By Jim Newell
Review Editor
ORION TWP. — When the Lake Orion High School varsity football team takes the field this season it will be with high expectations.
The Dragons finished 4-6 overall (2-3 OAA Red) last season, but head coach Chris Bell and his coaching staff expect more from the team this, including making a run for a league title.
“I expect us to be very good, I really do. I expect us to be in the hunt for our league title. I expect us to be a playoff team,” Bell said. “Our keys are, number one, we have to make sure that we are fundamentally sound, that we don’t beat ourselves with turnovers, penalties and things like that we control, and then hopefully we stay healthy. If we stay healthy I think we have a chance to be pretty special.”
Bell is in his 21st season as coach of the Dragons and his second season returning after a five-year hiatus. Bell’s record is 153-65 as coach of the Dragons and 175-85 overall in his 24 years as head coach.
Bell feels that this may be one of the more talented, hardworking teams the school has had recently and they are setting high expectations for this season.
“We can already see that the kids are more familiar with what we’re doing, especially offensively. Bottom line is we returned some really talented football players. We returned a lot of speed and skill on offense. We return an experienced secondary. We return one of the area’s best linebackers,” Bell said. “I’m very excited about our team, about our chances.”
Lake Orion competes in the Oakland Activities Association Red Division, which includes Clarkston, Oxford, West Bloomfield, Rochester Adams and Stoney Creek high schools.
“In our league if you don’t bring your ‘A’ game every week you’re going to get beat. I think the last several years have shown that we play in one of the best leagues in the state of Michigan,” Bell said. “West Bloomfield, right now, will be the favorite. Which is fine. They’ve been the favorite year-in-year-out. We have to reestablish ourselves. We’ve got to beat them.
“Clarkston is always good; Adams is always good. You can never look past Stoney or Oxford. They’re well coached, tough kids. It’s just a dog fight, every single week is a flat-out dogfight in our league,” the coach said.
While Lake Orion has a tough regular season league schedule, the competition will only help prepare them for the postseason. The Dragon’s non-league games include Saline, Livonia Stevenson and Harper Woods, all of whom are expected to be good this season.
“We will be battle-tested. If we get to the playoffs, our (regular seasons) schedule will be as good as any schedule around,” Bell said. “We have an outstanding coaching staff. That’s excluding myself. Our assistant coaches are doing a great job.”
Assistant coaches are Brad Fischer, Mike Heath, John Blackstock, Rick Powell, Russ Purdy, D.J. Reid, Brian Gannon, Eric Jennings, Corey Bell, Rob Karagosian, Doug Babcock and Taylor McCarty.
On offense, the Dragons return junior Tristan Hill at quarterback. Hill started most of the season last year as a sophomore and played in all of the games, Bell said. “A year of experience goes a long way. He’s an explosive athlete.”
“We return one of the state’s best running backs in Billy Roberson. Billy might be the best back the school has ever had, he’s that good,” Bell said.
Slot receiver senior Raymond Payne “is threat to score every time he touches the ball,” Bell said.
The Dragons also return senior wide receiver Dominic Novak, who led the team in receptions last season. Bell also expects senior back and tight end Joey DeBrincat and junior slot receiver and punt returner Jackson Vasquez, both good athletes, to help lead the Dragons to victory.
On the offensive line, the Dragons return three-year starter Connor O’Rourke and two-year starters Alex Russell and Jacob Escobedo and some younger players who Bell wants to see contribute. “We’ve got size, we’ve got speed, it’s just a matter of playing well. If we do that we should be pretty good.”
“We have a lot of weapons who can do a lot of things,” Bell said. “People have to defend everything. Tristan has really worked hard on the passing game. We’re a threat everywhere. We can run the ball, we can throw it, we can run it inside, we can run it wide. I think we’re a threat everywhere, which helps. If (other teams) focus too much on one area, we can hurt them in other areas.”
On defense, the Dragons have several returning starters.
“We’re a little bit young on our defensive front but we have a lot of good football players who are going to play hard. We had to replace a couple of linebackers from last year, but we have some good players stepping up who are tough kids and play hard,” Bell said.
Senior linebacker Kaydon Degraffrenreid has committed to playing college ball at Howard University. “He had multiple division one offers. He’s just a good athlete. He’s six-foot-two-inches, 220 pounds and runs and tackles. He’s going to be our wide-side linebacker, our field-side linebacker,” Bell said.
In the Dragon’s secondary, Bell expects juniors Austin Conn and Trey Pochmara, who both started last season, and safety Corbin Smith, a three-year starter, to have an impact in stopping plays on defense.
Bell’s also glad that senior DB Andrew Parker, who missed all of last season, is back on the Dragon defense. “He’s one of the school’s best athletes. He’s an all-state lacrosse player. Just a tremendous football player. He’s back and healthy which helps back at safety.”
“Our secondary should be very, very good,” Bell said.
Bell also expects the linebacking core of Degraffrenreid, seniors Carson Negri and Cristian Kowal and junior Malachi Hood to be solid this season.
Defensively, Bell expects junior lineman Brendan Nepchuk, senior Ryan McCartan, junior Sam Barkley and junior Parker Bresett to be solid and challenge for playing time.
Battle at the Big House
Tickets for the Battle at the Big House are available at the Lake Orion High School Athletic Office at Lake Orion High School, or in person at the game. Tickets are $10 per person, cash only. U of M does not provide senior discounts, so all attendees will have to purchase tickets.
Parking for the game is $10, credit card only. Parking is available at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School, across the street from Michigan Stadium. Fans can enter the stadium through gates 1 or 2. Handicap parking is available next to the stadium. Concessions are available at the game, credit card only accepted.
See the Aug. 30 issue of The Lake Orion Review for this year’s Gridiron section.