River Rouge dominates Muskegon for first ever state title

In just their second ever state title appearance the River Rouge Panthers are state champions.

River Rouge (13-1) dominated Muskegon (13-1) in the division three state finals to bring home their first ever state title.

The Panthers put up 30 points on a Muskegon defense that hadn’t allowed more than 23 in a game and posted five shutouts during the season.

“We knew we had to stop Cameron Martinez,” River Rouge head coach Corey Parker said. “He’s good, but he strapped on on his helmet just like everyone else and we knew we had to take it to him.”

Quarterback Mareyohn Hrabowski led the Panthers to the victory as he had just 45 yards passing, but did most of his damage with is legs as he had 175 rushing yards and three touchdowns for the Panthers.

“I just had to follow my blocks,” Hrabowski said. “I had faith in myself and my team and we came out on top.

DeAndre Bulley also added 75 yards rushing and a touchdown for River Rouge. Bulley and Hrabowski led the way with 250 of the Panthers 285 yards on the ground.

The Panther defense limited a Muskegon offense that had averaged 49 points per game to just 7 points and limited Ohio State recruit Cameron Martinez to just 108 rushing yards on 34 attempts. Martinez did not complete a pass against River Rouge.

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River Rouge brings home their first state title in school history in a game where they were a massive underdog.

“We are known for basketball,” Parker said. “Now we have a football title and 20 years from now these guys are going to be telling the next generation how they won the first title in 2019.”

For the second consecutive season Muskegon has fell short in the state title game. Last season Muskegon lost to Detroit Martin Luther King, 41-25. The Big Reds fall to 6-6 in state title games while River Rouge moves to 1-1.