The Dragons drove into Utica Eisenhower territory on their first six drives in Friday’s MHSAA playoff opener, but they had nothing to show for it.
Then, with just over a minute left in the game, senior Branden Oakes broke a scoreless tie with a 19-yard touchdown run, lifting the host Dragons to a 7-0 victory and into the second round.
‘It was just a dive play, and right when I hit the hole I saw an opening,? Oakes said. ‘There were some guys in front of me, but I knew they weren’t going to stop me.?
Two plays later, an Evan Gros interception sealed the win for Lake Orion, which recorded its fourth shutout of the season, despite playing shorthanded on defense.
‘We didn’t make it an issue,? Coach Chris Bell said of the injuries. ‘We knew we had good players that were going to be ready. It was their opportunity, and when it’s your opportunity, you take advantage of it and make it a night to remember.?
The team is hopeful that senior CB Robby Lentz and senior LB A.J. Gill can both return Friday night, when the team will host Romeo (a 38-7 winner over Clarkston on Saturday).
On Halloween night, however, the Dragons had players like Mike Nelson, John Chanthakhot, Eric Knoblock and Andy Mosier that did admirable imitations of the players they replaced in the lineup.
Chanthakhot blocked a 35-yard field goal attempt late in the third quarter, and Lake Orion dodged another bullet when Jeff Roegner pushed a 42-yard field goal try wide left early in the fourth.
LO’s scoring drive began at their own 31 with just under five minutes remaining. It featured three runs by Oakes of at least 10 yards, and a key 13-yard hook-up from freshman QB Sean Charette to senior WR Jeff Heath on fourth-and-eight in Ike territory.
Charette was 4-of-7 passing on third and fourth down situations in the second half, with three of those catches going to Heath. The freshman finished the game with 130 yards passing, completing 12-of-23 attempts.
The key fourth down play put the ball near the Ike 20-yard-line, and with no timeouts left on either side, it appeared the Dragons would be content to hand the ball off a couple of times and attempt a game-winning field goal.
But Oakes, who missed some early season games with an injury and lost his starting spot to Kim Bruce as a result, had other plans.
‘I didn’t expect anything less from Branden,? Heath noted. ‘Our running game obviously wasn’t working that well in the beginning, but he sucked it up on that last drive and our offensive line sucked it up on that last drive and got the job done.?
The two teams combined for five turnovers, including fumbles on each side in the first quarter that stopped drives in the red zone.
‘In the playoffs, if you can get out with a win it’s a good thing,? Bell said. ‘I don’t care what it looks like, it’s a good thing.?
‘We knew it would be a battle,? he added. ‘They’re a good team coming from a great league.?
The Dragons will now meet Romeo for the second straight year in the postseason. Lake Orion won a tightly-contested opening round game last season, 24-21, on a last second Heath field goal.
The Bulldogs became the first team in two years to beat Macomb Dakota (the two-time defending state champs), earlier this season. Their two losses this year came at the hands of Eisenhower (17-14) and Sterling Heights Stevenson (43-36) in mid-October.
Stevenson will battle Dakota in the other Region 3 district final. The winner of that game will host the winner of Romeo/Lake Orion next week.