Clarkston’s gridiron gang secured their position in first place in the OAA Red last Thursday after defeating West Bloomfield, 17-7.
The Wolves grabbed the lead in the first quarter with two touchdowns from Dakota Bender and two PATs from Brian Benway.
The first touchdown resulted from Quarterback Tyler Scarlett connecting a 31-yard pass to Bender before he took it into the endzone.
Bender struck again from the 1-yard line and pushed pass defense to further Clarkston’s lead.
Benway added the remaining points when he kicked a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Scarlett finished on a game high for 74 yards on eight carries.
Wolves? Head Coach Kurt Richardson was satisfied with the win but noticed more needs to be done.
‘Offensively, we didn’t take any opportunities,? he said.
‘Defensively, we were pretty good,? he continued. ‘They are improving every game. West Bloomfield has some very skillful kids and a very potent offense and we handled them.?
The Lakers lone touchdown came from Aaron Foster catching the kick-off return and running 85-yards and into the end zone.
Richardson said he saw good performances from the entire defense line – Justin Baetz, Andrew Schram, Jeff Dean, Derek Booker, Chris Canada, Dustin Gamble, Steve Carpenter and Jeff Durkan.
‘Our front line guys had the quarterback running a lot,? said Tony Miller, Wolves? defense coordinator. ‘The outside linebackers played an exceptional game. Our kids came out to play and understood the scheme. They had a great game while shutting down all of West Bloomfield’s talent. They played just like we planned.?
The Wolves face Southfield-Lathrup this week for another OAA Red challenge.
Both teams will go in fighting – Clarkston to avenge their Homecoming game loss to Lathrup last year, 46-45, while Lathrup is coming off from their shut-out last week against Lake Orion, 35-0.
‘I was at the game,? said Miller. ‘They moved the ball well between the 20’s – they took the ball all the way to the 20 but couldn’t finish. They do have an absolute dangerous offense, but they couldn’t score against Lake Orion.?
Richardson and his coaching staff are also taking account Lathrup’s speed and size during this week’s practices.
‘They are a very big team,? said Miller.
‘Really big,? added Richardson. ‘Probably the biggest we will face all year.?
Lathrup’s front linemen are over 300 pounds and a few players have signed their letters of intent to Division 1 schools.
‘We will have our work cut out for us,? said Richardson. ‘We have an earlier game so we have to overcome that.?
Kickoff is at 5:30 p.m.
Southfield-Lathrup High School is located at 19301 West Twelve Mile Rd. in Lathrup Village.
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The JV and freshmen teams also won their games against the Lakers, JV was 27-8 and freshmen, 41-8. Both teams are now 3-1.