Harrison downs Lake Orion to become undisputed OAA champ
BY GARRETT SMITH
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
LAKE ORION — Farmington Hills Harrison is the undisputed top team in the Oakland Activities Association.
The Hawks, who are ranked nationally in multiple circles, defeated host Lake Orion, 28-7, Friday night in a game that featured the top teams from the OAA White Division and OAA Red Division.
Harrison is the defending state champions in Division 2 and Lake Orion won the D-1 state title last season to add more drama to the contest.
Lorenzo Collins led the Hawks rushing attack with 215 yards on 22 carries and proved that he is an all-state candidate with another monster game.
“We kind of knew he would be good, but he’s been very good for us this year,” Harrison coach John Herrington said. “He’s the type of player that makes big plays. Just when you think the other team has him contained, he breaks one open.”
Collins scored his first touchdown of the game only 44 seconds into the contest on a 28-yard touchdown run.
Collins made it 13-0 in the first quarter when Garius Coleman caught a 53-yard pass from quarterback Jake Vento.
Devin Funchess caught another Vento pass from 13 yards away with over 10 minutes left in the second quarter to put the Hawks in command.
The loss snapped a six-game win streak for Lake Orion, which lost its opener to Oxford but then reeled of six league wins in a row to get to the first-place game in the OAA Crossover Showcase.
The Dragons were able to score one touchdown in the third quarter. This came from quarterback Sean Charette, who found Robert Aiello open for a 13-yard touchdown pass.
Lake Orion also had a touchdown called back and the Dragons eventually handed the ball back over to Harrison. Collins scored the last touchdown with a 55-yard sprint in the fourth quarter for the Hawks.
Lake Orion, which dropped to 6-2, failed to convert on three occasions inside the Harrison 20-yard line.
“We beat another well-coached Lake Orion team,” Harrington said.”They were able to move the football on us. If they scored on another one of those drives, it could have been a different game. We did an excellent job of keeping them out of the end zone except for their lone (scoring) drive.”
(Garrett Smith is part of the AdaVan Media Group’s www.northoaklandsports.com Student Correspondence Program. High school and college journalists wishing to contribute can contact senior editor Dan Stickradt by e-mail at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com )
Category: Featured Articles, High School, High School (M-Z), Lake Orion, Oxford
