There are many things to remember when packing for a trip. One thing the Clarkston Wolves may have forgotten was the winning recipe from its previous playoff match, a 34-14 thumping of rival Lake Orion, while prepping for the more than 30-mile trek to Dakota High School in Macomb Township. The Nov. 10 regional finals showdown with the Cougars, from the Macomb Area Conference, saw the Wolves fall for the second time this season.
Clarkston (10-2) fell behind early and failed to regain its balance as Dakota (11-1) earned its third consecutive regional championship 35-13.
Clarkston played much differently than the team that defeated the previously unbeaten Dragons just one week prior.
Dakota jumped to an early lead, making good on two first-quarter Clarkston turnovers, and outmatched the Wolves all night long with their physical size.
‘They’re a very good football team and (when) you turn the ball over early like that, you’ve got yourself an awfully big hole,? Clarkston coach Kurt Richardson said.
The size difference in Dakota’s favor enabled the Cougars to win the battle on the line, which made the Wolves a one-dimensional team minus a solid rushing attack.
‘We struggled with them up front and we couldn’t move them on the run,? he said.
‘They just brought it after that.?
‘They’re a little smaller and a little quicker at the start…in the end they started to slow down and we were still big, so it worked out good for us,? Cougars coach Mike Giannone said.
‘Our front seven is one of the best I’ve ever coached.?
Dakota’s defense, he said, was the starting point for a Cougars? victory.
‘Our kids were all over it, (defensive coordinator) Greg Baur had a great game plan and we did enough offensively to keep us in the ballgame.?
Justin Sylvester got the ball rolling, finishing a 21-yard pass play from Cougars quarterback James Stallons with 8:15 left in the first quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Clarkston’s Erik Thompson fumbled the ball on the Cougars? 22-yard line, leading to a Joe Harla 37-yard field goal to make the game 10-0.
On Clarkston’s next drive, quarterback Eric Ogg threw the first of three interceptions of the game looking for Kevin Badgley. Instead John Schultz made the grab at the Clarkston 44-yard line. The Cougars added another Harla score, this time a 25-yard kick.
Dakota went up 19-0 to start the second quarter, as Stallons eluded several Wolves defenders and scrambled before making a pass to running back Greg Gay, who burst to the end zone for the first of two touchdowns. Gay finished with more than 200 yards in total offense, 159 of those on the ground.
The Wolves began to show signs of life in the second quarter when Badgley removed the goose egg from Clarkston’s score with a 21-yard touchdown catch, streaking down the sideline. The teams went to the half with the score 19-7 in favor of the Cougars.
The third quarter saw little scoring as Dakota controlled the ball for more than half of the quarter.
Gay had his way with the Wolves on the ground, like the way Lake Orion had in week nine, when Aaron Allen rushed for 136 yards. For much of the game, especially in the second half, Dakota called Gay’s number and he delivered, rushing Clarkston into submission.
Gay was quick to credit the work of the team’s offensive line with his rushing success.
‘When we were watching film, we saw some of their guys had a lot of speed. Our big guys up front did their job,? he said.
‘Wherever they (Clarkston) went, they pushed them that way.?
Gay’s success on foot gave the Dakota offense more options.
‘They’re keying on him and we can throw to other guys and run the ball to other people,? Stallons said.
‘It takes more guys on Greg, so it opens up the running game.?
Harla scored the first and only points of the third with a 26-yard field goal with 4:25 remaining, after the Cougars kept the ball warm for Clarkston with a 14-play, 65-yard and nearly eight-minute drive.
Gay scored again with 10:13 remaining in the fourth on a 24-yard rush. Kyle Demaster got the final Cougars? score, intercepting Ogg and returning the ball 62 yards for a 35-7 lead with 7:46 remaining.
Julius Porter turned on the jets for an 75-yard touchdown run on a pass from backup quarterback Nick Shamoun for the final points of the night.
With the victory, Dakota captures its third-consecutive regional championship and the rights to play Warren Cousino for a berth in the state finals. The Patriots knocked off Detroit Denby 14-0 in its regional final.
This season’s Wolves team exceeded critics? pre-season expectations and earned the praise of its coach for a successful season.
‘I’m awfully proud of my kids. Everybody had us at 5-4 and in the middle of the league at the start of the year. Here we are playing for the regional championship,? Richardson said.
On Nov. 12, 1999, the last time the two schools met, also in the regional finals, the Wolves downed Dakota 57-56 in a marathon four overtime game.