General | August 25, 2023 | 21:11
Hailed as one of the state's games of the year, perennial powers River Rouge and Belleville went at it Friday at the Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State's Tom Adams Field.
Not lost in the hype was Bryce Underwood, one of the top quarterbacks in the state and the nation's top recruit in the class of 2025.
With two state titles already under his belt and only one loss at Belleville, Underwood is attempting to make it three titles in a row.
He was expected to be the difference in this battle of Division 1 and Division 3 Titans in front of a near-capacity crowd.
In the first half he was average, but with the game on the line Underwood threw a 45-yard strike with seven seconds to play to Julian Johnson, securing the 35-28 victory.
"We knew we had to score because I didn't want to go into overtime,'' said Johnson. "Coach (Calvin Norman) called the switch with me and my No. 1 receiver. The DB stumbled a little bit and I hit him with the inside move, fade; Bryce hit me with the ball, I caught it and touchdown.''
Underwood was 16 of 30 for 255 yards and the winning score.
"The quarterback did his job,'' said Norman. "He stayed composed and kept the team composed. We knew when they gave us 30 seconds we had enough time on the clock to score.''
Nicholas Marsh, who was fantastic, scored a three-yard touchdown for River Rouge with 32 seconds left, then pitched the ball for the two-point conversion to Davion Hill, tying the game.
Then it was Underwood's show.
Michigan commit Jeremiah Beasley got the scoring started with an eight-yard run to end a seven-minute drive. They key play was Underwood's 29-yard pass to Julian Johnson on third-down and 18.
River Rouge used a fake punt which saw All-State receiver Marsh go 29-yards for a first down.
Jamori Biggs burst up the middle for an eight-yard Rouge touchdown, but the extra point was no good as the Tigers continued to lead, 7-6.
Adrian Walker returned the kickoff 40-yards and a personal foul penalty on Rouge gave the Tigers great field possession to start the second quarter.
Starting at the Rouge 40, Beasley, an All-State linebacker, tacked on his second TD on an 18-yard run to give the Tigers a 14-6 lead.
Joseph Stephens intercepted a McKale McDowell pass and returned it to the Rouge 38 to give Belleville and Underwood another short field.
Reed turned the miscue into a 22-yard TD as the Tigers pulled away to a 21-6 lead with 9:11 left in the first half.
Rouge mounted a scoring drive to start the third with Marsh running from under center.
He scored on a 10-yard run with 6:40 left in the third then ran in the two-point conversion to get the Panthers to within 21-14.
Walker burned the Panther special teams again with a 55-yard return to the Rouge 30.
The Rouge defense rose to the occasion and stopped the Tigers on downs.
Walker eventually extended the Tigers lead when he hauled in a 17-yard score to end the third quarter, giving Bellville a 28-14 lead.
It didn't last long.
Marsh took the kickoff 95 yards for the score to trim the deficit to eight, 28-20, when Davion Hill was short on the two-point Rouge conversion attempt.
