By Melvin Lane
LocalSportsJournal.com
GREENVILLE – “It never gets old” is something Muskegon head coach Shane Fairfield told his players as the journey of this Big Reds team once again will finish next week at Ford Field.
On Saturday, Muskegon defeated East Lansing, 42-7, in the Division 2 semifinals at Greenville High School.
Muskegon’s Jakob Price (4) looks back at his squad after finding the end zone. Photo/Craig Smith
Opportunistic defense and tough running were the recipe for success for Muskegon. The Big Reds raced out to a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter behind a Jakob Price 20-yard touchdown run and Da’Carion Taylor 66 “pick-6” to end the quarter.
The Trojans got on the board with 7:32 left in the second when Donatveus Royals returned a Muskegon fumble 20 yards for a score.
The Big Reds didn’t flinch as they marched down the field with big runs from Price as he found the end zone on a 16-yard touchdown run.
East Lansing was threatening to score, but Trojans star running back Jace Clarizio was met by Keon Drummer on a fourth and one run at the 38-yard line, forcing a turnover. Price’s big day continued as he ran 61 yards for his third touchdown and surpassed 200 yards rushing before the half. Muskegon had a comfortable 27-7 lead at half.
“We are getting better every week,” Price said. “From the first 2 weeks of the season, you can see all the growth. I know I regret how last year ended because I feel we got a whole lot of unfinished business out there.”
A third quarter filled with flags saw only one touchdown scored by Adrian Rankin Jr. from 16 yards and M’Khi Guy scored the 2-point conversion.
Destin Piggee makes a cut for Muskegon. Photo/Craig Smith
The Big Reds’ defense continued their dominance and forced three turnovers as they picked off East Lansing quarterback Ben Fletcher three times in the final quarter. Taylor had two of his three interceptions in the final period and Rankin Jr. picked off Fletcher with 2:08 left to shut down a Trojan drive.
“This means a lot especially to our senior class” Taylor said. “Our freshman year it was COVID, so we weren’t around each other a lot, but since then, we’ve been building,” said Taylor. “Coach Fairfield has guided us to the right spot. On defense, coach tells us alignment and assignment and if we do that, we’re hard to score on.”
Muskegon held an East Lansing team that averages 35.4 points per game to just seven points and 111 yards of total offense to go along with four turnovers.
Big Reds quarterback M’Khi Guy got to start on defense in the secondary and was one of four players to lead Muskegon with five tackles. Darekeo Speech, Rankin Jr. and Stanley Cunningham were the other players with five tackles. Offensively, Price led the Big Reds with 308 yards and four touchdowns on 28 attempts. Guy rushed for 91 yards as Muskegon racked up 438 yards all on the ground.
“I’m so happy for these guys,” said Fairfield. “Since seventh and eighth grade, they’ve just done things the right way. We’ve had some remarkable teams and individuals play. Big Reds football is special, but for some reason, these guys really embrace it. Our team has that no flinch mentality. We got that from former Big Red Jared Pittman. We didn’t flinch after losing our first two games. We didn’t try to lose them on purpose, we just had to find out who we were. We had very emotional talks from our seniors after those games in huddles. We didn’t flinch and here we are 13 weeks later heading to Ford Field.”
Muskegon will face a familiar opponent in Warren De La Salle, which defeated the Big Reds 40-28 in the second week of the season. De La Salle is looking for its third straight Division 2 state title. Muskegon will look to add another championship to its historic program. A Muskegon victory would give them 900 victories in school history.
The championship game is 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Ford Field.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS SHOT BY KAM WILLER.
Take a look at more photos shot by Craig Smith.
