FOOTBALL: Lake Orion’s second-half outburst helps Dragons burn Oxford for Double-O trophy
FOOTBALL: Lake Orion’s second-half outburst helps Dragons burn Oxford for Double-O trophy
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
E: dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
C: (248) 884-1051
TW: @LocalSportsFans
OXFORD – What a difference a year makes.
After being pounded by neighboring rival Oxford 51-27 last year as part of a dismal 3-6 season, Lake Orion turned the tables on the host Wildcats Friday night. The Dragons scored 21 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters and came away with a 28-10 victory over Oxford in the OAA Red Division opener for both teams.
The win gave the Dragons the Double-O trophy for the first time since 2019, as the 2020 game was not contested due to the first four weeks being cancelled as part of the plandemic.
Lake Orion, which starts several juniors and sophomores on both sides of the football, has grown up quickly following a disastrous second half in a 34-17 season-opening loss to Utica Eisenhower. The Dragons rolled over Oak Park 45-15 in Week 2 and held the young Wildcats to only 10 points and just over 200 yards of offense.
This all comes on the heels of a 2021 campaign where Lake Orion was outscored 267-226 – allowing 29.7 points a game and yielding at least 40 points in four different games last season. That included the 24-point setback to Oxford last fall.
“We’re happy for the kids,” smiled Lake Orion head coach Chris Bell, who returned to the sidelines after a five-year hiatus. “It’s a big deal. It’s a big deal to both teams, both communities, and it’s a great rivalry. It’s a very healthy rivalry, one with great respect for both teams. Both teams are going to play hard. I’m proud of our guys. We persevered. We hung in there even when they took the lead early in the third quarter and we were coming off of two (consecutive) three-and-outs. But our guys just kept fighting, kept battling.”
Oxford, which led early 3-0, regained the lead on the Wildcats’ longest play of the contest. Senior Elijah Tabert raced untouched around left for a 42-yard touchdown run and a 10-7 advantage with 7:06 remaining in the third quarter.
It was all Lake Orion (2-1, 1-0) after that point, as the Dragons scored touchdowns on their next three possessions behind some sturdy offensive line play.
Defensively, Lake Orion held Oxford to just 95 yards of offense after halftime. The Dragons out-gained Oxford 347-204 on the night.
“Our defensive line is one of the best around,” beamed Bell. “That group may be as good as the school has ever seen. They are all seniors. They’re all good. They’re big, strong, fast, smart, and they are dominant.”
Lake Orion grabbed the lead for good when the Dragons went 80 yards over 11 plays and junior Billy Roberson scored on a 4-yard run. Sophomore William Hoffman’s second of four extra points gave Lake Orion a 14-10 advantage with 2:32 left in the third frame – a lead it would not relinquish.
Getting the ball back late in third stanza on their own 33, the Dragons put together a swift 6-play, 67-yard drive capped by Roberson’s 15-yard sprint up the middle with 9:19 still to play.
Lake Orion picked up excellent field position on its next drive at the Oxford 43. Seven plays later sophomore quarterback Tristan Hill scored on a 20-yard sprint down the right side for the 28-10 advantage. Hoffman split the uprights to cap the scoring.
“I the first game, we were not good at all, especially in the second half (against Eisenhower),” added Bell. “But we’ve cleaned some stuff up and we’ve got a lot better the past couple of weeks. We do have several junior and sophomores out there and they have improved a lot.”
Roberson was a workhorse for the Dragons’ ground game, which picked up 335 rushing yards. Robertson had 17 touches for 121 yards, followed by Hills’ 121 yards on 12 carries. Sophomore Darrin Jones’ added 64 yards on 12 carries.
Oxford opened the scoring with a long 84-yard, 17-play drive that took 9:01 off the clock and ended with a Jay Cady 34-yard field goal.
Forcing Oxford (1-2, 0-1) to punt, Lake Orion countered on its second drive. The Dragons ventured 32 yards swiftly on just three plays, with sophomore quarterback racing home from 14 yards out with 9:48 left in the second quarter for the 7-3 advantage.
Lake Orion out-gained Oxford 118-109 in the first half.
Sophomore Luke Johnson had 79 rushing yards on 18 carries, but 57 of those yards came in the first half. Sophomore quarterback Dominic Cassisse struggled with a 5-for-17 passing performance for only 49 yards and two interceptions and the Wildcats’ lines were overpowered in the second half.
Oxford started 1-4 last season before turning the ship around for a 6-05 record and that included a postseason win over state powerhouse Clarkston. That was behind a veteran team. This year’s team has many first-year starters and several, juniors and sophomores in the lineup.
“Last year the Wildcats started slow but turned things around,” noted third-year Oxford coach Zach Line, a former NFL player and Oxford two-sport standout. “I don’t want to say we’ve started slow but we’ll get better.
“Us as coaches have to get back in the film room, take a lot of this heat then just teach these guys,” continued Line. “At the end of the day, we’ve going to coach these guys up. We’ve got a long season in front of us. This is a smart team, a young team but they have so much potential that we’ve just got to find a way to unlock. And they have it in them to do that.”Related: mathi mulakittathu veena’s curryworld, canuck shotgun chokes, trauma informed icebreakers, michael randall hood, what does 4dno mean on ohio drivers license, mike massimino height, gagik tsarukyan net worth, felony friendly jobs in arizona, glock 19 generations by serial number, jamaica carnival 2024, starbucks relief mugs 2020, what is an ineffective thesis statement, hurricane hazel in pennsylvania, triple f collection owner net worth, ar reihana husband,Related: nascar attendance 2022, priere pour se liberer d’une personne, axonify at home login, cold turkey sliders, norwich bulletin obituaries past 30 days, is fox poo dangerous to humans, miller and hill obituaries, darlington county busted newspaper, anthony albanese jodie haydon, william zabka poetry book, celebrities who live in savannah, georgia, gabe dannenbring tiktok, pershing square concerts 2022, babbu maan daughter, st paul park refinery fire department,Related: swimming nationals 2022, old houses under $50k in vermont, martha earnhardt house address, jeanne di prima, ben faulkner child actor today, jake bidwell wife, yakima memorial physicians patient portal, torregrossa funeral home obituaries, 10 safety precautions in automotive shop ppt, harrogate magistrates court round up 2021, phyllis hall al jarreau wife, city of dexter mo property taxes, advantages of subsurface drainage, royston turquoise rough for sale, chicago bulls coaching staff salaries,Related: walton sextuplets now 2021, mother of the bride hire shops, soundtrap full version crack pc, city of san antonio ems records, increase in assets and decrease in liabilities examples, worst places to live in pembrokeshire, jackson elementary school yearbook, probable errors in base line measurements, take choline at night or morning, n paone construction, efhw compensation coil, is aquafresh toothpaste discontinued, root insurance grace period, warren lichtenstein first wife, personalized memorial garden stones for dad,Related: twilight wedding packages scotland, fivem sheriff livery pack, is melvin nimoy still alive, andrew thomas georgia obituary, morganton, nc mugshots, monex lawsuit update, damien johnson bournemouth, leonard’s bakery franchise, whispers and the roars ending explained, milton fall softball tournament, glen phillips laurel franklin, hidden wall storage between studs, flying the american champion scout, pepper ball gun laws washington state, eataly silicon valley 2022,Related: adding a turret to a house cost, aue te aroha ka rere atu nei, belted galloway vs scottish highland, blue bloods’: frank reagan dies, dougherty funeral home obituary, denton ryan high school football roster, tallowwood tree roots, heron island crocodiles, bcbsm rewards program, sumter national forest ohv trails, seborrheic keratosis removal duct tape, is christopher the makeover guy married, teste para saber qual o meu karma, national library singapore architecture, austen sweetin height and weight,Related: parasite character analysis, is kevin proctor still married, father adamz campground, toughman contest 2021, brea mall shooting, postgresql cross join subquery, 2022 ohio fishing tournaments, nipt wrong gender 2021, leyden township community center, pros and cons of illumina sequencing, who said do not take revenge, the rotten fruit, describe culturally responsive creative materials for infants and toddlers, portland maine police beat, is ashley callingbull still married, pga championship military tickets,
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