FOOTBALL: Clarkston plows over Lake Orion, clinches fourth straight OAA Red Division title
Wolves’ win streak now at 21 straight
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.Stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
LAKE ORION – Lake Orion became one of just a few teams to build an early lead on Clarkston during the past two seasons.
That pre-Halloween scare lasted only for minutes.
Trailing 7-0 after just 1:45 of game clock chewed up, courtesy of a 62-yard scoring run by Matt Krause, Clarkston, the top-ranked team in Division 1 in the Associated Press polls and the defending D-1 state champions, responded with 42 unanswered points in an 42-7 rout of the host Dragons Friday night.
Clarkston, now winners of 21 straight games, captured its fourth straight OAA Red Division title — the longest streak by an OAA team in the 21-year history of the mega conference. The Wolves (8-0, 7-0) shared the crown with Lake Orion in 2011 and have now won three straight outright crowns.
Clarkston’s resume has been quite impressive in the past decade. The Wolves have now won 27 straight league games inside the OAA Red Division, have posted a 66-7 record inside league play in that span (91-21 overall since 2005) and have won five league championships in six years and six in eight seasons overall. They have not finished hed lower than second place in the past decade with four runners-up finishes in that stretch.
“The credit goes to the kids,” offered veteran Clarkston coach Kurt Richardson. “They played really good again.”
Senior quarterback DJ Zezula finished a crisp 10-for-13 passing for 236 yards with two touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown for Clarkston. Austin Egler had two touchdown catches inside his four overall catches and had 133 receiving yards as part of Clarkston’s vaunt and well-balanced attack.
“I think our offense might be more balanced than last year,” admitted Richardson, whose team won 13 straight to close last season. “DJ Zezula has been great all season. Our offense is more prolific this year and our running game is coming on strong. We have two backs that split time and don;t get the credit they deserve. And our offensive line doesn;t get the credit they deserve.”
The Wolves flourished behind Clarkston’s space eaters in the trenches, anchored by Adam Mattich and Cole Chewins.
Clarkston knotted the score at 7-7 when Nolan Eriksen plowed through the Orion defense drives on a 1-yard scamper. It was all Clarkston after that point.
Egler’s first TD put the Wolves up for good when he snagged a 4-yard to ss from Zezula. Centrus Williams (1-yard run) and Zezula (7-yard run) gave Clarkston a 28-7 halftime cushion.
In the second half, Eriklsen (1-yard run) and Egler (69-yard catch from Zezula) rounded off the scoring drives for the Wolves.
Lake Orion, which last failed to reach the playoffs, stand at 4-4 overall and finished 4-3 in league play. The Dragons must defeat Rochester Adams in Week 9 and gain enough additional playoffs points to reach the postseason field for the 14th straight season.
CLARKSTON FOOTBALL DURING THE PAST DECADE
YEAR LEAGUE OVERALL
2014 7-0* 8-0
2013 7-0* 13-1
2012 7-0* 11-1
2011 6-1* 7-4
2010 6-1 7-3
2009 7-0* 12-1
2008 5-2 6-4
2007 8-0* 9-2
2006 7-1 10-2
2005 6-2 8-3
ALL 66-7 91-21
* An asterisk denotes a league championship
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