**ARTICLE BY MICHAEL MARKOCH**

After a slow start, the Muskegon Big Reds kept their bounce back season alive in the District Finals with a 40-14 thumping over the Coopersville Broncos. Jakob Price scored three touchdowns to lead the way for the Big Reds.

The Broncos struck first with a Nick Gordon 49-yard touchdown pass with 4:42 left in the first quarter. But then, things took a turn for the worse for the Broncos. The Big Reds got on the scoreboard with Price’s first touchdown run from a yard out, and then followed that up with an 8-yard touchdown run by quarterback M’Khi Guy for a 14-7 lead at the half.

In the second half, Muskegon began to pile it on. Price scored again to put the Big Reds up 13, then Destin Piggee caught a pass from Guy and went 40-yards for a score to increase the Big Reds’ lead to 27-7 before the halfway mark in the third. This would prove to be an insurmountable advantage for a team with as good of a defense as Muskegon has.

Price completed his hat trick with a 40-yard scamper in the fourth and Guy would finish the job with 20-yard touchdown run to put the Big Reds up 40-7 with just over four minutes remaining.

Muskegon moves on to the next round of the playoffs, where they’ll match-up with a conference opponent who has already beaten them one time this season in Zeeland West.