Muskegon falls to Detroit Martin Luther King in Division 3 state finals

By Tom Kendra
LocalSportsJournal.com

DETROIT – Muskegon’s players, coaches and fans knew coming into Saturday’s state championship game that Detroit Martin Luther King quarterback Dante Moore was good.

But nobody could have imagined that he was THAT good.

Moore was even better than advertised – which is saying something – directing a virtuoso offensive performance as King could not be stopped in a 56-27 victory in the Division 3 state championship game at Ford Field.

“The kid (Moore) just played lights-out and his receivers played lights-out,” said Muskegon coach Shane Fairfield on the field afterwards.

“They deserved to win. I don’t know if we would have played with 15 guys on defense if it would have made a difference the way he was throwing the ball.”

Moore, a 6-2, 210-pound senior who has verbally committed to Oregon, completed 21-of-26 passes for 275 yards and four touchdowns – frustrating Muskegon defenders who repeatedly came within inches of either sacking him, knocking down a pass or intercepting him – before he found a way to make a play.

The theme of the game was set on the opening kickoff, when King senior Jameel Croft (a Kansas commit) took the ball at his own 4-yard line, ran across the field and then cut up, sprinting 96 yards to give his team a 7-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game.

Muskegon spent the rest of the night chasing.

And every time the Big Reds rallied, Moore and his teammates – notably Croft and senior running back Sterling Anderson – struck right back and crushed the Big Reds’ spirits.

“Those seniors, 17 of them God bless them, they fought tooth and nail, they left it our here and have nothing to be ashamed of,” said Fairfield, who is now 142-27 as Muskegon’s coach. “I hope they don’t have any regrets because if it wasn’t for their leadership, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now.”

For example, after King extended its lead to 14-0 midway through the first quarter, Muskegon junior quarterback M’Khi Guy used a hole created by center Nickarri Lane and left guard Miguel Botello to sprint 60 yards to cut the lead in half and bring the healthy contingent of red-clad fans to their feet.

The momentum was short-lived, as Moore led his team right back down the field, culminating with a 9-yard scoring pass to sophomore slotback Damon Stennis to up the lead back to 21-7.

Muskegon (11-3), a junior-dominated team, showed its fight once again, answering that with a drive of its own. This one ended when Guy appeared to be stopped on a fourth-down run, then reversed his field and scampered 8 yards to make it 21-14 with 9 minutes remaining in the first half.

But once again, Moore went to work, slicing and dicing up the Big Reds, even though they were in the right position to make plays.

Anderson scored on a 19-yard run and Stennis caught another TD pass from Moore (2 yards), as King went into the break with a comfortable 35-14 lead.

Hopes of a Muskegon comeback turn a big hit in the second quarter, when Guy was sacked and injured his ankle. Guy, a 5-9, 155-pound junior, was limping the rest of the game and turned in an incredible gutsy performance, but was obviously not close to 100 percent.

“He’s tough, he’s a warrior and he will definitely be in the Mr. Football conversation next year,” Fairfield said about his junior signal-caller.

Still, the Big Reds struck first in the second half on a 2-yard run by junior fullback Jakob Price to make it 35-21, but once again, Moore answered with a 14-yard scoring pass to Jacobe Oglesby on the final play of the third quarter.

That TD pass was typical of the entire night for Muskegon.

Moore was under heavy pressure from Muskegon defensive end Stanley Cunningham and barely got the pass away. On the other end, the 6-1 Oglesby was well covered by senior cornerback Kingston Blackmon, but at just 5-7, the ball went just over his fingertips into Oglesby’s waiting hands.

In other words, Muskegon was in the right place, but Moore & Co. were just too big, too fast and too good.

“We played against a five-star quarterback,” said Guy. “I think he’s prepared mentally and physically to play at the next level. He played quarterback at a fast tempo, he completed passes and he made great decisions.”

Moore was already the starting quarterback for King as a freshman three years ago, in 2019, when it lost 35-26 to Mona Shores, led by Brady Rose. Moore has been heavily recruited ever since, and now Michigan State is reportedly working to try and pry Moore away from Oregon and keep him in-state.

The Big Reds mounted one final comeback early in the fourth quarter, when Guy scrambled, stopped and fired a strike back across the field to fellow junior Destin Piggee who raced 71 yards to make the score 42-27 with still more than 11 minutes to play.

But this time, it wasn’t Moore, but Anderson who broke Muskegon’s heart.

Anderson took a simple handout running right, broke a tackle in the backfield and then found the edge, sprinting 80 yards to put the game away. Croft completed the scoring with his third touchdown of the game, a 12-yard pass from Moore with 5:17 remaining.

King finished with a 529-366 advantage in total yardage and a 24-12 edge in first downs.

Muskegon actually finished with a 269-254 edge in rushing yards, but MLK dominated through the air – 275-97.

While Moore was the No. 1 star of the game, Anderson was a close second with 13 carries for 207 yards and two touchdowns. He also had five catches for 58 yards.

Croft had six catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns, along with his 96-yard kickoff return for a score. Oglesby had four catches for a team-high 77 yards and a TD.

Muskegon, which starts six underclassmen in its front seven on defense, was led on that side the ball by Cunningham – 6-5, 190-pound junior who was a disruptive force with six tackles, two sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss. Senior safety Julian Neely made seven tackles and sophomore linebacker Darekeo Speech made five stops.

Unlike their last state championship game appearance in 2019 when they only managed seven points, the Big Reds’ offense came to play on Saturday – in spite of Guy’s injury.

The “big three” of juniors Guy, Price and Piggee all made many big plays.

Guy was Muskegon’s leading rusher with 20 carries for 135 yards and two TDs. Price carried 17 times for 93 yards and a score, while Piggee had five carries for 44 yards and the 71-yard touchdown reception.

In addition to those three, other underclassmen who started on Muskegon’s offense were giant guards Miguel Botello (6-4, 300) and Karl Brooks (6-4, 315), sophomore tackle N’Kye Wynn (6-5, 245) and junior wideout Da’Carion Taylor.

“We’re a young football team,” Fairfield said. “Nobody thought we’d make it this far, but we got our swagger back and we were the last team standing next to them.”

Muskegon, after starting the season 3-2, rattled off eight straight wins before Saturday’s loss.

The Big Reds advanced to the state finals for the eighth time in 11 years, and have now compiled 888 wins in 127 seasons of football – putting them within range next season of becoming the first school in state history to win 900 games.

All photos below are courtesy of LSJ photographer Tim Reilly