Oakridge boys rock and roll into the playoffs for the 34th time after upending Montague

By Tom Kendra
LocalSportsJournal.com

MUSKEGON – The Oak Ridge Boys are a well-known country music band, but Noah MacFadyen explained that Muskegon County’s “Oakridge Boys” specialize in their own version of rock-and-roll.

Trever Jones rushed for 173 yards and four touchdowns and Bryson Stephenson added 116 yards and the final touchdown – all behind a dominating performance from the offensive line – as Oakridge cruised to a 35-14 win Friday night over visiting West Michigan Conference Lakes Division rival Montague.

“The linemen and the backs were working together tonight,” explained MacFadyen, one of just two senior starters up front for the Eagles. “It’s that 1-2 punch that is hard to stop. We rock, so they can roll.”

Roll is exactly what Oakridge did on the ground, completing just one pass the entire night, but rushing 58 times for 330 yards.

Oakridge, which improved to 6-3 by winning five of its final six games, have qualified for the Division 5 playoffs and hope Friday’s big win will give them enough points to host a first-round game.

The nature of the win, which saw the Eagles remain in their tight-T formation for the entire game and dominate on the line of scrimmage, was especially satisfying for 13th-year head coach Cary Harger – a star lineman for Oakridge in the late 1980s under legendary coach Jack Schugars (who then served as an assistant under Schugars for 16 years).

“I challenged our kids to control both sides of the ball,” said Harger, who took over the Oakridge program from Schugars in 2011. “On offense, we had several instances where they really got clicking. It started with being more physical up front.”

The two teams went back-and-forth in the first quarter, with the hosts scoring on a 3-yard run by Jones and Montague answering back with a 52-yard scoring run by Adam Baird.

Oakridge went up 14-7 midway through the second quarter on a 1-yard run by Jones.

Montague started driving to try and even it again, when Stephenson made the biggest play of the first half.

Stephenson, a 6-1, 182-pound junior, came up and made a big hit on Montague sophomore quarterback Mason Darke, jarring the ball loose in the process and then grabbing the ball for a fumble recovery.

That huge defensive play set up Stephenson on offense, as he bolted 35 yards off left tackle on a 4th-and-1 play to give the Eagles a 21-7 halftime lead.

Oakridge, which started the year 1-2 after consecutive losses to Hudsonville-Unity Christian and Manistee, extended its lead to 35-7 in the third quarter on TD runs by Jones from 4 yards and 24 yards.

“We all had to take a look at ourselves on the inside,” said MacFadyen, one of four senior captains for the Eagles, along with guard Aiden Johnston, defensive back Brayden Cunningham and Jones. “It feels great right now after that start. It’s so nice going into the playoffs after three rivalry wins.”

Oakridge knocked off Orchard View (50-18) and Ravenna (48-13) the past two weeks.

Oakridge, which has now qualified for the playoffs in all 13 of Harger’s seasons as head coach, is tied with Muskegon Catholic for all-time playoff berths in the Muskegon area with 34. The Eagles have played in the state finals five times and won three championships (1997, 2005 and 2008).

The Eagles finished with a 342-229 edge in total yards, including a lopsided 330-130 advantage in rushing yards, doing it all behind a double tight end offensive front – namely sophomore center Dylan Cunningham, junior Max Hannold and Johnston at guard, sophomore Brett Kroll and MacFadyen at tackle and big junior ends Evan Josza and Brayden Peterson.

Stephenson and Jones led the defense with five tackles and Brody Jennings, who returned after being out with a broken thumb, had four tackles. Brayden Cunningham had two tackles and an interception.

Montague, 4-5 and projected to make the Division 6 playoffs, completed the scoring on a 7-yard run by Baird late in the third quarter.

Baird finished with 11 carries for 111 yards and both of his team’s touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Mason Darke, who was victimized by many drops by his receivers, finished 4-of-14 for 99 yards with one interception.

Sophomore defensive tackle Maverick Osborne registered a game-high seven tackles, while Paul Olson, Ryver Jarka, Tavian Caszatt, Talan Degen and Zeke Morales all made six tackles.