Harbor Beach 49, Reese 8
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Harbor Beach Offense, Defense & Special Teams All Connect for First Postseason Victory
October 31, 2025 — MHSAA Division 08 Playoffs - District Semi-Final — Harbor Beach, Michigan
Harbor Beach scored on their first four drives of the night and routed the Reese Rockets, 49-8 to begin the MHSAA Division 08 Playoffs on Friday, October 31, 2025. Four different Pirates scored a total of seven touchdowns to advance to the District Championship against the USA Patriots next week.
Rogan Messing started the scoring blitz for Harbor Beach on their first drive, less than five minutes into the game. The Pirate offense was back on the field just two minutes later after Reese was forced to a three-and-out punt, which Harbor Beach turned into seven more points in three minutes with senior quarterback Caden Bucholtz running it in from 39 yards out. Reese’s next drive started to move the ball, consisting of 14 plays and lasted for over eight minutes, but was cut short after Steele Stricker’s pass was intercepted by Benson Harper. Harbor Beach scored their third touchdown of the night one minute and 12 seconds later after a big completion to Matt Geiger, followed by a pair of runs and a touchdown from Keagun Potestivo to make it 21-0 halfway through the second quarter.
The next two drives for Reese ended in punts, followed by one more Harbor Beach score, Messing’s second of the night, before the half ended with a 28-0 lead for the Pirates. Reese’s first drive of the second half was stopped on fourth down, resulting in a turnover on downs, which again, Harbor Beach converted into seven more points, Messing’s third and final touchdown to go ahead 35-0, halfway through the third quarter. Another three-and-out punt for Reese led to Harbor Beach’s sixth score of the night when Potestivo broke out on the very next play for 64 yards to put the Pirates up 42-0 with 3:02 left in the third quarter.
Reese was finally able to find the end zone on their third drive of the second half, consisting of 10 plays over seven and a half minutes and capped off with a Deegan Carter 11-yard run and two-point conversion. The Rocket’s high was cut short when the ensuing kick was brought in by sophomore Pirate Ty Winkel and returned for a 75-yard touchdown. Skiler Kruse’s seventh extra-point made it 49-8 with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Ameriprise Financial Player of the Game: Rogan Messing
Rogan Messing averaged 11.7 yards per carry to lead the Harbor Beach Pirates’ offense with 129 yards on just 11 carries, finding the endzone three times.
The Player of the Game t-shirts are made possible by our broadcast partner, Larsen Graphics of Caro.
Messing paced the Pirates with 129 yards on 11 carries, scoring three times and was named the Ameriprise Financial Player of the Game for the second time this season. Not to be outdone, Potestivo finished with 119 yards and two scores on just five touches. Altogether, Harbor Beach ran the ball 28 times for 326 yards and six rushing touchdowns, an average of 11.6 yards per carry. Bucholtz threw two passes on the night, completing one to Geiger for 36 yards.
Reese had Carter finish with 109 yards and the lone score for the Rockets with 17 carries. He also brought in one pass for 13 yards. Rocket Luke Messing caught two balls from Stricker for 30 yards. Stricker went seven for 15 in passing for 54 yards and one interception. The Rockets finish the season with a 5-5 record after making the playoffs for the second straight year.
Harbor Beach now advances to their third straight district championship appearance to face the USA Patriots with an undefeated 10-0 record. Coverage will begin on Friday, November 07, 2025 at 6:00pm on Sports Radio 102.1FM, wlewsports.com with video coverage on the NFHS Network (subscription required) presented by Scheurer Health.