Bring ’em on.
Lake Orion’s gridiron streak reached six wins in a row last Friday, but players and coaches preferred to look forward to upcoming showdowns against Rochester Adams and Clarkston after the 55-0 drubbing of visiting Royal Oak.
The winless Ravens were simply overmatched in every phase of the game by the Dragons, which had two players ? Danny Ney and Branden Oakes ? score two touchdowns apiece in the first quarter alone.
‘It’s not about who we’re playing. It’s about us,? Coach Chris Bell said. ‘We’ve got to get better and keep climbing that ladder and get ready for the next couple of weeks.?
Still, the numbers were almost unheard of. The Dragons had 403 total yards, compared to Royal Oak’s six, and their 19 first downs were 18 more than the Ravens collected.
Sean Charette and Derek Coe each threw a touchdown pass for Lake Orion. The pair continues to split time at the quarterback position, a fact that neither seems to have issue with.
‘Coach Bell makes sure we’re 50-50 the whole time,? said Coe, a junior, ‘And we both do things better than one another, so that benefits the team.?
Against Royal Oak, it was the freshman Charette getting the start, connecting on a 33-yard touchdown pass to Ney, a sophomore, on the team’s first drive. Ney added a 64-yard touchdown run on the next possession.
Oakes, a senior seeing his first significant time since an early season injury, scored on two short runs on the next two drives, to put the Dragons up 28-0 after the first quarter.
But that was just the beginning.
Mikael Lott, who had 84 yards on just three touches, scored on a 27-yard scamper early in the second quarter. That score was followed by two-yard TD runs from Kim Bruce and Matthew Turner.
Kyle Larson capped the scoring on a diving 24-yard grab from Coe early in the fourth quarter, long after a running clock had been instituted.
‘We got our guys some work and then, in the last three quarters, got a chance to get all the other guys in to play,? Bell said. ‘Those are the guys that work there butts off every single week in practice.?
With the win, the Dragons improve to 6-1 overall and 6-0 in OAA Red action, earning at least a share of the league crown and their eighth straight playoff berth.
‘That’s always our first goal of the season, to win the league title and lock up a playoff berth,? Bell said. ‘We talked all week with the kids about what an accomplishment that is and to treasure it.?
But some dirty work remains in the regular season, and it begins with a highly anticipated OAA crossover showdown at Rochester Adams (7-0) this Friday.
‘It’s not tough preparing for them because we play them every year and know them so well,? Bell said.
Adams? veer attack has averaged over 46 points per game, so something will have to give against a Dragon defense that has allowed seven a game and less than a point per game in their last four contests.
‘Our kids have to be disciplined in what we’re doing,? Bell noted. ‘They’re probably the best we’re going to see up front. They’ve got a great offensive line and a great defensive line, so it’s a challenge. It’s going to be an awesome week, we are really looking forward to it.?