**ARTICLE BY MICHAEL MARKOCH**
Two teams moving in opposite directions stayed their course on Friday night, as the Muskegon Big Reds handled the Zeeland East Chix, 41-19.
The Big Reds got the scoring started early in the first quarter, when quarterback M’Khi Guy connected with wide receiver Amariyan Glover for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 8:34 to go. That lead would not last for long as Chix’ quarterback Austin Keur responded with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Rosenbe with just over a minute left in the opening quarter. After an ensuing extra point, the Chix went in to the second quarter with a surprising 7-6 advantage.
The second quarter was a little bit more of a struggle, as neither team scored for almost the entire quarter. Near the end of the half, Muskegon started to go to work. Guy scrambled for a 23-yard touchdown run to put the Big Reds back up by six with 1:24 remaining. And then, just over a minute later, Guy threw his second touchdown pass of the night, an 11-yard strike to Da’Carion Taylor, with only six seconds remaining in the half, after a muffed punt by the Chix set the Big Reds up with prime field position. Muskegon was in full control at the break, leading 20-7.
Not much would change in the second half. After his first quarter touchdown, Keur and the Chix offense struggled to move the football with great consistency. Early on in the half, Keur dropped back and threw an interception to Big Reds’ cornerback, CJ Ivy. Ivy would proceed to take it to the house for a 47-yard pick-six. That stellar defensive play ballooned the lead to 27-7 with 8:43 left in the third quarter.
Running back Jakob Price would add a touchdown on the ground for the Big Reds and Guy would throw his third touchdown of the night, 57 yards to Destin Piggee, to put the game on ice. Keur would throw a late touchdown to make the score more presentable, but it wasn’t enough to get the victory.
The Big Reds move to 3-1 on the season and will return home next week to play Zeeland West. Zeeland East will try and regroup at 0-4 and will play a game against an opponent TBD.
