PONTIAC - For one half, Orchard Lake St. Mary's proved it could stare into
the eyes of the state's best team and slay what was supposed to be an
invincible Goliath.
Given no chance of even competing against No. 1 Muskegon in Friday's
Division 2 state title game, the Eaglets did just that in taking a 7-6 lead
going into the locker room at halftime and having thoughts of yet another
state title dancing in their heads. In a swift and devastating
eight-minute-and-six-second blow, those thoughts vanished like a rabbit into
a magician's hat. The Eaglets lost, 31-7.
Proving officially what many thought all year long, Muskegon showed it
was the state's best, stunning the Eaglets with three touchdowns in the
first 8:06 of the third quarter en route to a 31-7 win and the school's
first state title since 1989.
Instead of leaving the field as champions, St. Mary's left feeling how
Muskegon's 13 other opponents had felt: sad and amazed by the juggernaut
they ran into.
"We played a helluva football team out there," St. Mary's head
coach George Porritt said. "My kids played their hearts out. Their
defense is as quick as I've seen, and their offense got going in that second
half."
Muskegon's offense especially flexed its muscle in the third quarter
after the Eaglets held the Big Reds to 78 yards of total offense and senior
quarterback Jason Ruud to 17 rushing yards on six carries in the first half.
Ruud quickly skewed those stats upward, racing through the St. Mary's
defense 45 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the second half to
give Muskegon a 14-7 lead after a two-point conversion run by Breck
Chandler.
After forcing a three-and-out on defense, the Big Reds then took a
two-touchdown lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by Chandler with 6:06 left in
the third quarter.
With St. Mary's already staggered, Ruud then delivered a knockout punch
by tossing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Brian Hunter with 3:54 remaining in
the third to make it 28-7.
In the third quarter alone, Muskegon gained 141 yards of total offense,
while Ruud had 102 yards rushing on eight carries in finishing with 130
yards on 17 carries overall.
The Big Reds ended up outgaining the Eaglets 343-56 in total offense for
the game.
"We didn't stop the quarterback, and that was the main reason why
their offense succeeded," St. Mary's senior co-captain Malcolm
Arrington said.
"They had some big plays running their option and we couldn't
contain it. We contained it in the first half, but we couldn't contain it in
the second half.
Muskegon struck first with 2:16 left in the first quarter on a 4-yard
touchdown pass from Ruud to Darius Merritt, who outfought St. Mary's
cornerback Zack Stogdill in the back of the end zone to make it 6-0 Big
Reds.
After a St. Mary's offsides penalty on the extra-point attempt, the Big
Reds decided to go for two, but Ruud was tackled short of the goal line.
With 7:58 left in the second quarter, Muskegon then gave St. Mary's an
early Christmas present that resulted in the eventual false hope at
halftime.
The Eaglets recovered a fumbled lateral pass by Muskegon at the Big Reds'
8 and took advantage, scoring on a 2-yard touchdown pass from senior
quarterback Anthony Alexander to Stogdill with 6:02 left in the first half
that made it 7-6.
The play was set up after St. Mary's senior tight end Chris McLaurin was
interfered with at the goal line on third-and-goal from the 6.
Unfortunately for the Eaglets (11-2), it would be the only highlight of
an otherwise dismal day, especially for Alexander.
His father, Stephen, was taken into the hospital at 8 a.m. Friday morning
for open-heart surgery.
Alexander decided on his own to play.
"His father would've wanted him to," Porritt said.
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2004, St. Mary's Preparatory, Orchard Lake, Michigan. All rights reserved.
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