Last week, SpartanMag.com made a long trip over to Muskegon for a matchup that pitted cross-town rivals Muskegon and Mona Shores in a battle of undefeated 7-0 teams with Michigan State recruiting implications last week.
Muskegon broke out of the gate early, scoring on its first play from scrimmage and never looked back in a convincing 55-35 win and their third straight over Mona Shores.
Cameron Martinez, a 2020 quarterback/athlete and a Michigan State target, was the player of the game, rushing for six touchdowns and 352 yards. Both marks are modern day records for Muskegon, one of the most successful programs in Michigan high school football history.
More than 6,000 fans were in attendance at Hackley Stadium. Muskegon is ranked No. 1 in Division 3 by the Associated Press, and No. 1 in MLive's overall Top 50 poll.
“We were in a big atmosphere, we did a lot of good things and I thought we played really well,” says Martinez.
Martinez is listed at 6-0, 195 in the game program, and 5-10, 185 by Rivals.com.
Rivals.com ranks him the No. 13 junior in Michigan.
With the MHSAA state playoffs coming, Martinez says he’s gaining focus on the postseason.
“We have to keep this momentum into the playoffs,” he said. “We need to approach everyone the same and make sure we do the little things right.”
Martinez has been in contact with a few schools about visiting and says Michigan State is one of them.
“I’ve been in contact with Coach Bullough,” Martinez said. “He’s the recruiting coordinator for my area and he came to my Week 3 game when Michigan State had a bye. They’ve been talking to me about getting to a game too.”
Last year, Muskegon High produced La’Darius Jefferson, who is the No. 2 tailback this fall at Michigan State as a true freshman. Jefferson led Muskegon to the Division 3 state championship as a quarterback.
Martinez transferred to Muskegon High from Muskegon Catholic Central, where he won a Division 8 state championship as a freshman.
“Transferring is the best decision I’ve ever made,” Martinez said. “It opened up so many doors for me. As for La’Darius, I’m just trying to do the same thing he did last year. Anything less than that is a disappointment.”
Martinez is listed as a 5.6 three-star “athlete” in the Rivals.com database, ranked No. 45 at that position in the country. He has played quarterback all season for the Big Reds.
His offers include Central Michigan, Syracuse, Northwestern, Kentucky, and Indiana. Central Michigan had a coach watching Martinez on Friday. Martinez has also received interest from Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Tennessee.
