Midland - The first couple of minutes in every game is a time for teams to feel each other out.  The problem is, by the time you get a feel for Muskegon it may already be too late.  Davison started the game on offense testing out their wide open attack with bubble screens and plays designed to attack the corners.  The Big Reds had none of it.  Muskegon's team speed wreaked havoc on Davison's first try on offense, forcing a three and out.  When Muskegon's offense took the field, it took just one play to get on the board.  After a short punt that ended up rolling backwards, the Big Reds took over at Davison's 24.  Leggett took the first down carry 24 yards straight to the house and an early lead.  Leggett also scored on the 2 pointer, to make it 8-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, Davison failed to come up and field it.  The ball rolled back to the 5 yard line where Jeremy Wilson picked it up, was almost tackled in the endzone and got it back out to the 5, starting the drive there.  Davison started to go up top.  QB Jared Cowan was a bit long on his throws but that could be attributed to excitement, something that got a whole lot better as the game went on.  Davison was forced to punt again deep in their own end.  Muskegon took over at the Cardinal's 38.  Davison's came up with three solid stops, forcing a forth down and 2.  4th down was a heart breaker though.  QB Chris Crawford took the snap went left on the option and pitched it out to Doriel Miller just as he was about to be hit.  Miller danced along the sidelines and took it in not only for a first down conversion but a 30 yard score as well. 

Davison went into their bag of tricks on their next possession.  Cowan got the snap, hit backup QB Ben Welch, who then tossed it back to Cowan.  Cowan then went deep over the middle to Garrett Stephens.  40 yards later, Davison was in business at the Muskegon 41.  A few plays later, Cowan hit Jeremy Wilson on the left sideline, who got it down to the Big Red's 14 for 34 more yards.  Faced with 4th and 5 from the 9, Davison went for it.  They handed it off to RB Richard Kirksey on a stretch play, left.  Kirksey fought his way down to the 5 but came up a yard short.  After stopping Muskegon and forcing a punt, Davison looked to be in business again.  They went up top over the middle, for it all.  The ball was thrown into double coverage however.  Doriel Miller came down with the acrobatic interception, stopping another Cardinal threat.

Back on offense Muskegon was pounding the ball down the field.  With just over 10 minutes to go in the first half, Leggett took the handoff at his own 40 and bulled his way down to the Cardinal 12, for 48 yards.  On the very next play, Crawford optioned to Miller who walked into the endzone for the score and a
22-0 lead after a Leggett 2 point run. 

Down 22, Davison wasn't about to pack it up.  With Muskegon in Davison territory again and the clock near 6 minutes to go in the half, Crawford went deep to All-Stater Ronald Johnson.  Johnson was covered by Jeremy Wilson.  The Johnson-Wilson match-up on both sides of the ball was one of those interesting features that fans talked about all week.  On this battle, Wilson came down with the pick and ran it back deep into Big Red territory.  The momentum was short lived.  Defensive Back Bobby Miller re-claimed the ball for Muskegon.  On the play he actually tipped the ball to himself on the left sideline and got both feet in the make the circus style pick.

Muskegon then put the punctuation point on the first half.  Ashton Leggett, from his own 14 took the handoff up the middle, burst through and raced 86 yards in all for the score.  Conor Donovan added the extra point and put the Big Reds up 29-0 with just over a minute to go in the first half.  It was a back breaker. especially since Muskegon would get the ball to start the 2nd half.

Davison showed the resolve that they had played with all season in the 2nd half.  After holding Muskegon in check, the Cardinals got their first crack on offense in the 2nd half.  After a big pass interference call on Ronald Johnson, Davison moved the ball up inside of the Big Red 40.  Cowan then went to the error.  Davison spread the field, 4 wide, with Kirksey in the backfield.  Cowan took the snap and hit Trevor Cousineau on a quick post on the right side.  Cousineau made the nice grab, raced down the middle of the field and dragged a Muskegon defender into the endzone.  It was an uplifting score for the Cards.  Cowan added a 2 pointer and all of a sudden it started to look like a ball game.  Especially since we had just started the 2nd half.  Things even looked better when Davison stopped Muskegon for the 2nd consecutive possession.  Davison couldn't do anything with the ball however and that's when things started to get ugly.  After the punt, Muskegon went to the air, just one of the few times they passed all afternoon.  Crawford went deep along the left sideline to Doriel Miller, who hauled in the pass and ran 56 yards in all for the score. 

Muskegon, blessed with loads of skill, got a little bit of luck on their next and final scoring play.  From the Davison 25, Crawford took the option keeper up the gut for a nice gain but hen was stripped.  The ball oddly shot straight into the air and right into the arms of a nearby Darvin Hughes-Arnold.  Arnold caught the ball in mid-air and took it in for 6.  It was Muskegon's final score, but it would be more than enough.

With pride on the line, Davison sucked it up and added two fourth quarter scores.  The first was a beautiful pitch and catch from Cowan to Michael Zeller. On the 30 yard TD, Zeller laid out and made a beautiful diving grab into the endzone.   The games final score came on a 2 yard keeper by backup QB Ben Welch.  The TD was setup by a 51 yard catch and run by Greg Yoesting.

Muskegon for a 13th straight week and more importantly for a 4th straight week in the playoffs, proved why they are one of the state's elite and in the eyes of some sportswriters, one of the best in the nation.  They have so many weapons, that it is tough to shut them down entirely.  You take away the inside and they beat you on the corners.  Davison put up a heck of an effort this afternoon but just couldn't recover from the 29-0 first half blitz. 

Muskegon moves on to play Warren De LaSalle in the D2 title game next Friday at 1PM.  For Davison, the magical season is over but not without quite a few accolades.  On the way to the semis they claimed their 5th consecutive conference title and a 2nd straight undefeated regular season.  The Cards will be back next year to make another run, led by returning QB Jared Cowan.