It took a while for the Dragon offense to get on the field last Thursday night at Dragon Stadium.
But when they finally did, the many Lake Orion weapons made visiting Rochester pay dearly.
The Dragons scored three third quarter touchdowns before most fans had finished their halftime hot dogs, blowing open a 14-0 halftime lead, and turning it into a 42-6 rout.
‘Our defense was on the field a little too long,? coach Chris Bell said of a first half that saw Rochester possess the ball three times as much as the Dragons.
‘But we didn’t let them in the end zone and we made a great play on special teams,? he added.
The great play on special teams was a 71-yard punt return by Jake Gaudard that accounted for LO’s second score of the half (a Chris Lum 19-yard strike to Cole Moore was the first).
‘The guys up front did a great job blocking,? Gaudard said of his return. ‘I was never touched the whole way down the field.?
‘We take a lot of pride in our special teams,? Bell said. ‘Their job is to change the game and change field position.?
Against Rochester, they did just that, turning what was a relatively even first half into a big Dragon lead.
But that lead quickly ballooned when Bell’s offense finally got on the field for a few drives in the second half.
Lake Orion took the opening drive in for a score, capped by the 3-yard scamper from Aaron Allen.
Allen scored again, on a 40-yard run, and David Wurst took a Chris Lum pass the distance to put a huge distance between the Dragons and Rochester on the scoreboard.
‘The offensive line did a great job and we had great blocking by our receivers,? Allen said of his two-touchdown, 90-yard performance. ‘When they’re blocking on the edge like that, I just punch it in.?
Lum was 6-for-7 with 154 yards through the air and two scores. Wurst had 131 yards receiving on four catches, including his 53-yard touchdown grab (which was his fourth TD of the year – all over 50 yards.
Junior Cody Vettraino added 66-yards on the ground, including a fourth quarter touchdown.
On the defensive side, Josh Allison and Chase Goff led the way with 10 tackles each. Allison added four sacks.
Junior Kevin Kelly had his second straight big game with five tackles and two sacks.
Rochester scored on the final play of the game to account for the final margin, ending the Dragons? shutout streak.
Next up for LO is a key OAA I showdown with Rochester Adams Friday night at Dragon Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:55 p.m.
Adams lost their first regular season game since 2003 to Clarkston in week one and another loss this early could put them out of the league race.
Bell knows this and said his players will as well.
‘They have a great program,? he said. ‘They’re going to be much better than they were in week one.?