeths-Puffer's Connor McManus (7) takes down Whitehall's Elijah Smith during Friday's game at Whitehall. The Rockets won, 28-12.
It was a high-level performance from Swain, playing his last varsity game. One fourth-quarter play - the first snap after the Vikings' failed punt snap - saw him scramble around for several seconds before finally finding McManus for 31 yards en route to a scoring drive. Swain ended the night 18-for-26 for 227 yards and three scores.
"He probably threw for 1,500-1,600 yards this season in nine games and only threw four picks," Kater said. "That's very efficient. He does what we ask him to do, and he's got playmakers around him, but it's the off the field stuff that we're going to miss. He's capable of pulling people along with him. He's Mr. Consistent, so I'm hoping that all the young guys saw that."
Williams had 125 yards receiving - including a deep ball in the second quarter that set up his own 12-yard touchdown run - and McManus had 47.
Whitehall had its own bright spots, especially the play of Leeke, who has been the driving force of the Viking offense all year. Leeke ran the ball 30 times and gained 136 yards, dragging Rocket tacklers with him several times to convert key first downs. He had a big run to set up the Vikings' second touchdown, after teammate Brayden Brown set up the first with his own big gain, but it was Leeke who pounded it in the end zone each time.
Whitehall quarterback Brayden Brown evades Reeths-Puffer's Hunter Adams on his way to a big gain during Friday's game at Whitehall. The Rockets won, 28-12.
There were several Vikings going out Friday that will be fondly remembered, but certainly Leeke, for his relentless effort on both sides of the ball - he tied with Keandre Maybanks and Wyatt McFarren for a team-best four tackles, as well as his forced fumble - will be one of the hardest to replace.
"I don't want to just be so future-focused, because I don't want that to to wash over what an emotional night it is," Sigmon said. "It's an emotional night for our seniors and their seniors. Let's face it, it's the end of the football season for us, and those guys are going through their first lasts, and this is one of them. And this is a big one. This is that first thing where they realize, 'Oh my gosh, it's over.' I just want to thank them, and I just want to tell them I care about them."
The future does, though, look bright. Brown, who took over as quarterback midseason and put forth game efforts in some remarkably tough games, will have improvements to make in the offseason, but the same work that put him in position to be behind center in the first place should help him improve as a player.
"He's got to get bigger and stronger, and everyone knows that," Sigmon said. "He knows that, and the nice thing is, he does a good job of working on it. He's gotten a lot bigger from last year, so he just needs to continue the pace there. The thing that I'm going to ask him to do is to do something that's a little bit more abstract, and that is, what are you doing when nobody's watching, when everybody's watching and anywhere in between? Really make that type of growth as far as maturity and leadership."
