Tech Wrecker: Lake Orion halts Cass Tech’s dream season with late defensive play, moves into state finals for second time in three years

IT'S MINE: Lake Orion' s Tyler Misiak celebrates with teammate Alex Fine after Misiak claimed the game-clinching fumble during Saturday's Division 1 state semifinal. Staff Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com

KNOCKED OUT: Lake Orion's Andrew Shafkalis pokes the football loose from the grasp of Detroit Cass Tech quarterback Keith Moore during Saturday's Division 1 state semifinal. Staff Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

TROY — Andrew Shafkalis has only been a student at Lake Orion for about 10 months. The junior made one of the biggest defensive plays in Lake Orion football history Saturday afternoon.

A transfer from Rochester, Shafkalis, undersized against Detroit Cass Tech’s beefy defensive line and linebackers unit, broke through and forced a fumble on Technicians quarterback Keith Moore. Lake Orion teammate Tyler Misiak recovered the ball on the Dragons’ 25 yard line with 32 seconds left, as the Dragons held on for a thrilling 24-21 victory in a Division 1 state semifinal at Troy Athens.

Getting the ball back with 4:18 to play on its own 23, 10th-ranked Cass Tech (12-1) drove down the field to Lake Orion’s 5-yard line. On second-and-three, Shafkalis made the game-changing stop to send Lake Orion to the D-1 state finals for the second time in three years.

“They shifted down and I saw the quarterback, so I went straight for the hands,” said Shafkalis. “I came around the down block and got in there and caused the fumble.

“This is the greatest feeling right now,” continued Shafkalis. “Our defensive unit has come up big all year. I’m speechless right now.”

Lake Orion coach Chris Bell, who also guided the Dragons to the state semifinals in both 1998 and 2008 and the final in ‘08, knew his team had to make the stop to save the season.

“I knew we had to make some plays and Andrew made a great play. We were fighting down to the end,” said Bell. “(In the final minute) I was just thinking ‘make a play.’ We had that fourth down play, where they got the first down (on our 12). I thought somebody please make a play now. We kept fighting and that’s what the guys did. I’m so happy for them, proud of them.”

Misiak fought tooth and nail for the fumble and came away with it. The Dragons ran out the clock on the next play.

“I wasn’t nervous at all. Our (defensive) coach, coach (John) Blackstock was telling us the whole game, ever since the beginning, that it would go down to the last drive,” said Misiak. “Look what happened. It came up to the last drive.

“I saw the ball go up in the air. Their kid had it, but it flip-rolled and flip-rolled again. The kid on the other team had it and I ripped it out his hands,” added Misiak.

The seventh-ranked Dragons (12-1) will face unheralded Plymouth (11-2) at 1 p.m. at Ford Field in Detroit Nov. 27 for the state championship. Plymouth, unranked the whole season, sprung a 20-17 upset on No. 2 Rockford in the other state semifinal, the Cougars’ fourth straight postseason upset.

The Dragons never trailed in the second half, but overcame some tense moments to prevail.

Lake Orion, which lost to Rockford 26-14 in the state title game two years ago, took a 24-21 lead with 7:04 left in the third quarter when senior Marques Stevenson scored on a 2-yard run up the middle.

The Dragons punted the ball away and turned the ball over on downs on their final three possessions of the second half.

Cass Tech responded with its first touchdown of the second half, when Christian Burks slipped through the defense and scored on a 15-yard run with 8:23 left, which ended up being the final points of the game.

“I thought we let them back into the game a little bit,” said Bell. “But the guys stepped up at the end and now we get to go back to Ford Field.”

Cash Tech scored first on the opening drive, when Burks sprinted up the middle from 15 yards out with 7:08 left in the first quarter.

Lake Orion, which misfired on a fake field goal attempt on its first possession, finally knotted the score with 10:05 left in the second quarter. That’s when Stevenson scored on a 46-yard sprint, breaking a tackle near the line of scrimmage before racing to the end zone.

The Technicians took the lead a second time, when Burks answered with a 46-yard run of his own with 7:40 left in the half. This would be the last time CT would lead the game.

Backup quarterback Cole Schaenzer, who was filling in for injured starter Sean Charette, guided Lake Orion on nine-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Schaenzer hitting Robert Aiello on a 16-yard TD strike with 4:10 left in the second quarter to tie the game at 14-14.

The Dragons, who forced the Technicians to punt on their next possession, got the ball back one final time before the break. Kyle Searle’s 31-yard field goal gave Lake Orion the lead for good.

The Dragons benefitted from a dropped CT interception on the previous play at the 2-yard line.

“We didn’t control the line of scrimmage the way I thought we would,” said Cass Tech coach Thomas Wilcher. “I thought in the second half our defensive line took over a little bit. I just think we woke up too late defensively. Other than that, they did a good job. We just came up short.

“I didn’t think we’d turn the ball over (at the end),” added Wilcher. “They did a good job of (holding on) to win it. We didn’t execute when we wanted to.”

Burks rushed for 142 yards on 18 carries Moore was 8-for-15 passing for 86 yards.

Moore had a 41-yard TD pass to Keenan Smith nullified in the third quarter on off-setting penalties, and the Technicians ended up punting away on the drive. Cass Tech also had 30 yards of penalties during Lake Orion’s final touchdown drive.

Stevenson finished with 190 yards on 26 carries and Ney had 82 yards on 16 carries for the Dragons. Schaenzer was 5-for-12 passing for 132 yards and Ney added two catches for 73 yards.

Nick Frye had two sacks and Shafkalis one sack for Lake Orion’s defense, which forced the game’s only turnover in the game’s final minute.

“I transferred my sophomore year halfway through,” explained Shafkalis. “Now, I’m just proud to be a dragon and going to Ford Field.”

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Tags: featured, Final Four, high school football, state semifinals

Category: Lake Orion, Prep Wraps