MUSKEGON – The Muskegon Catholic Central football team captured a district title for the first time in five years on Friday night with a convincing 50-14 victory over Ravenna in a Division 7 matchup at MCC.

“It’s amazing,” said senior quarterback Elliot Riegler about capturing the elusive title. “We haven’t won one of these since my brother was a junior, and that was five years ago in 2016.

“It feels really good with all the work we’ve been putting in, and it’s a trophy. That’s all there is to say. You earn those (trophies) by working hard, and I think this was the best game we’ve played all year.”

After winning a Division 8 state championship in 2016 (the last of four in a row), the Crusaders had lost two district finals, a pre-district game, and failed to make the playoffs once over the last five years.

Now the historic program, which reached its 500^th all-time victory this season, is back on the march.

“It’s good,” said Muskegon Catholic head coach Steve Czerwon about his group of seniors, many of whom played on a 3-6 team in 2018 as freshmen. “This group of kids deserves it. I look back at some of their beatings they took as freshmen and I’m happy they stuck it out.”

The Crusaders wasted no time taking control, gaining a 6-0 lead on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Riegler to Chase Willer with 8:19 remaining in the first quarter.

A David Hill two-yard touchdown run with 1:48 remaining in the opening quarter, plus a two-point conversion, extended the MCC lead to 14-0.

Riegler scored with his legs in the second quarter, dashing for a 19-yard score to give Muskegon Catholic a 20-0 lead with 9:38 left in the first half.

The Bulldogs showed some fight, however, forcing a turnover on downs and eventually scoring on a Hunter Hogan one-yard touchdown run to make the score 20-7 with 4:10 left in the half.

A Joe Waller one-yard touchdown run with 1:22 left in the half, followed by a blocked Ravenna field goal attempt, led the halftime score 26-7 in favor of the Crusaders.

In the third quarter, Waller pranced home on a 31-yard touchdown run while Hill scored on a 36-yard dash to give MCC a 42-7 advantage heading into the fourth.

Dane Rutz punched in a five-yard touchdown run with 7:22 left in the game for the final Muskegon Catholic score. Ravenna’s Dayton Thomas found the end zone on a one-yard run to wrap up the scoring.

Hill finished with 187 yards and two scores on 18 carries for MCC while Waller totaled 76 yards and one touchdown on eight carries.

Riegler completed 3 of 4 passes for 60 yards and one touchdown while adding 25 yards and another score on seven carries.

“It was insane,” said Riegler about the job his offensive line did opening up holes all night. “The running backs barely had to break any tackles. We just had holes opening up and we’re running. That really tells the whole story.”

Sam Kartes led the Crusader defense with seven tackles while Bryan Convertini totaled five. Hill finished with an interception on the defensive side while Nick Powell had a fumble recovery.

Ravenna was led on defense by Brady Stock and Brandon McFarren with six tackles each.

Ravenna ended the season with a 7-4 record, but the loss seemed less important than some difficult news the team received over the past 24 hours. The Bulldogs learned that one of their teammates, Keigan Swan, was diagnosed with leukemia.

“It puts everything into perspective,” said Ravenna Coach Justin Ego. “These things are bigger than a game. But at the end of the day you have to keep fighting, and our guys did. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but we’ll keep scratching and fighting to get there.”

Muskegon Catholic improved to 10-1 on the season and will host Lawton in a Division 7 regional final next weekend. Lawton beat Union City 35-6 in its Division 7 district final on Friday night.

“It’s great,” said Czerwon about being one of the final eight teams remaining. “Each game gets bigger. Only eight teams left and we’re one of the eight. We have a chance.”