The No. 16 team in the country according to USAToday and the No. 15 team according to Student Sports lived up to the hype on Friday afternoon in the Pontiac Silverdome. Muskegon, featuring four-star defensive tackle Terrance Taylor, improved their record to 14-0 on the year with a 31-7 victory over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in the Michigan state finals of Division 2.

Muskegon head coach Tony Annese has routinely downplayed his team’s national ranking, stating at the beginning of the season, “I can’t imagine we are one of the best teams in the nation. We just want to be one of the top teams in the state.” But the end product as witnessed by the state finals crowd in the Silverdome on Friday was every bit deserving of a national ranking.

Despite the large final margin of victory, Muskegon went into the half down to Orchard Lake St. Mary’s after the Eaglets recovered a fumble inside the Muskegon ten-yard line in the second quarter and converted it into a score to take a 7-6 edge. The Big Reds had taken the early lead on a three-yard touchdown reception by split end Anthony Crump from quarterback Jason Ruud.

It was the dominating fashion in which Muskegon emerged from the locker room that ultimately sealed the game for the Big Reds. On their second play from scrimmage in the half, Ruud took off through the middle of the Eaglets defense for a 45-yard touchdown jaunt and gave his team a 14-7 lead following a two-point conversion. Muskegon would add to that advantage two more times in the third quarter, on touchdowns from Breck Chandler and Ronald Johnson, the second coming on a 31-yard pass from Ruud.

A Tyler Stone 25-yard field goal at the 8:03 mark of the fourth quarter capped off the victory for Muskegon who held the normally potent Orchard Lake St. Mary’s offense to just 34 yards before the second stringers entered the game midway through the fourth quarter. St. Mary’s falls to 12-2 on the season.

This game could have been billed as the matchup of two future Wolverines as St. Mary’s defensive end Chris McLaurin took the field opposite Taylor. The 6-3, 230-pound McLaurin was recently named all-Metro by the Detroit News after tallying 97 tackles and 10.5 sacks as a senior.

A three-star prospect, McLaurin uses great speed and athleticism to come off the end and wreak havoc for opposing offenses, but on this day he was standing back and reading plays. For the game he finished with eight tackles, but just one for a loss. On offense he struggled as he dropped two passes in the flats.

On the opposite side of the field, Taylor did what Taylor does. St. Mary’s head coach George Porritt had his offense run opposite of the side Taylor was on, but the dominating defensive tackle was still effective disrupting the flow of plays in the backfield. He finished the game with three tackles including one for a loss.

Two interesting sophomores were also on the field Friday. Cornerback and wide receiver Dionte Allen of St. Mary’s is already being talked about as an up and coming Division 1 prospect. The 5-10, 170-pounder was an unofficial visitor to Michigan earlier this year when the Wolverines hosted Minnesota. In the state championship game he was one of the few bright spots for the Eaglets, coming up and making open field tackles on Muskegon’s elusive tailbacks and shutting down his side of the field in the passing game. He finished the day with five tackles.

On the other side of the football, Ronald Johnson has not gotten the type of attention Allen has at similar stages, but he has done many of the same things as the St. Mary’s standout. His touchdown reception in the state championship game was impressive because it was a tough catch to make, but Johnson’s primary contributions come on the defensive side of the football. At 5-11 and 180-pounds, Johnson is a hard hitter, but also possesses very good speed. If these two teams meet again in the next two years, expect Johnson and Allen to be the stars.

As it was, Muskegon took home their third state title and notched their Michigan High School record 695th win. The next time McLaurin and Taylor meet it will likely be next summer in Ann Arbor as the two athletes begin their college careers – on the same team.