Reeths-Puffer came agonizingly close to a potential upset win over
Forest Hills Central Thursday night, but a late fumble in Rangers'
territory allowed the visitors to escape with an 18-12 win.
The
Rockets took over at their own 37-yard line with 2:52 to play and made
it into FHC territory before the fumble, which coach Cody Kater said
came on a completion and was a "bang-bang play" that could have been
called an incompletion.
Central led 10-0 at halftime and 18-0
after three quarters before the Rockets battled back with two touchdowns
in a three-minute span early in the fourth.
"It was kind of
like a freight train, hard to get going but once it got going it was
hard to stop," Kater said. "Trying to settle down and execute the
game plan was difficult at
first, but the kids continued to play hard and the defense settled in
and
kept us in the game."
Braylon Swain, who got the nod as
starting quarterback, threw both touchdowns and had 143 passing yards in
all. JaMichael Williams had a team-best 66 yards receiving with a
score.
"I think (Swain) played well, especially for his first
start," Kater said. "That's a difficult defense to
go against. If you look at Forest Hills Central's points allowed the
last 5-6 years, they usually give up 10-12 at most. You don't get a lot
of possessions and they keep everything in front of them. Our wide
receivers can definitely make plays."
Kater said he was
pleased with the way his team "played with the conviction we talked
about in the offseason" and forced the Rangers to make clutch plays down
the stretch to escape with the win.
"Anyone that comes
through Reeths-Puffer, we want to make sure they respect us by the end
of the game," Kater said. "I think a lot of light bulbs went off
tonight. I think watching our boys
come together in the fourth quarter and get stronger will only give them
more confidence going forward. Now we have to look at the other
technical details and get
better at football."
Cal Millis, R-P's leading tackler in 2024, led the team again Thursday,
with eight tackles and a sack. Mason Darke added seven takedowns.
