Reeths-Puffer again struggled with self-inflicted wounds Friday, Rockets' coach Cody Kater said, as the team fell to Mona Shores 42-13 in O-K Green Conference action.
Kater said the mistake-prone play was similar to what happened a week prior against Muskegon, when the Rockets largely hung with the Big Reds before a spate of errors led to a lopsided final score.
"Our kids are playing their butts off and they're battling, but there's not a lot of connectivity with the 11 guys doing the same thing every single play to limit the possibility of a big play," Kater said. "All credit to Mona Shores - they have a complete team with depth - but we're giving these games up the last two weeks."
The Rockets (2-3, 0-2 O-K Green) trailed only 7-0 in the second quarter and were driving for a potential tying score when the ball was snapped over the head of quarterback Braylon Swain on third-and-2 - the second week in a row that's happened at a critical time. Mona Shores turned that miscue into an 80-yard touchdown on its next play.
R-P failed to convert a fourth-and-short on its next drive, and again the Sailors quickly struck, running a trick play on which Sailor quarterback Owen Terpstra took a lateral and threw a 50-yard touchdown pass. That made it 20-0, and R-P was unable to mount a serious challenge from there.
A later Sailor score, Kater said, came when the Rocket defense did not realize it had only 10 players on the field, and a fade route went for an easy touchdown. R-P also surrendered a punt return touchdown - to Bryce Muskovin, a former Rocket who transferred to Mona Shores.
Swain did throw a couple of short touchdown passes later in the game, but the damage was long since done by then.
The mistakes submarining drives has been a running theme, and for the Rockets, it's simultaneously frustrating and heartening; when those mistakes haven't happened, the team has had some offensive success.
"Our offense has done a good job moving the ball down the field, but we have to put points on the scoreboard," Kater said. "We have to find ways to eliminate the big plays, the turnovers, the snaps over the head. We seem to continue to do those things, but when those things aren't happening and we execute the right way, we can move the ball against some elite defenses that we could see later down the road."
Dre Sanders had a solid game for R-P, gaining 83 yards on only 13 carries. He also caught one of Swain's touchdowns. Swain threw for 147 yards.
With the two local rivals now in the Rockets' rear view mirror, they have opportunities to collect wins and get back in the playoff picture, but Kater told his team it must start this week.
"Our season starts when we walk off this field," Kater said he told the team. "We're 2-3, we have four games left, and if we want to extend our season, we have to find ways to eliminate these mistakes, play four quarters of football, and have sustained focus for the things that find success. We've been talking abut it and harping on it and talking about it in practices. We have to lean on the kids to take the reins of the season."
