Week 4 in Muskegon-area high school football is in the books.
Before moving on to the Week 5 slate, CatchMark Sports takes a look back at the week that was.
Here’s a roundup including links and details from coverage and games involving Muskegon-area teams from Thursday, Sept. 16, and Friday, Sept. 17.
WEST MICHIGAN CONFERENCE
NORTH MUSKEGON 37, HART 0
Visiting North Muskegon (2-2, 1-2 WMC) unleashed a balanced offensive attack in rolling to a conference victory over Hart Friday night. The Norsemen led 28-0 at halftime and cruised to the win.
James Young was 8-of-13 passing for 186 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He connected twice with Matt Colbert for TDs, as Colbert racked up 112 receiving yards. Denny Belmonte led the Norsemen’s rushing attack with 157 yards and a TD on 13 carries.
Kyle Huff led North Muskegon defensively with six tackles, while Nick Dana and Ben Meyers made 4 ½ stops each.
For Hart (2-2, 0-2), Chance Alvesteffer ran 11 times for 72 yards. Zane Thomas led the Pirates on defense with six tackles, while Parker Hovey had a fumble recovery and Revin Gale and interception.
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OK GREEN CONFERENCE
MUSKEGON 58, GRAND RAPIDS UNION 0
Host Muskegon (3-1, 2-0 OK Green) jumped on Union (2-2, 0-2) in the first quarter, building a 27-0 lead, and the Big Reds kept it going. They led 44-0 at halftime and finished off the shutout with a strong second half.
Meshaune Crowley ran for three TDs for the Big Reds, while Myles Walton scored one TD rushing and one passing. Dominic Sugin ran for a score, as did Alyjuan Paris. Damari Foster and Jeremiah Dault each hauled in TD receptions for Muskegon.
Sugin and Princeton Blackmon paced the Big Reds defensively with five tackles apiece.
This was the second-straight loss for Union after starting 2-0. The Red Hawks led Mona Shores 26-14 late in the first half last Friday before the Sailors roared back with 42 straight points en route to a 56-26 win.
ZEELAND EAST 17, REETHS-PUFFER 14
Reeths-Puffer sees its record even at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the OK Green with the narrow defeat. Zeeland East is 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference.
No stats or details were submitted for this game.
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OK RED CONFERENCE
GRAND HAVEN 28, WEST OTTAWA 7
Visiting Grand Haven improved to a 3-1 start for the first time since 2014 with the OK Red victory over Pat Collins-coached West Ottawa.
Owen Worthington scored first-half touchdowns on runs of 1 and 8 yards as the Buccaneers (3-1, 2-0 OK Red) built a 14-0 lead at the break.
West Ottawa (0-4, 0-2) pulled within 14-7 in the fourth quarter, but the Bucs put it away on Ryan Francis’ 9- and 32-yard TD runs. Francis finished with 105 yards on 17 carries. Worthington was 6-of-11 passing for 86 yards.
Bode Wilson paced Grand Haven defensively with eight solo tackles and two assists. Jaxon Franz had six solos and one assist, while Gaven Strong totaled five solos and seven assists. Gus Abraham added five solos, including a sack, and five assists.
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OK BLUE CONFERENCE
SPRING LAKE 35, FRUITPORT 32
Visiting Spring Lake held off Fruitport in a highly competitive Bayou Battle, in which the Lakers retained the oar trophy for a fourth-straight season.
The Trojans led 7-0 in the game’s first 1:10, then the Lakers responded with four straight TDs to take a commanding 28-7 lead. Spring Lake led 28-14 at halftime and 35-17 midway through the third quarter. Fruitport scored two-straight TDs, pulling with three with 10:49 left, but the Trojans could not overcome the Lakers.
Spring Lake’s Jackson Core was 10-of-13 passing for 209 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. For the third-straight game, the Lakers’ Christian Folkert eclipsed the 100-yard mark by finishing with 128 yards and two TDs on 17 carries. Alex Lee led the Lakers defensively with seven tackles, while Brody Lightfoot made six stops.
For Fruitport, Gavin Reames finished 16-of-31 passing for 300 yards with two TDs and no picks. Camden Farrell had a monster game with eight receptions for 158 yards and three TDs. Paschal Jolman added 73 rushing yards on nine carries with one TD. Farrell also led the Trojans’ defense with eight tackles.
Spring Lake improves to 4-0 on the season, 2-0 in the OK Blue Conference. Fruitport is 1-3 and 0-2, respectively.
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LAKES 8 ACTIVITIES CONFERENCE
MUSKEGON CATHOLIC CENTRAL 37, LUDINGTON 0
After being idle in Week 3 following a Week 2 loss at Grand Rapids West Catholic, Muskegon Catholic Central returned to action Friday night and posted a convincing victory at Ludington.
The Crusaders led 28-0 at halftime and improved to 3-1 on the season with the Lakes 8 victory.
Joe Waller paced MCC with 136 yards on 10 carries with two TDs. Elliot Riegler, David Hill and Nick Powell also scored rushing TDs. Riegler also was 3-of-3 passing for 56 yards. Sam Convertini led the MCC defense with five tackles.
For Ludington (1-3, 0-2), Trey Forfinski was 12-of-19 passing for 108 yards with two interceptions.
MUSKEGON HEIGHTS 34, MANISTEE 28
Muskegon Heights Academy improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2009 with the Lakes 8 road victory over Manistee in a back-and-forth thriller.
Ja’Kari Edwards’ 54-yard touchdown run with 5:36 left in the game proved the difference for the Tigers, who won their Lakes 8 opener. Edwards led Heights with 81 yards on four carries.
Manistee (2-2, 1-1) outgained Muskegon Heights in total offense, 408-329. The Chippewas led 14-0 in the second quarter before the Tigers responded to tie by halftime. The second half featured five lead changes.
Damond Davis caught three passes for 98 yards and a TD for Muskegon Heights.
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CSAA GOLD
NEWAYGO 45, FREMONT 28
Grant Harkness had a monster game for host Newaygo (1-3, 1-2 CSAA Gold), which built a 35-7 halftime lead en route to earning its first victory in the Mike Allison era.
Harkness finished 16-of-21 passing for 251 yards with four touchdowns and he ran 23 times for 179 yards and one score.
For Fremont (0-4, 0-3), Kyler DeKuiper was 11-of-17 for 184 yards and one TD. Justin Dirheimer rushed 21 times for 173 yards and three TDs. Wei Chen caught seven passes for 140 yards. Michael Romero led the defense with 11 ½ tackles.
HOWARD CITY TRI COUNTY 40, GRANT 14
Host Tri County improved to 3-1 overall on the season, 2-1 in the CSAA Gold. Grant slips to 1-3 and 1-2, respectively.
No stats or details were submitted for this game.
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CSAA SILVER
HOLTON 36, WHITE CLOUD 20
Austin Fowler completed 14 of 23 passes for 239 yards and five touchdowns in powering Holton a road victory over White Cloud, which suffered its first loss.
Kevin Erickson caught two of Fowler’s TD passes, while Cameron Edgerton, Rice Robins and Bret Hosmer also pulled in scoring tosses. Kaleb Nichols rushed for 115 yards on 16 carries for the Red Devils (2-2, 1-1).
Stats were not submitted for White Cloud (3-1, 1-1).
MORLEY STANWOOD AT KENT CITY
Friday’s game between Morley Stanwood and Kent City was canceled because of positive coronavirus cases in the Kent City program, Eagles coach Bill Crane confirmed with CatchMark Sports.
Crane said Kent City will attempt to make up the game later in the season, but as of Friday it was a forfeit for Eagles from his understanding.
LAKEVIEW 49, HESPERIA 8
Hesperia slips to 0-4 overall on the season, 0-2 in the CSAA Silver, with the road loss to Lakeview (1-3, 1-1).
No stats or details were submitted for this game.
