These eager young players are ready to face their opponents.
(Photos courtesy of Localsportsjournal.com)
By Tom Kendra
LocalSportsJournal.com
Muskegon won a state championship last year behind a senior class, which - in the total package of athletic talent, academics, leadership and character - might have been the best in the 149-year history of the school.
The Big Reds graduated seven three-year starters, including big names like M’Khi Guy, Destin Piggee, Jakob Price, Demarion Taylor and Miguel Botello.
But the loss of all that firepower and leadership hasn’t seemed to faze Shane Fairfield, who is entering his 15th year as Muskegon’s head coach.
“One thing we have never done here since the playoffs started is go back-to-back,” said Fairfield, who hauled in a slew of state and national coaching awards after leading his team back from an 0-2 start and a 21-7 halftime deficit in the Division 2 championship game over Warren DeLaSalle.
“That is a huge motivator for this team.”
Such is life at Muskegon High, where it is said, tradition never graduates, and competing for a state title is always the preseason goal.
Muskegon hopes to repeat this year behind the highest profile transfer in the state, as senior quarterback James Young (6-2, 190) is the projected starter after an all-state junior campaign last fall at North Muskegon.
Young enrolled at Muskegon in March with a rocket arm and some eye-popping numbers from a year ago, when he completed 151-of-241 passes (63 percent) for 2,623 yards, 33 TDs and eight interceptions.
The challenge for Muskegon offensive coordinator Montrell Dockery (who is assisted by run game coordinator Matt Bolles and passing game coordinator Kam Williams) is to help Young make the transition from Division 7 to Division 2 and to incorporate more passing into an offense that generated more than 86 percent of its yardage on the ground last season.
All four of the wideouts will be new starters, with seniors Michael Piggee Jr. and Marquise Hendricks expected to start at slot and senior Danelle Lawrence and junior Demetrius Rainey-Brown at wide receiver.
The Big Reds also have a pair of talented QBs with experience running the veer option offense in junior Lamar Bradford (5-6, 150), who led the Little Reds to a 7-1-1 JV season last year, and senior Lyn Wilson III (5-9, 160), M’Khi Guy’s backup last season.
The combination of speedy junior Keshawn Drummer (5-6, 160) and powerful senior Adrian Rankin Jr. (6-0, 220) will get most of the carries.
The only two returning offensive starters are a pair of Division I commits on the offensive line in tackles N’Kye Wynn (6-5, 243), a Rutgers commit, and Jim Harris (6-5, 295), committed to Virginia. Other projected starters up front are juniors Ernesto Botello and Caleb Lardie and sophomore Javen Puhalski.
“Our success on offense all stems from good offensive line play,” said Fairfield. “That is constant. We are looking to be aggressive and win the line of scrimmage on every play.”
Muskegon will likely have to show its hand offensively right away, facing off against tough defenses at home against Zeeland West (Week 1) and at Rockford (Week 2).
The Big Reds are far more experienced and settled on the defensive side, where a pair of senior Division I recruits at linebacker - Darekeo Speech (6-1, 230) and Rankin Jr. - spearhead a defense with six returning starters.
Other returning starters are senior Robert Mills (5-11, 260) and sophomore Recarder Kitchen (6-5, 230) up front and seniors Mhakai Lenox-Brooks and Wilson III in the secondary.
After those two blockbuster opening games, Muskegon gets into the new-look, O-K Green Conference, which is down from eight teams to six teams - with Zeeland West, Zeeland East, Wyoming and Holland leaving, replaced with Byron Center and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.
“On top of trying to win the conference, you’ll have to play a couple twice if you want to make a run,” said Fairfield, as Shores, Reeths-Puffer, BC and FHN were all playoff teams last year.
The Big Reds then wind up the regular season on Oct. 26 with a home game that is already generating tremendous buzz against Cincinnati Moeller, an Ohio football powerhouse that has won five national championships.
Muskegon’s state championship last year was Fairfield’s second as head coach (to go along with seven runner-up finishes), but it was also the school’s 900th victory - the sixth-highest total in the nation. Only two other schools in Michigan have more than 700 wins - Ann Arbor Pioneer (745) and Menominee (700).
This fall, Fairfield is on the verge of another milestone.
He has 154 victories at Muskegon and needs three wins to surpass Leo Redmond (156) as the all-time winningest coach in 130 years of Big Red football.
LocalSportsJournal.com
Muskegon won a state championship last year behind a senior class, which - in the total package of athletic talent, academics, leadership and character - might have been the best in the 149-year history of the school.
The Big Reds graduated seven three-year starters, including big names like M’Khi Guy, Destin Piggee, Jakob Price, Demarion Taylor and Miguel Botello.
But the loss of all that firepower and leadership hasn’t seemed to faze Shane Fairfield, who is entering his 15th year as Muskegon’s head coach.
“One thing we have never done here since the playoffs started is go back-to-back,” said Fairfield, who hauled in a slew of state and national coaching awards after leading his team back from an 0-2 start and a 21-7 halftime deficit in the Division 2 championship game over Warren DeLaSalle.
“That is a huge motivator for this team.”
Such is life at Muskegon High, where it is said, tradition never graduates, and competing for a state title is always the preseason goal.
Muskegon hopes to repeat this year behind the highest profile transfer in the state, as senior quarterback James Young (6-2, 190) is the projected starter after an all-state junior campaign last fall at North Muskegon.
Young enrolled at Muskegon in March with a rocket arm and some eye-popping numbers from a year ago, when he completed 151-of-241 passes (63 percent) for 2,623 yards, 33 TDs and eight interceptions.
The challenge for Muskegon offensive coordinator Montrell Dockery (who is assisted by run game coordinator Matt Bolles and passing game coordinator Kam Williams) is to help Young make the transition from Division 7 to Division 2 and to incorporate more passing into an offense that generated more than 86 percent of its yardage on the ground last season.
All four of the wideouts will be new starters, with seniors Michael Piggee Jr. and Marquise Hendricks expected to start at slot and senior Danelle Lawrence and junior Demetrius Rainey-Brown at wide receiver.
The Big Reds also have a pair of talented QBs with experience running the veer option offense in junior Lamar Bradford (5-6, 150), who led the Little Reds to a 7-1-1 JV season last year, and senior Lyn Wilson III (5-9, 160), M’Khi Guy’s backup last season.
The combination of speedy junior Keshawn Drummer (5-6, 160) and powerful senior Adrian Rankin Jr. (6-0, 220) will get most of the carries.
The only two returning offensive starters are a pair of Division I commits on the offensive line in tackles N’Kye Wynn (6-5, 243), a Rutgers commit, and Jim Harris (6-5, 295), committed to Virginia. Other projected starters up front are juniors Ernesto Botello and Caleb Lardie and sophomore Javen Puhalski.
“Our success on offense all stems from good offensive line play,” said Fairfield. “That is constant. We are looking to be aggressive and win the line of scrimmage on every play.”
Muskegon will likely have to show its hand offensively right away, facing off against tough defenses at home against Zeeland West (Week 1) and at Rockford (Week 2).
The Big Reds are far more experienced and settled on the defensive side, where a pair of senior Division I recruits at linebacker - Darekeo Speech (6-1, 230) and Rankin Jr. - spearhead a defense with six returning starters.
Other returning starters are senior Robert Mills (5-11, 260) and sophomore Recarder Kitchen (6-5, 230) up front and seniors Mhakai Lenox-Brooks and Wilson III in the secondary.
After those two blockbuster opening games, Muskegon gets into the new-look, O-K Green Conference, which is down from eight teams to six teams - with Zeeland West, Zeeland East, Wyoming and Holland leaving, replaced with Byron Center and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.
“On top of trying to win the conference, you’ll have to play a couple twice if you want to make a run,” said Fairfield, as Shores, Reeths-Puffer, BC and FHN were all playoff teams last year.
The Big Reds then wind up the regular season on Oct. 26 with a home game that is already generating tremendous buzz against Cincinnati Moeller, an Ohio football powerhouse that has won five national championships.
Muskegon’s state championship last year was Fairfield’s second as head coach (to go along with seven runner-up finishes), but it was also the school’s 900th victory - the sixth-highest total in the nation. Only two other schools in Michigan have more than 700 wins - Ann Arbor Pioneer (745) and Menominee (700).
This fall, Fairfield is on the verge of another milestone.
He has 154 victories at Muskegon and needs three wins to surpass Leo Redmond (156) as the all-time winningest coach in 130 years of Big Red football.
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