MUSKEGON — Reeths-Puffer hasn't had many nights where everything
goes right on the gridiron lately, so the Rockets drank in Thursday's
56-7 domination of Greenville in the season opener and savored it.
The
Rockets took full control of the game over a stretch of under four
minutes spanning the second and third quarters, scoring three touchdowns
and only missing a fourth because they ran out of time at the end of
the first half. The sequence included a coverage bust that produced the
easiest touchdown pass Braylon Swain will ever throw, to Connor McManus,
as well as two interceptions by McManus and a pick-six by Garrison
Niklasch. When the outburst was over, a 21-7 Rockets lead had swelled to
42-7 and the running clock was on.
"Sometimes it just goes like this," R-P coach Cody Kater said. "I've been on the other end recently,
so I'm OK with it. I know the kids deserved it. We worked hard for it.
The coaching staff came together nicely in the offseason. I think
there's a lot of positivity within our program based
off of the conversations that we're having. To be able to put a night
like this together, it points us in the right
direction."
It took some time for R-P to get going Thursday;
the Rockets had to convert a third-and-16 and two fourth downs on their
opening drive to find the end zone. Ultimately, though, they did it,
relying on their big wide receivers - Brendan Guikema caught the
third-and-16 conversion pass - and new running back Dre Sanders, who
transferred in from Orchard View.
Sanders converted the second
fourth down of the drive - the first was by penalty - and scored the
opening touchdown. It was just the start of a big night for the senior
newcomer.
Reeths-Puffer's Dre Sanders unleashes a jump cut to create space during Thursday's game against Greenville. Sanders, who scored three touchdowns in a 56-7 win, said he's worked on his agility since transferring from Orchard View.
On the Rockets' second drive, Sanders converted
third-and-8 on a draw play, setting up a great toe-tap catch by
Jamichael Williams in the corner of the end zone. On their third,
quarterback Braylon Swain hit Sanders out of the backfield on a screen
pass on another third-and-long, and tremendous blocking by linemen and
receivers allowed him to race 56 yards to pay dirt. He added a third
touchdown later on.
It was a big night for him, not just as a player but as a person, Kater said.
"It
gets me a
little emotional because I think a lot of people counted that kid out,"
Kater said. "He hasn't had, I guess, a good high school experience so
far,
and he's got such a big heart. He's done nothing but try to do right
since he's been at
Reeths-Puffer."
Sanders showed off not just speed, but some
shifty moves at times to avoid tackles, which he said is the result of
work he's put in since arriving at R-P.
"I used to be the type of
guy that would just run into you," a beaming Sanders said. "Once I came over, we
started working on a lot of agility training, a lot of jump cuts. I've
just been working on that ever since then. I've been taking my
training very seriously."
Sanders' success was aided by great
play by the R-P front line. The big boys in the trenches were even more
successful on defense. Greenville's undersized front had no chance
against the Rockets, who seemingly spent as much time in the backfield
as the Yellowjackets' backs did.
Kater said the linemen have curated a mindset of toughness that led to Thursday's success - and hopefully will lead to more.
"They really like football," Kater said. "They like being linemen, and I haven't had that in a little bit. That's
the other part of it. They're dirty, gritty dudes who really enjoy this
part of the game."
Reeths-Puffer quarterback Braylon Swain extends a play while being pursued by Greenville defenders during Thursday's game.
Swain, meanwhile, showed off impressive
mobility and a knack for extending plays that he didn't have a year ago.
More than a couple of times he was able to dance around in the
backfield until a receiver got open. And with Williams, Guikema and
McManus, all tall athletic players, to throw to, he has no shortage of
options. Even they, though, are dependent on the kind of line play the
Rockets got Thursday.
"Braylon, his eyes don't lie," Kater said. "He knows
where he's going with the rock most of the time. What I was incredibly
pleased with was his ability to extend plays tonight, and those guys
being able to come back to the rock. We know that we've got athletes
that can spread the field, but this season is going
to be on (whether) we can play up front like we did tonight and
dominate in that fashion."
Once the game was over and the
Rockets could let loose, they did - racing to the student section, which
stayed mostly packed until the end, to celebrate the victory, then
briefly mobbing Kater before the coaches addressed the team.
Not all nights will be as fun as Thursday was, but that makes it all the more important to enjoy it.
"We played to our expectations tonight," Sanders said. "Coach gave us a lot of speeches over the week about how we could
prepare for this game. It feels so good being a Rocket today."
