Moment: Rouge Holds Off Unity Challenge
April 14, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We continue with our third day of "Rouge Week" with River Rouge's third-straight Class B championship during the 1960s, clinched with a 59-49 victory over Hudsonville Unity Christian in the Final.
Unity, ranked just behind the Panthers at No. 2 in Class B heading into the MHSAA Tournament, gave Rouge a run nearly to the end. Unity pulled within 38-36 at the outset of the fourth quarter before Boice Bowman, Bill Dunson and Larry Brazon keyed a 9-2 run to help the Panthers pull away.
Dunson, an all-stater as a senior that winter, scored a team-high 16 points. Bowman added 15. Rouge finished 25-1 for the second-straight season.
Moment: Rouge Ends '60s with 6 Titles
April 16, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
After three years without a championship, River Rouge returned to the Class B Final in 1969 and won its sixth title of the 1960s by defeating Kalamazoo Hackett 83-50.
The Panthers finished 25-2 for the season, and the championship began another string of four straight that concluded in 1972.
Rouge dominated the 1969 Final led by 6-foot-4, 250-pound forward Dwayne Johnson (reaching for the rim in bottom photo), who scored 23 points. Teammate Rod Wimphrey added 16 points, but more importantly held Hackett's Bob Calligton to nine. Calligton had scored 31 points in Hackett's Semifinal win one night earlier.
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