A bevy of reporters, from television stations to newspapers of all sizes, descended on Sterling Heights Stevenson last Friday. And few, if any of them, walked away without seeing the best high school football game of the year.
Some fans left when Lake Orion went up 35-7 midway through the third quarter, when it appeared the Dragons had it sewn up.
Others headed to their cars when Stevenson’s 36-35 lead seemed secure, after LO turned it over on downs with less than two minutes left.
So the narrative had already been written twice when Jeff Heath and the Dragon field goal unit rushed into position with two second remaining.
Then came the third story, the one you’re surely familiar with by now.
You know, the story that made it into all of those TV and newspaper reports.
New MAC Red champs?
A Stevenson fan might dissect the game as a mismanagement of field position and unfortunate use of a timeout.
But the real reasons Lake Orion won this game were good plays through the first two-and-a-half quarters, and a couple of great ones in the final 10 seconds.
And, afterwards, when Coach Chris Bell said, ‘Lake Orion, go get yourselves another trophy,? to his players, everyone within earshot on that field (most of Lake Orion, it seemed) knew it was much more than just ‘another trophy.?
With that trophy came the end of a stigma that not only Lake Orion, but the entire Oakland Activities Association just couldn’t hang with the powerful Macomb Area Conference.
On this Friday night, much like the two that preceded it, they proved they could ? even if Heath could only kick a ball, say, 48 yards.
But Heath kicked it 49 (and then some) and now, after years of trying to get through the MAC, the OAA and Lake Orion has a new goal in the Division 1 playoffs.
Back to work
Never has Lake Orion beaten a 12-0 team, yet most pundits would label the Dragons as the favorite against Dearborn Fordson this Saturday night.
There’s a reason Fordson is the only undefeated team in Division 1, however, and the LO coaching staff is hard at work, probably as you read this, finding out why.
With his daughter in his arms a few minutes after ‘the game of the season,? Bell admitted he didn’t know that much about Fordson. His energy, after all, was focused on clearing the regional final hurdle.
Now, there’s a new goal and there’s no rest for the weary. Such is life in the playoffs.
But, after watching Stevenson’s players and coaches walk of the field for the final time last week, I venture a guess that the Dragons are okay with that.