In the O-Zone: Dragons return to prominence with league title-clinching win over Clarkston

LAKE ORION — A week after being humbled by top-ranked Farmington Harrison, Lake Orion had an awful lot to prove and play for in its regular-season finale against Clarkston..

Several times in recent years, Lake Orion has faced off with arch-rival Clarkston at the end of the campaign to play for a league championship, home-field advantage in the postseason and, of course, temporary bragging rights..

Lake Orion gained all three of those Friday night at home against the Wolves. The state-ranked Dragons scorched Clarkston with three second-half touchdowns to pull away and record a 28-7 victory over the Wolves..

With the win, Lake Orion (8-1, 7-0) claimed the OAA Red Division championship, its second in three years and fifth in head coach Chris Bell’s 13 seasons at the helm..

After averaging some 44 points an outing the first seven weeks of the season, Lake Orion was held in check with a 28-6 defeat to OAA White champ Harrison in the OAA crossover game in Week 8. The Dragons regrouped against the Wolves, showcasing its balanced and deep offensive attack..

“I don’t think it was being ticked off, I think it was us being aware,” said senior running back Marques Stevenson, who rushed for 151 yards on 25 carries. “Last week a lot of things got exposed offensively that we need to improve upon. All week we worked on those technical things and that showed today.”.

Up 7-0 at the half, the Dragons pushed the lead to 14-0 when Stevenson scampered into the end zone from three yards out, which proved to be the game-winning points with 7:15 left in the third quarter..

The Wolves (7-2, 6-1) answered on its first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive, as freshman QB Brenden Newvine found Chris Canada down the left sideline for a 58-yard touchdown. .

That would be the last time Clarkston would score, as the Wolves turned the ball over on downs inside the Dragons’ 20 midway through the fourth quarter on their only other substantial drive of the half..

It took Lake Orion just four plays to score again, this time with junior QB Sean Charette hitting Danny Ney with a 31-yard pass up the middle for the score, moving the lead to 21-7 with 5:32 still left in the third period..

The Dragons capped the scoring with just 32 seconds left in the third quarter, as Stevenson ended a 57-yard, nine-play drive with a 12-yard sprint down the right side..

Kyle Searle, who missed a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter, nailed all four extra points for the Dragons..

“This year we (downplayed) the rivalry a little bit and decided to go after the league championship,” added Stevenson. “That’s been our goal since the beginning of the season. It usually comes down to game. We felt we had a great chance to win a league championship against Clarkston on our home field..

“To shut us down too weeks in a row is tough,” continued Stevenson.” The offensive line played great. They just kept creating holes. It’s tough to stop us.”.

Defensively, Nick Frye had seven tackles and a deflection and Andrew Shafkalis added five tackles, three for a loss, and recorded one sack for Lake Orion, which has allowed only Harrison to score more than 20 points against the Dragons this season..

“We knew we didn’t play well last week,” said Bell. “We knew that wasn’t us. It was a great learning experience for us and I’m very proud of the way we responded. As a coach I’m always worried. How is their confidence shaken? Are they going to show up? I’m proud of the way the guys played.”.

Both teams struggled to move the football in the first half, although the Dragons did cash in a paycheck with 1:46 left in the second quarter when Demitri Hudson scored on a 5-yard run..

In the second half, Lake Orion slowly wore the Wolves down with its balanced offense. .

“We made some adjustments, cleaned some things up but we didn’t do anything terrible different,” offered Bell. “It was just guys coming off the ball Marques had a great second half. It was one of those things, we got into a rhythm, things clicked and we were doing a good job up front..

“Then Sean (Charette) made some great throws,” added Bell. “If there’s anyone I’m proud of it is him because he knows he didn’t play well last week. He played like the way Sean Charette can play tonight.”.

Clarkston’s offense continued to sputter, although the Wolves received a gutsy performance from Newvine, a freshman making his first varsity start at QB. Clarkston has only scored 14 points the past two games..

Clarkston coach Kurt Richardson was forced to give Newine a dose of baptism under fire against one of the state’s top teams after Nick DeMattia went down with an injury in last week’s 7-6 win over Farmington..

“He came in and played one of the best (teams in the state) from the get-go,” said Richardson. “It is what it is. He had to do it. He was okay.”.

Clarkston’s Matt Dellinger had 12 tackles and Zach Collins added 11 tackles, including two for losses for the Wolves, who will be making their eighth straight postseason appearance..

“Hopefully it’s a learning lesson and you got to move on,” said Richardson.

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Category: High School, Lake Orion