Week one of the playoffs is out of the way, and now it’s time for our takeaways from Detroit Martin Luther King’s 41-28 win over River Rouge.
Detroit Martin Luther King
Moore Shows Why he’s a 5-star.
Dante Moore played a perfect game, essentially in the win on Friday. Going 20 for 25 in passing for 273 yards and four touchdowns, Moore’s game was near complete as he looked more locked in than he did in the week three win over Cass Tech. If Moore can keep this up, look for MLK to make it back to the State-Finals and repeat as Division 3 Champs.
Size Size Size
The size of King’s players was massive, with 24 players over 6 feet, including two that were over 6’5″. On offense, Quarterback Dante Moore just needs to throw up to one of his wide receivers, and they should be able to bring it down due to the size difference. King shouldn’t have an issue with the size until they see Mason and then again in the State Finals.
River Rouge
Rouge is in Good Hands
River Rouge may be losing senior quarterback Christian Johnson, but he barely played this season which opened the door for sophomore quarterback McKale McDowell. McDowell had been starting a majority of the season with Johnson out of the lineup due to injuries and started again vs King in the playoff loss on Friday. With a season of experience, McDowell should have built up enough chemistry with his returning receivers, Nick Marsh and Jaylen Watson, that they can make a run next year.
Muffed Punt Changes the Tone
Late in the first half, Rouge forced a King punt, but they muffed it on their own 19-yard line. That set King up with a good opportunity with 34 seconds left. King was able to score as time expired to give them a 28-20 lead. Rouge had just gone down and scored the drive before and had momentum building. It’s easy to play the what-if game, but Rouge marches down the field, and either kicks a field goal or scores a touchdown to end the half up by a field goal or touchdown it could put pressure on King, and with neither team scoring in the third, the game looks and feels different for King. Could the game have had a different outcome? Maybe, but it would have been tough as King Came alive in the 4th.