MUSKEGON – Over the past few weeks, as pundits discussed state playoff prospects for Muskegon Catholic Central, Coach Steve Czerwon warned everyone that the Division 7 bracket was full of great teams this year.

One of those is obviously Lawton.

The Blue Devils are no traditional power like MCC. In fact they won their very first district championship in program history last week.

But they brought a powerful running game to town on Friday, and used it to beat the Crusaders 41-22 in a D7 regional championship matchup that was played on the turf at Muskegon’s Hackley Stadium.

Muskegon Catholic finished an outstanding season with a 10-2 record, a Lakes 8 Conference championship and a district championship. The Crusaders also made their longest playoff run since 2016, when they won the last of four straight Division 8 state championships.

Friday’s game was played in tough conditions, with rain drenching the playing surface right until the opening kickoff. But the slick turf did nothing to slow down Lawton running back Jake Rueff.

He broke loose for two long touchdown runs of 66 and 54 yards, and caught a 33-yard TD pass, all in the first half. His performance put MCC in a difficult come-from-behind position before halftime.

Rueff finished with 226 yards rushing on 13 carries, and helped Lawton outrush the Crusaders 384-120.

“They are a nice team, big up front with very capable backs,” Czerwon said about Lawton. “They have other weapons, so we couldn’t just key on (Rueff), but he’s an excellent runner with nice speed and he broke some tackles.”

In a way the outcome was not surprising, because Lawton came into the game with an 11-0 record, and had outscored opponents 584-94 throughout the season.

The Blue Devils didn’t take long to show off that impressive offense.

They gained a permanent lead on the opening possession of the game when Rueff scored from 33 yards out on a pass from quarterback Landon Motter. The PAT kick made the score 7-0.

Rueff struck again with 6:21 left in the first quarter when he broke loose up the middle for a 66-yard touchdown run, and the PAT made the score 14-0.

The Crusaders struck back on their next drive, going 80 yards on 13 plays and scoring on a 20-yard pass from quarterback Elliot Riegler to Dane Rutz with 10 seconds left in the first quarter. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the score 14-6.

Lawton returned the ensuing kickoff to MCC territory, then Rueff dazzled the crowd again with a 54-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage. The extra point kick failed, and the Blue Devils led 20-6.

The Crusaders had their best chance to get back in the game late in the second half, when they stopped a Lawton drive at the MCC 33 and took over the ball on downs.

MCC advanced to the Lawton 40 on a pass from Riegler to David Hill, then Riegler appeared to score on a 26-yard quarterback keeper two plays later. But the touchdown was disallowed due an MCC penalty, and the drive stalled after Riegler was sacked on the next two plays, then threw an incomplete pass.

“If that doesn’t get called back we are only one score behind, but they called a penalty, and taking those sacks and not scoring hurt us,” Czerwon said. “But the scoreboard kind of told the tale – they had a little more than we did.”

Lawton scored again on its first possession of the third quarter when Motter found the end zone on a five-yard run. The PAT kick gave the visitors a commanding 27-6 lead.

Carter Cosby added another TD for Lawton with a six-yard run with 15 seconds left in the third quarter, and the Blue Devils led 34-6 headed into the fourth.

Riegler threw a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, 55 yards to Rutz and nine yards to Hill. Lawton scored once in the final quarter, on a 19-yard pass from Motter to Mitchell Chase.

Riegler completed 14 of 23 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns. Joe Waller led the rushing attack with 43 yards on 10 carries, while Rutz caught eight passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns.

Sam Kartes paced the MCC defense with 10 tackles.

Czerson had high praise for the 10 seniors on his squad who played their final game on Friday.

“The senior class had a great work ethic, and they were a great model for the younger kids to go by,” he said.