The 2023 season did not quite get off to the start that River Rouge High School was hoping for. The Panthers began the campaign with an 0-3 record before earning a 28-16 victory over Brother Rice High School on Sept. 16, which was then followed up by a 42-6 loss to St. Edward High School (Ohio).

Injuries to several key players have been a huge factor in the early struggles for River Rouge, but with the team's health starting to get somewhat back to normal, the Panthers are looking to make a run to close out the rest of the 2023 season.

With their backs against the wall, the Panthers hosted in-state foe Orchard Lake St. Mary's last Friday night for the team's homecoming game. River Rouge responded in a big way with a 35-7 win over the Eaglets.

Spartans Illustrated was on-site for the game late last week.

Led by Michigan State 2024 four-star wide receiver commit Nick Marsh, 2024 running back Jamori Biggs and others, River Rouge dominated and earned its second victory of the year.

River Rouge head coach Eric Pettway was proud of the way his team played and happy to see some of his guys back healthy.

"We were just happy to have a few guys back from injury, so that helped with a little bit of offensive explosion early on," Pettway said. "Defense actually did a great job, lights out. Special teams even was able to help out and score a touchdown as well. So, any time you're clicking in all three phases of football you're in a good spot."

The Panthers struck first on a pass play from quarterback McKale McDowell to tight end Johnny Greene.

Orchard Lake St. Mary's immediately answered on the ensuing kickoff with a return touchdown by Camren Glasker, but that would be the Eaglets' only score of the game.

The Panthers raced out to a 35-7 lead by halftime, thanks to McDowell's pass to Greene (who also later caught a two-point conversion), two long touchdown runs by Biggs, a punt return touchdown by Jaheem Richmond and an incredible touchdown grab by Marsh just before the end of the first half.

That second half was scoreless. The Eaglets threatened to get into the end zone on more than one occasion, but River Rouge stopped Orchard Lake St. Mary's at the goal line on a couple of different drives.

As mentioned, health has been a concern for the Panthers. McDowell and Biggs missed several games, while other key players missed time too, and some are still dealing with injuries.

With many players out of the lineup, Pettway and his staff have had to rely on Marsh, while others stepped up around him. While Marsh primarily plays wide receiver, River Rouge has utilized him as a wildcat quarterback, kick and punt returner, and even as a punter.

"It's been tough," Pettway said about the injuries. "Just a lot of treatment and recovery for our injured guys. We really had to lean on Nick (Marsh) throughout the stretch because he's our most electric playmaker. That's why we had to find creative ways to get him the ball, but with us getting these other guys back, now that's letting him do what he does — make plays down the field like you saw him do at the end of the half. At that point, he's unstoppable."

While his teammates have been sidelined, Marsh has had to lead both on the field and off of it.

"Just been more of a leader," Marsh said about how he has stepped up while his teammates were injured. "Playing different roles for this football team, doing a lot more than I usually do."

Perhaps the play of the game on Friday night came on Marsh's touchdown catch as time expired in the first half.

Marsh was lined up on the right side of the formation, but ended up crossing all the way over to the left side of the field on his deep post route and catching the ball in the end zone amidst a sea of Eaglet defenders. It initially looked like McDowell was perhaps targeting the wide receiver down the sideline, but Marsh knew the ball was coming to him and he came down with it for a touchdown.

He broke down the play for Spartans Illustrated.

"I just happened to be running to that side of the field," Marsh explained about the touchdown catch. "We had a (route) concept, double post, and our quarterback was rolling out to the left, so I knew I had to just keep running toward that side. He ended up seeing me, I saw him cock his arm back, and I knew he was going to me, but probably nobody else saw that, but we've got that connection where we know where the ball is going.

"So, I just kept running, staying in stride throughout the play, and being able to track that ball was pretty hard, but somehow I came down with it, just maintaining focus with it throughout the whole catch, even after I hit the ground. It was a pretty hard catch to maintain, so I just stayed focused throughout the contact with the ball, and just really locked in with it."

When discussing Marsh's impressive touchdown reception, and the Michigan State commit's talent level overall, Pettway had the following to say:

"I've always wondered, with a lot of things that Nick (Marsh) does, how does he do it? He's just gifted. He's gifted, and that's the best thing I can say about him."

It was not just Marsh who led the Panthers to victory last Friday night, though. His teammates helped out in a big way.

Pettway credited his defense, his offensive line (2025 offensive lineman Jaylen Pitts is another name to watch from River Rouge) and the work that Biggs was able to put in after returning to the lineup.

"Definitely Jamori Biggs," Pettway said when asked what other players stood out to him on Friday night. "I think he rushed for close to 200 yards. That's a work day right there. With that being said, he didn't do it alone. Our offensive line really worked this week to be able to establish dominance in the run game because they felt like it's something that they've been lacking this season."

Russell Hughes, who works as River Rouge's wide receivers coach alongside Lance Collins (who also has the role of pass game coordinator) was also excited to see what his squad could do when healthy.

"It was Mckale McDowell's and Jamori Biggs' first game back since Week One and they played great," Hughes explained. "The offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and we ran the ball well. Biggs showed a second gear that you don’t expect to see at 235 pounds. He’s tough to tackle. Nick (Marsh) made a couple catches in good ole 'Marshed' fashion and our defense played lights out and didn’t give up a score. It felt great to get back to good power run 'Rouge Football.'"

From here on out, any loss could derail the Panthers' 2023 season. Marsh loved the way his teammates were able to rise to the occasion and get a big win against Orchard Lake St. Mary's.

"Just having some of our key guys come back, just having some of our star players come back in was a little bit more motivation to go out there and play harder," Marsh said about the win over OLSM. "We've got a lot of seniors. That game could have cost us our season, our playoffs (if we would have lost). We put it all on the line out there, and just played a little bit harder than any other game."

Marsh noted that the mindset for the Panthers now is just to win out and see what happens. He expects River Rouge to take care of business the rest of the way.

"River Rouge is gonna make a statement this year," Marsh said. "We started off a little rough, but we're coming back to make a statement."

River Rouge will play Euclid High School (Ohio) this coming Friday night

Obviously, there have been a lot of changes at Michigan State since Marsh recommitted to the Spartans in July.

Mel Tucker was officially fired as MSU's head football coach last week. The Spartans have seen two players in the 2024 class decommit in the past two weeks (defensive backs Reggie Powers III and Camren Campbell), but Marsh is not in a rush to make any sort of similar decision.