An air of uncertainty surrounds Clarkston’s first-round match in the district playoffs. Not through any fault of the team, but the Wolves drew a first-round bye and is set to take on the winner of Monday’s Lapeer East and Waterford Mott game at Lake Orion. The Wolves get the victor Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Coach Dan Fife said the Wolves are going to be much the same team that walked off the floor at West Bloomfield Friday.
‘There’s not a lot to change when you’re going into your 20th game of the year, you are who you are,? he said.
‘We can make some adjustments, but not big changes, because kids need time to work on things.?
After observing Monday’s first round, Fife said Clarkston will have a satisfactory scouting report on its playoff-opening opponent.
Clarkston enters the playoffs with a 17-3 regular-season record. The Wolves are on a three-game winning streak after falling to Southfield Lathrup in conference play last week. Clarkston rebounded for a tie with Pontiac Northern for the Oakland Activities Association title with wins over the Huskies and the Lakers last week.
On the opposite side of the bracket in the district playoffs are the hosting Dragons. Lake Orion plays Waterford Kettering on Monday and the winner advances to play Oxford in the late game on Wednesday.
Clarkston and Lake Orion met in the district finals last year and the Wolves came away with a 56-50 win. The result was different early this season, when the Dragons handed Clarkston its first loss of the season, 51-43, in mid-December.
?(We got) a butt-kicking and a bruised ego. They took it to us, there’s no question they were the aggressor and controlled the game. That game was lost in the first minute, not in 32. Right from the start, they put it on us. I just hope we can answer the bell,? Fife said.