MUSKEGON – The Muskegon Big Reds knew they were loaded up for explosive offensive plays this season, with senior quarterback Myles Walton and sophomores Jakob Price and Destin Piggee in the backfield.
All three have been known to take off in a flash for long touchdowns, but on Friday night it was Piggee who took his turn dominating in a 62-16 victory over Zeeland East at Hackley Stadium.
“It feels good,” said Piggee about his performance, which totaled 120 yards and two touchdowns on only four carries. “It’s real fun. Being out there with my teammates and brothers, it just feels good to be out there.”
For Piggee, the season has been full of moments of highs and lows.
Piggee’s father, Dereko, passed away the same day the Big Reds were blown out 49-14 by Cass Tech on Sept. 3.
“It was really hard,” said Piggee about the emotional stretch of days. “But all my teammates showed me so much love. They helped me just fight through it and had my back.”
[1]On Friday night, Piggee showed the potential that he has while following in the footsteps of his father, who was an All-State player at defensive back and graduated from Muskegon in 1996.
“It’s been hard,” Piggee said. “But it feels so good to go out there and show up. It means a lot to me, and hopefully he’s proud of me. He always told me he wanted me to be better than him, and I’m trying.”
Piggee had explosive touchdown runs of 70 and 30 yards on Friday.
“That’s what Destin has done his whole career,” said Muskegon head coach Shane Fairfield. “He’s a remarkable athlete with great heart and desire. Destin is a product of his hard work. He’s got a remarkable desire and passion to play for his father right now, and you can tell.”
On Friday night, the Big Reds wasted no time tuning up for the playoffs, jumping out to a 14-0 lead after Piggee’s 70-yard touchdown run and a one-yard score by Damari Foster.
Zeeland East closed out the first quarter with a 22-yard field goal by Paige Westra to make the score 14-3.
[2]Walton punched in a one-yard run with 10:11 left in the half to extend the Big Red lead to 21-3, before a 20-yard interception return touchdown by Dominic Sugin extended the lead to 28-3.
The final first half score came on a 30-yard touchdown run by Piggee, who made multiple Zeeland East defenders miss while keeping his balance.
After halftime, Zeeland East’s Cebe Hunderman broke loose for a first play 79-yard touchdown run to cut the Muskegon lead to 35-9.
On the ensuing kickoff, Dominic Sugin took the ball 91 yards for a kickoff return touchdown, extending the Big Reds’ lead to 42-9.
“It felt good,” said Sugin, who had a defensive and a special teams touchdown in the game. “I haven’t run with the ball since sophomore year, so getting the ball and scoring again felt pretty good.”
Following a Zeeland East fumble, M’Khi Guy took over at quarterback and found Jeremiah Dault for a five-yard touchdown pass, extending the lead to 49-9 with 9:40 left in the third quarter.
[3]The final score of the third came on a 26-yard touchdown run from Demetri Chapman, giving the Big Reds a 56-9 lead after three quarters.
Jakob Price got in on the scoring party with a 17-yard rushing touchdown with 8:15 left, making the score 62-9 in favor of Muskegon.
The final touchdown of the night was a pass from Zeeland East quarterback Austin Keur, who found Hunderman for a 39-yard score, making the final 62-16.
Walton finished with 133 rushing yards and one touchdown on 12 carries while Price totaled 88 yards and one score on eight carries.
Tamareon Oakes led the Big Red defense with seven tackles while Thaddeus Parker added six tackles and a fumble recovery.
Zeeland East was paced by Hundreman, who totaled 145 yards and on score on 12 carries.
With the victory, Muskegon finishes the regular season 8-1 overall and a perfect 7-0 in O-K Green Conference play.
The Big Reds will find out on Sunday where they’ll start their postseason journey when the brackets are announced at 5:30 p.m. on Bally Sports Detroit.
“We continue to grow,” said Fairfield about his team being ready for postseason play. “We’ve gotten better each week and we continue to grow. That’s all you can ask for. Hopefully we continue to grow and keep the momentum going into the playoffs.”
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