Lake Orion will play at Romeo (8-1) in the first round of the playoffs this week, after the pairings were announced on Sunday night.
The Dragons could see Clarkston (the top seed in their district) in round two if both teams are able to win this week (the Wolves host Utica Eisenhower).
Lake Orion earned the right to play on after a dominating performance against West Bloomfield in what amounted to an elimination game Friday night at Dragon Stadium.
Ryan Broth scored on two first half runs and the Dragons went on to a 26-0 victory to improve to 6-3 overall and a final mark of 6-2 in OAA Red play (tied for second with Troy).
‘I’m proud of my guys,? Coach Chris Bell said. ‘We dominated in all three phases, offense, defense and special teams, and we stayed away from penalties and turnovers.?
The story of the game was Dragon quarterback Chris Lum, who returned to action after missing six weeks of action with a broken bone in his non-throwing arm, and played most of the game.
‘It was great just to be on the field,? Lum said. ‘I knew I was taking a chance, but I’m glad I did. It was a lot of fun and it’s great to be back.?
He looked ‘back? too, scoring on a quarterback sneak in the third quarter and finishing 5-of-9 passing for 85 yards.
‘It was his call,? Bell said of the sneak on fourth and goal from the one-yard line early in the third. ‘He came over and said, ‘I’ll sneak it.??
Branden Oakes, who rushed for a game-high 70 yards on 20 carries, scored the final touchdown from a yard out for the Dragons.
Chad Nieswand added four catches for 70 yards.
The Lakers, meanwhile, were held to just over 100 yards, most of which came on a long Drew Pyles to Rod Hurst completion in the second quarter, a drive that resulted in a missed field goal.
The Dragons turned a Blaine Stormer fumble recovery into points and also got an Austin Cook interception. Brock Knowles, Marc Huffman and Kevin Kelly recorded sacks for LO, as the Dragons put constant pressure on Pyles, the OAA Red’s leading passer.
‘Guys are flying around, they have confidence,? Bell said. ‘We’re where we wanted to be.?
Much of the credit for getting the Dragons there was given to Broth, who started at quarterback while Lum was sidelined.
‘He’s been probably our team MVP, they way he stepped in and held the fort down,? Bell said. ‘He wanted that challenge and we needed him. We needed a guy to step forward and to that and he put us in this position.?
Lum agreed with his coach’s assessment.
‘Ryan has done a great job,? he said. ‘He’s added a whole new component to our offense. I’m pretty sure we’ll split some time in the future.?
Bell noted that he plans to give both players time from the quarterback position and said the return of Lum will allow him to open the playbook up a bit more.