Mona Shores shows off its power in playoff victory over rival Reeths-Puffer

By Tom Kendra
LocalSportsJournal.com

NORTON SHORES – Tomarion “Ike” Steward sure didn’t look or play like a sophomore on Friday night.

Steward, a chiseled, 6-0, 214-pound sophomore running back for Mona Shores, ran over, through and around the Reeths-Puffer defense on Friday night, capping a 29-20 playoff win with a 43-yard touchdown burst with 5 minutes remaining.

Mona Shores’ Amari Richardson with a big punt return late in the 4th quarter. Photo/Eric Sturr

“I’m just determined to keep going after that first hit,” explained Steward, who formed a lethal 1-2 punch with junior quarterback Jonathan Pittman (6-1, 221).

“Really, I’m just playing for my seniors. I don’t want to let them down.”

Mona Shores (7-3) will get a rematch next week at Muskegon (8-2) in the Division 2 district championship game at Hackley Stadium, which will likely be played Friday at 7 p.m.

The Sailors won the physical battle on the line of scrimmage Friday night, enabling them to hold off a determined Puffer team which threw everything but the kitchen sink at them in an upset bid – starting on the first offensive play of the game.

After a 65-yard opening kickoff return by Bryce Ross, the Rockets called on Ross again – this time to throw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jaxson Whitaker on a flea-flicker play, as R-P stunned the crowd of 4,000 at Sailor Stadium with a 7-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game.

But Shores, already coming off a demoralizing 21-20 overtime loss at Zeeland East last week, maintained their composure and stuck to the game plan.

That plan involved using their size advantage up front to pound out consistent 5- and 6-yard runs, especially on first down.

Shores scored the next 15 points of the game – starting with a safety when Trent Rosenthal tackled R-P’s Brody Johnson in the end zone, a 23-yard pass from Pittman to Jaeger Johnson and a 1-yard run by Pittman – and never trailed again, even though the visitors had plenty of chances.

Brody Johnson charges through for the Rockets’ second score. Photo/Eric Sturr

The Sailors got a consistent push from the front five of senior center Jaden Brown (5-9, 305), senior guards Jeremiah Love (5-10, 295) and Eric Gould (6-0, 245), senior tackle Luke Emmons (6-3, 315) and junior tackle Chris Smith (6-0, 227) – followed by the power running of Steward and Pittman.

“Last week, our O-line didn’t play well at all,” explained Emmons, about the Sailors’ upset loss at Zeeland East. “We came in on Sunday for film, took our medicine and it tasted like crap. We were ticked at ourselves and we played so much better tonight.”

Johnson, the area’s leading rusher who entered the game with 1,422 yards on 160 carries (8.9 average), scored on a 1-yard run to cut the lead to 15-13.

Shores completed the first-half scoring on Pittman’s second TD pass, a 39-yarder over the middle to Omari Hall-Brown in the back of the end zone, making the score 22-13 at the break.

Puffer (7-3), which had won four games in a row, did exactly what it had to do to open the second half.

The Rockets forced a fumble on the Sailors’ opening possession of the third quarter, then drove down the field and scored on an 18-yard pass from Antrel Jones to Whitaker. The extra point by Luke Callander pulled R-P to within two points, 22-20, with 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

However, that would prove to be the final points the Rockets would score.

Mona Shores’ Trent Rosenthal shoots through the line and tackles Reeths Puffer’s Brody Johnson for the 2-point safety. Photo/Eric Sturr

Of their three losses this season, two of them came at Sailor Stadium and both occurred, in large part, due to self-inflicted wounds. In the first loss, 28-10 on Sept. 8, Puffer committed four turnovers. In the second loss, dropped passes in the fourth quarter ended a pair of promising drives.

It was an abrupt end to an outstanding year for Puffer, which finished in a tie for second in the O-K Green and was led by a gritty group of seniors – notably Ross, Johnson, Jones, Whitaker, Kam Coleman, Travis Ambrose, Brooks Johnson, Nathan Straley, Caiden Bolduc, Max Dibble, Nathan Stafford, Ethan Winters and Lukas Johnson.

Shores’ constant pounding finally took its toll late in the fourth quarter, when Steward took a handoff and sprinted, virtually untouched, into the end zone from 43 yards out to complete the scoring.

“Ike ran like a senior tonight,” said 13th-year Mona Shores coach Matt Koziak, whose team has now won eight in a row over R-P. “We got a push up front and got him going downhill, where he was delivering hits instead of taking them.”

Rosenthal, fellow linebacker Andrew Baker, defensive end Chase Thalman and Amari Richardson led the defensive effort for Shores.

The Sailors will need another big defensive game next week to slow down Muskegon, which sprinted to a 42-21 win at Mona Shores on Sept. 15.

“I know those dudes over at Muskegon and I’m friends with some of them and they are a great team,” said Emmons, one of the Sailors’ four captains. “We want another shot at them. We’re coming and they’re coming for us.”