Wildcats hand the Dragons their first regular season lose since 2022

By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
jnewell@mihomepaper.com
 OXFORD TWP. — The Oxford Wildcats varsity football team defeated the Lake Orion Dragons 21-18 in a nail-biter on Friday at Oxford High School, raising the coveted Double-O Trophy – given to the team that wins the rivalry game each year – for the first time in two years.
Lake Orion is now 3-1 on the season and will take on the Rochester Adams Highlanders at 7 p.m. Friday at Lake Orion. Adams (4-0) beat Clarkston 28-10 on Friday.
Oxford is now 2-2 on the season and will head to Rochester High School on Friday for an OAA Red-White crossover matchup.
The loss also ends Lake Orion’s undefeated regular season run. The Dragons finished undefeated in the regular season last year and won their first three games this season. Their last regular season loss was a 49-21 loss to Saline High School on Oct. 21, 2022.
Oxford jumped out to an early lead just over two minutes into the game when quarterback Jack Hendrix completed a pass to senior Dean Rice, who ran 30 yards for the Wildcats first touchdown of the game. The point after (PAT) was good and Oxford took a 7-0 lead.
Lake Orion took over the ball and drove down the field reaching the Oxford 22-yard line for a first down with 6:30 left in the first quarter. After a couple of plays by the Dragons, Oxford senior Luke Johnson made the big stop on third down, sacking Lake Orion quarterback Brody Thompson on the 29-yard line and bringing up 4th-and-16. Lake Orion would settle for a field goal with 3:46 left in the quarter, making it 7-3.
On Oxford’s next possession, senior Owen Pavlock returned the ball to the Wildcat 26-yard line to start the drive. Hendrix completed passes to Johnson and Jake Champagne for first downs, and then Johnson ran the ball to the Lake Orion 2-yard line.
Johnson then powered through the Dragon defense for a touchdown with 26.8 seconds left in the quarter. After the PAT, the Wildcats led 14-3.
Lake Orion did not mount much of an offensive attack in the second quarter and the Wildcats took advantage of it with a long drive from their own 6-yard line with 6:28 left in the half. Just under five minutes later, Johnson once again forced his way through the Lake Orion defense for a touchdown with 1:42 left in the half. Kicker Drew Cady’s PAT was good and Oxford took a 21-3 lead.
The Dragons tried to mount a comeback drive, moving the ball down the field. Rice ended any Dragon hopes of scoring before halftime when he took down Anderson Adams with no time left on the clock to end the half.
The Dragons came out determined to close the gap in the second half, converting two third downs and a fourth down before Thompson rushed to the 4-yard line. Lake Orion gained three yards on the next play.
With the ball on the 1-yard line, running back Jayden Borrero powered through the Oxford defense for a Dragon touchdown, making it 21-9 Oxford. Lake Orion went for the two-point conversion and senior tight end Malachi Hood converted with 2:43 left in the third quarter, making it 21-11 Oxford.
Oxford was forced to punt on their next possession, turning the ball over to the Dragons on their own 46-yard line with a little over 10 minutes to go in the game. Lake Orion turned the ball over on downs and Oxford got the ball back on their own 48-yard line with 7:52 left in the game.
Short runs and an incomplete pass forced the Wildcats to punt on 4th-and-9, and Lake Orion called a fair catch on their own 10-yard line with 6:40 to play.
Seven plays later, a pass from Thompson to Jamari Cooper put the Dragons on the Oxford 44-yard line with a first down with 4:11 left. Another pass to an open Cooper over the middle led the Wildcats on a chase to no avail as Cooper reached the end zone. The PAT was good and it looked like the momentum had shifted after the Dragons had scored 15 unanswered points to bring the game within a field goal, 21-18, with 4:01 to play.
An onside kick by the Dragons went out of bounds and the Wildcats took over on their 26-yard line with just under four minutes to play. The Wildcats ran the clock down but had to punt from their 48-yard line with 29 seconds to play.
In the Dragons’ biggest play of the night, Lake Orion blocked the punt and recovered it on the Oxford 37-yard line with 21.5 seconds left in the game and excellent field position. A pass out of bounds brought up 2nd-and-10 and a Hail Mary pass to the endzone to the endzone was broken up by the Wildcat secondary. With just a few seconds on the clock, Lake Orion set up for a 54-yard field goal attempt that would have sent the game into overtime.
The kick was short and Oxford won 21-18.
Oxford head coach Zach Line knew going in Lake Orion would play a tough, physical game.
“They’re always tough. Obviously, we had a really good first half and in the second half we had to step up and play situational football,” Line said. “You have a blocked punt with about 20 seconds left and a lot of plays can happen. I thought their quarterback, no. 8 (Thompson), did a great job stepping in for (T.R.) Hill, and led their offense as best he could. I thought he played a great game. They’re a tough team.”
Oxford’s defense held the Dragons – who had outscored opponents 95-26 over the first three games this season – to just 18, the lowest score Lake Orion has had since a 17-13 win over West Bloomfield on Sept. 15, 2023.