The similarities between Clarkston and Lake Orion are always drawn out on the playing field. The cross-town foes are often said to be mirror images of each other and with the Dragons? baseball and girls golf state championships this season, they literally are.
While Britney Hamilton and Darby Peters were driving down fairways and Joe Barnes was sliding home with the winning run in the finals, Lake Orion pulled off the same feat Clarkston pulled off in 1976.
‘It’s really uncanny how similar it is,? Lake Orion Athletic Director William Reiss said.
The Wolves, 24-7 on the baseball diamond, shared their championship with the girls golf team, the school’s second and third championship, as they are for Lake Orion. The Dragons? other crown, a wrestling championship from 1990, came one year before Clarkston’s grapplers won it in 1991.
Reiss said he and Clarkston Athletic Director Dan Fife have talked about the comparisons between the two schools? kids and communities.
‘Clarkston seems to be our sister-school,? Reiss said.
Sister-school may be too nice of an adjective for Reiss, a Michigan State University graduate and University of Michigan Wolverine Fife. The parallels go all the way down to the jerseys adorning each school’s players. Clarkston with blue and gold and Lake Orion’s green and white evoke feelings of partisanship seen in the UM-MSU rivalry on the college level.
‘The games we play are almost as big,? Reiss said.
Lake Orion’s basketball team’s uniforms bear a striking resemblance to those of MSU and Clarkston wears winged football helmets similar to those at UM.
Clarkston holds the overall lead in state championships by a 9-3 margin, its last three from a girls cross country reign headed by former coach Jamie LaBrosse from 2003-?05.
‘We were really young, it was a good three-year run,? LaBrosse said.
LaBrosse, who took over the program in 2001, said the girls ran free without the pressure of being on top for the first two years of their stint.
‘We were the hunter and then we became the hunted. It’s a different feeling. It was a good team and they were able to deal with it,? he said.
‘It feels great to be a part of that. Some coaches don’t get one shot (at a championship), let alone three.?
Dragons baseball coach Andy Schramek brought home the title in his ninth year at the helm. Schramek said he’s gotten several congratulatory calls and e-mails from former players and even a letter from his congressman.
‘The support that’s come in has been really good. It’s great and I’m proud,? Schramek said.
Schramek, who was in kindergarten when his future competitors were baseball’s elite, had a 10-year vision when he took over Lake Orion’s program. His goal was to make the Dragons into one of the best baseball programs in the state.
‘I humbly think we were one of the best programs before this year,? Schramek said.
Past teams were capable of taking home a championship, he said.
‘There’s no magic formula, it’s hard work.
‘I learned to put the right players on the field and let them play spontaneous, fun baseball.?
In 2006, Lake Orion fell in the state quarterfinals on a walk-off homerun.
‘It was to the point where you don’t know if you’re snake-bitten,? Reiss said.
‘Maybe the fact the golf team broke through helped it happen.
‘I told Andy two-thirds of the way through the season that we were destined to win.?
In 1975, Clarkston made its way to the regional finals. Having most of his team returning the following season, former Clarkston coach Paul Tungate remembers having a good indication early on of his team’s chances against the best in the state.
‘It was one of those years where everything seemed to fit in the right niche,? Tungate said.
‘They had a sense from the first game of the season, (winning a state championship) was the goal. There was no question we were going to the state finals. We just kept winning and winning.?
The closeness the Wolves developed is similar to that of Lake Orion this season.
‘It’s almost like they gave each other the best present ever. They all wanted to win for each other,? Schramek said.
‘A coach can’t give that type of unity, some teams just have it.?
Former Clarkston player and Detroit Country Day junior varsity baseball coach Rod Hool still lives with the friendships made in high school.
‘The guys we hung around, we just had fun all the time and that was the best part of it,? Hool said.
‘We had some competition and camaraderie back in the little league days.?
Aside from team unity, Clarkston had a strong defense behind a fearsome starting rotation, which included future major league pitcher Steve Howe. Howe (13-1 in 1976 and 23-game winner in two years) and fellow lefty Bill Matthews teamed with right-hander Jeff Schatz to lead the Wolves. Schatz earned a victory in the state finals after throwing five innings in relief.
Last summer, the Wolves had a 30-year reunion of their championship team and honored Howe as well. Howe passed away in April 2006 in California in an auto accident.
‘We talked about the good memories of Steve. It was upbeat, but very respectful of him,? Tungate said.
‘You play the game for competition, fellowship and to be the best. We accomplished that,? said Steve Pearson, former Clarkston first baseman.
With the athletic programs each school has established and a lengthy history of competition between them, the Clarkston-Lake Orion rivalry seems to be an open window more than mirror.