Performance: River Rouge's Mareyohn Hrabowski
December 6, 2019
Mareyohn Hrabowski
River Rouge junior – Football
The Panthers’ multi-talented quarterback has become the state’s most-discussed emerging star from last weekend’s MHSAA 11-Player Football Finals after leading River Rouge to an arguably unexpected 30-7 win over Muskegon in the Division 3 championship game. Hrabowski ran 15 times for 175 yards and three touchdowns and completed 6-of-12 passes for 45 yards more in leading the Panthers to their first Finals title in the sport, earning the MHSAA “Performance of the Week.”
For the season, Hrabowski ran 115 times for 1,175 yards (10.2 per carry) and 14 touchdowns and completed 78 of 108 passes for 1,045 yards and 11 scores with only two interceptions. In making its second trip to the Finals, River Rouge set a program wins record finishing 13-1 with its only loss in Week 1, by three, to eventual Division 4 champion Grand Rapids Catholic Central. The Panthers also outscored their five playoff opponents by an average score of 37-7. But the crowning achievement certainly was defeating Muskegon – the Big Reds were last season’s Division 3 runners-up and the top-ranked team entering this fall’s playoffs, and had received national recognition this fall while quarterbacked by Ohio State recruit Cameron Martinez. After the Big Reds took a 7-0 lead with a score during the final minute of the first quarter Saturday, Hrabowski scored on runs of 1, 40 and 35 yards to put the Panthers up 21-7 less than a minute into the third quarter.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound signal caller had showed his skills well all fall, but the attention likely will grow substantially after his Ford Field performance. He announced earlier this week he’d received a scholarship offer from Bowling Green, and he’ll surely be one of the most anticipated players to watch heading into next fall. Hrabowski also will play basketball for River Rouge, last season’s Division 2 runner-up in that sport, and run track next spring. He carries a 3.5 grade-point average with algebra and environmental science his favorite classes, and he enjoys building and fixing things – mechanical engineering is a field of study he’s considering after high school.
Coach Corey Parker said: “Mareyohn is a great kid, he plays the game hard, he plays the game smart, he plays the game the right way, he’s always focused and is very coachable. He’s a great leader and works hard to get the most out of his teammates. He’s hard on his offensive line on the field, yet maintains a great relationship with all of them off the field – that speaks to his character. … We were not shocked by his state championship performance at all; we knew he had a chance of having a big game if he could get through the emotional roller coaster the state championship throws at you. Mareyohn was your prototype dual threat QB at Ford Field Saturday. He ran the ball exceptionally well and completed several passes for first downs during crucial points in the game. I’m very proud of him and our QB coach, Larry Johnson. (Mareyohn) developed as the season went on and peaked at the right time.”
Performance Point: “After the game, just enjoying the moment after beating the No. 1 team in the state, and letting it soak in – the crowd, everybody was really happy. We won our first state championship in school history, so it was really big for the city, and it means a lot for everyone. It was a really big night for us, the whole team and the city.”
Taking the spotlight: “Before the game a lot of people were talking about Muskegon. A lot of people thought they were going to win. When we won the game, people started talking about River Rouge, and it put us on the map. We were looking forward to playing a game like that. We knew that the championship, that it was going to be a good team. We like playing against competition. Those big games get us hype.”
Finals formula: “To make it this far, it definitely takes teamwork, and trust, and believing in your coaches. And never giving up. It’s not easy making it to the state championship. It takes a lot of hard work. You’ve got to be consistent. Team bonding in camps, and getting to know each other and hanging out together really builds a lot of trust and believing in each other.”
Big plays, big-time player: “I was really looking forward to the opportunity. I like playing against competition. I worked as hard as I could to get to this point, and I knew I wasn’t going to give up. … I think every time I ran the ball, passed the ball, I did it like it was going to be my last. Every touchdown that I ran, I ran as hard as I could. And playing against Muskegon, it built my confidence every single time we got a big play – and that played a big role in how I played the game that night.”
More to come: “I watch (Baltimore Ravens’ QB) Lamar Jackson a lot. I like some of my game being like his a little bit. (I’m planning on) getting a little bit faster in the offseason and getting more tools for my box for next season. ... I want to show that I can pass the ball, not only run the ball, and hopefully next year will be fortunate enough to make the state championship again and win. And just keep on showing people I’m one of the best quarterbacks in Michigan.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Past honorees
Nov. 28: Kathryn Ackerman, Grand Haven swimming - Report
Nov. 21: Emily Van Dyke, Southfield Christian volleyball - Report
Nov. 14: Taylor Wegener, Ida volleyball - Report
Nov. 7: Carter Solomon, Plymouth cross country - Report
Oct. 31: Jameson Goorman, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian soccer - Report
Oct. 24: Austin Plotkin, Brimley cross country - Report
Oct. 17: Jack Spamer, Brighton cross country - Report
Oct. 10: Kaylee Maat, Hudsonville volleyball - Report
Oct. 3: Emily Paupore, Negaunee cross country - Report
Sept. 26: Josh Mason, South Lyon soccer - Report
Sept. 19: Ariel Chang, Utica Eisenhower golf - Report
Sept. 12: Jordyn Shipps, DeWitt swimming - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) River Rouge's Mareyohn Hrabowski (5) breaks away for one of his three touchdown runs Saturday while his teammates cheer him on. (Middle) Hrabowski works to evade a defender.
Notre Dame Prep Seniors Leave Legacy in Leading Irish to Historic Heights
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
December 11, 2025
DETROIT – Understandably, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep head football coach Pat Fox couldn’t even get the words out before getting choked up.
At the start of the postgame press conference following his team’s 42-14 loss to Grand Rapids West Catholic in the Division 5 championship game Nov. 30, Fox tried to introduce several members of a historic senior class.
Then, the reality set in that he wouldn’t get to coach them again.
“I love my kids, and it’s hard to say goodbye,” Fox said while fighting back tears.
With a Division 5 championship last year and a runner-up finish this fall, Notre Dame Prep has likely established itself as a perennial contender with such a great foundation laid during Fox’s 12 years at the helm.
But to Fox’s point, it certainly will be hard for future players at the school to top the standards set by this year’s senior class.
Notre Dame Prep had never advanced to an MHSAA Final before the last two years and wasn’t a program known for sustained playoff runs.
“They were (32-5) as a group,” Fox said, referring to the team’s combined record the last three years.
What made it even harder for Fox was that he has known those seniors since they were starting kindergarten at the school.
Fox recited a story about how quarterback Sam Stowe, who threw for more than 5,000 yards combined over the last two seasons, took something from his sister during a holiday concert at the school when they were young kids, and Stowe’s sister tried tackling him to get it back.
Standouts such as linebacker Brody Sink, who has signed with Miami (Ohio), wideout Drake Roa, running back Ben Liparoto, and linemen Henry Ewles and Jack Williams also have been in the building with Fox for seemingly their whole lives and last year helped deliver Fox and the school their first Finals championship.
“I’ve known all of them since they were little boys,” Fox said.
Sink said if there was a turning point where the seniors knew they could help take the program to heights never before attained, it came when they were sophomores.
“My sophomore season, we had a great team, a great quarterback and great players,” Sink said. “We ended up losing to a really good Corunna team (in a District Final). But I didn’t hang my head. I knew we’d come back next year. We had a great (senior) class coming back last year and knew it would be something special for the next two seasons. We stayed the course, and it was a very special last two years.”
After going 9-1 two years ago, Notre Dame Prep went 12-1 last fall and 11-3 this season.
Through it all, the group became heroes to younger kids in the school, who regularly came up to them in the halls to say congratulations or just chat.
“It’s pretty cool,” Stowe said. “I used to be that kid too, looking up to all the Notre Dame Prep quarterbacks. To be that guy, you have to appreciate it and I’m totally humbled to be in the spot where I’m at today.”
Fox did say that before the senior class arrived at the varsity level, the program was “knocking on the door for a while” of becoming a state power, citing a close loss in Districts to eventual Division 4 champion Detroit Country Day in 2020 as one example.
Ultimately, it was this senior class that busted through that door, and now Fox hopes those younger players will take the torch and keep the program among the best in the state.
“You would hope they do,” Fox said. “But every year is different and every challenge is great. We have great kids.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep quarterback Sam Stowe (15) throws a pass during the Division 5 Final while protected by lineman Adrian Fernandez (56). (Middle) Fighting Irish coach Pat Fox leads his team – including Henry Ewles (72) and Brody Sink (7) – off the field.