By Tom Kendra
LocalSportsJournal.com
MUSKEGON – Karl Brooks feels like a proud father every time Muskegon quarterback M’Khi Guy breaks away for a big run.
“I feel like a dad watching his kids takes their first steps,” explained Brooks, a behemoth, 6-4, 310-pound senior guard. “We help get them started and then away they go.”
Brooks and his buddies on the Big Reds’ offensive line were all “proud papas” Friday after Muskegon’s 42-28 win over rival Mona Shores in front of 5,000 fans in the Division 2 district title game at Hackley Stadium.
Muskegon’s “Big 3” was ultimately unstoppable and the difference in the game – with Guy rushing 23 times for 213 yards (9.3) and three touchdowns, running back Jakob Price with 11 carries for 110 yards (10.0) and two touchdowns and slotback Destin Piggee adding nine carries for 46 yards (5.0) and the final TD.
“The way our plays are built is pretty simple,” said Brooks, one of three senior starters up front, along with guard Miguel Botello and center Isaiah Williams. “We block and they run. Whatever hole opens up, they take it.”
That formula worked to perfection as Muskegon did all of its damage on the ground, rushing for 372 yards and completing just one pass all game for 11 yards.
Muskegon, now 9-2 after starting 0-2, advances to host the regional championship game next weekend against Saginaw Heritage, with the game date and time to be determined.
None of the Big Reds were thinking about that in the immediate aftermath of Friday’s cross-town clash, instead just breathing a sigh of relief after a valiant upset bid by the Sailors.
Muskegon never trailed behind its power running game, but Shores kept coming back the entire night behind a balanced and creative offensive attack.
One of the key moments of the entire game came just before halftime, when the Sailors, trailing 14-7, appeared poised to tie it at the break after an interception by Amari Richardson.
Shores (7-4) had three chances from the 1-yard line, but were unable to break the goal on any of those attempts. After defensive tackle Chris Jones and linebacker Adrian Rankin stuffed quarterback Jonathan Pittman on third-and-goal, the Sailors were out of timeouts and couldn’t stop the clock or get set in time for a fourth-down play, and the half ended with a 14-7 Muskegon lead.
“The funny part about that is we started practice on Thursday working on goal-line stands and then it paid off right away today,” said Muskegon coach Shane Fairfield, who has led his team to the state finals eight times in the past 13 years and has it two wins away from yet another appearance at Ford Field.
Muskegon – which captured win No. 897 in school history, dating back to 1895 – then used a big kickoff return by Rankin to open the second half and scored on a 27-yard run by Guy to extend the lead to 21-7.
But Shores never quit, scoring in the second half on a 12-yard pass from Pittman to Micah Carefelle, a 60-yard flea-flicker pass from Carefelle to Jaeger Johnson and a 10-yard jet sweep run by Hayden Terpstra.
The problem was, the Sailors could never get a stop after one of their scores.
Muskegon, which has now won four in a row over Shores and 9 of the last 10, finally put the game away on a 35-yard run by Price with 2:18 remaining. The other two starters up front for Muskegon are junior tackles N-Kye Wynn and Jim Harris.
The Big Reds, who finished with a slight 383-361 edge in total yards, were led defensively by Da’Shaun Wallace-Oakes, Mhakai Lenox-Brooks and Jones with seven tackles and Darekeo Speech and Lyn Wilson Jr. with six stops. Wilson also had an interception.
“These kids have really matured and grown up,” said Fairfield, whose team lost to powers Rockford and Warren DeLaSalle to open the season. “I’m not an easy guy to play for, and our coaches push them hard. But they know that us coaches love them even more.”
Terpstra, a 5-7, 160-pound senior, was outstanding in his final prep game. Terpstra rushed five times for 116 yards and a TD and caught four passes for 34 yards.
Pittman, a 6-1, 221-pound junior, completed 9-of-20 passes for 130 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions – finishing the year with 15 TD passes and no interceptions.
Andrew Baker led the Shores defense with eight tackles, Trent Rosenthal added seven tackles and Micah Carefelle added five stops.