Bell, staff, players grow together to lead Lake Orion to promised land

DETROIT — Chris Bell had a chance to do something Saturday that no former Lake Orion football player at the school has done in the past. In fact, he had a chance to do something that no other football head coach has done at the school over the decades.

That is to lead the school’s football team to a new level: A state championship.

That’s exactly what happened to Bell and his staff Saturday at Ford Field — along with the players and legions of fans that have faithfully supported its teams through the thick and thin over the years.

Bell, who is in his 13^th season with the Dragons and 17^th as a head football coach in the high school ranks, took his seventh-ranked Lake Orion squad to Ford Field Saturday for the Division 1 state finals and the Dragons walked off the field with a 21-13 victory over Plymouth.

They did it together.

When quarterback Cole Schaenzer took a knee with 23 seconds left, there was nothing on earth that could stop the Dragons from hoisting their first state championship trophy in the most popular high school sport in the state.

But Bell did not do this alone. It took the work of many to bring home some state championship hardware.

HARDSHIPS TO GLORY DAYS

But winning a state title a far cry from when Bell, a 1986 Lake Orion High School graduate, had to face when he got his first head coaching gig in the early 1990s at Linden High School.

“I think we were 1-17 those first two years combined,” sighed Bell, recalling his stint at Linden. “That was a long time ago.”

Bell moved on to Class D Center Line St. Clement, which reached the Division 8 semifinals for the two years that Bell was the head coach there (1995-96), collecting a 23-3 record in that span.

“We were close,” recalled Bell of those Final Four teams.

The path would eventually take Bell back to his Lake Orion roots and it was here at his alma mater that Bell was to experience something greater. There have been many memorable moments for Bell in his coaching career at Lake Orion — and those all culminated Saturday in the D-1 championship game.

BUILDING A POWER

Bell took over the reigns from Rich Burrell before the 1998 season at Lake Orion, and the Dragons immediately responded under Bell and his coaching staff. Lake Orion reached the Division 1 state semifinals that year before bowing out to state powerhouse Rockford (48-7).

After decades of fielding quality football teams — Lake Orion has reached the postseason 15 of the past 23 seasons and 10 straight times — Bell guided the Dragons to the state finals in 2008. The result was a 26-14 setback to Rockford, a school very similar to Lake Orion. Rockford is a large suburban school north of Grand Rapids just like Lake Orion is to Detroit — and very successful in high school sports.

The Rams had won a state title in the past, three to be exact, while Lake Orion was waiting for its moment in the sun.

That moment finally came this Saturday afternoon.

“I’m so proud of these guys, the dedication it took for us to get here and win our first state championship,” beamed Bell.

This time Bell and his staff had a better understanding on what it took to get the job done, getting to this point two years ago but falling short of glory. There was no shock and awe walking onto the field in front of nearly 15,000 fans this time around  (There were a total 59,576 paid spectators for the eight state finals games.). Lake Orion never trailed and when Plymouth threatened in the second half, the Dragons stood up to the challenge.

Marques Stevenson, one of the Dragons’ top players this season, said that this year’s team played with heart, played for each other and played for Coach Bell and his staff to bring home the state crown.

“I think, in the past, they had teams that had way more talent than we were,” said Stevenson. “For whatever reason, they couldn’t get here. But this year we worked so hard to do this. Our coaches did a great job preparing us every week.”

ITS ALL ABOUT THE KIDS, THE SCHOOL, THE COMMUNITY …

Bell, a former quarterback himself at Lake Orion, said that it’s all about the kids that suit up for the school every year. Not about his glory, not about his prestige or image. It is the players and staff together, working for one common goal.

“It’s never been about me,” said Bell. “It’s about those kids who put in all of that hard work, lifting weights, watching film, doing whatever they need to do to get better.

“One of our mottos on the press box is ‘Win For Lake Orion.’ It really rings true for us,” added Bell, explaining what high school sports means to the greater Lake Orion area. “This is great for the community. They are unbelievably supportive of our kids and our program.”

The closeness, the commodity of the players, the unselfish attitude and the extra effort was the difference maker for this year’s group, who finally broke through to do what no other team in school history could do before.

“This team is so close,” continued the coach. “They are always together. On Sundays when we are watching film, we’ll get 15 kids, maybe more, that just drop by and watch film. They just want to be around each other. That’s what made this group special.”

So Bell, along with longtime assistant coach and defensive coordinator Dave Tooley and several other dedicated assistant coaches, were able to build the team’s first state championship team.

There will be a Christmas parade next weekend on the streets of Lake Orion. There will be a group of men walking in a huddle one last time together for this event. That group is a state champion. One unit, one team, one school, one community.

It is Coach Bell and his Dragons celebrating together. It was a long journey. It just took many years to get there.

(Dan Stickradt is Senior Editor and Publisher of the Stickradt Media Group and www.northoaklandsports.com. He can be reached by e-mail at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com.)

Tags: high school football, high school football finals, lake orion football

Category: Editor's Column, Lake Orion, Prep Wraps, Publishers Viewpoint