Reeths-Puffer has been looking for a fast start again every week since it got one to start the season, and the Rockets finally found another one Friday on their way to a 35-6 homecoming win over Union.
The Rockets (3-3, 1-2 O-K Green Conference) opened the game with a defensive stop, stuffed a fake punt attempt, and got in the end zone on their first offensive play, an 18-yard run by Dre Sanders. R-P's second offensive play was a long touchdown pass from Braylon Swain to Jamichael Williams, and the team had a lot of fun from there.
"I felt like our kdis were locked in to playing football," R-P coach Cody Kater said. "We got the monkey off our back with highly pressurized county games the last couple weeks. It was good to see our kids enjoy themselves out there."
Swain was remarkably efficient passing, missing on only one of his 13 attempts, which went for 170 yards and three scores, each to a different receiver. Sanders scored twice on eight carries for 69 yards. The Rockets held the shutout until the game was long decided, including a stop at the one-yard line to end the first half.
"It was good to see some guys in some different spots," Kater said. "We're a little banged up, so not everyone went out and played. We were able to build some depth. Our offense was really efficient today, which was nice to see because we hadn't been able to do that the last couple of weeks."
Mistake-free football was an emphasis all week in practice after the Rockets' errors helped blow open losses to Muskegon and Mona Shores, and R-P took the message to heart.
"It was good to see the guys get over (the last two weeks) and eliminate those kinds of things," Kater said. "Hopefully we can srpingboard it going forward."
