Team needs to work on fundamentals to get better

By Jim Newell
Review Staff Writer
For about a quarter, the Dragons football team looked like they might make a game of it against defending league champs the West Bloomfield Lakers on Friday.
But after the first quarter, turnovers and sloppy play cost the Dragons in a 37-7 loss to a team they knew would be tough and would require consistent play on both sides of the ball in order to win.
“We just knew we had to play fundamental football and play hard,” Coach Chris Bell said. “For about a quarter we were able to do that.”
Lake Orion opened up strong, scoring first on a 37-yard touchdown run from Max Horneffer at 8:51 of the first quarter. With the point after, the Dragons went up 7-0.
West Bloomfield made a field goal three-and-a-half minutes later, but the Dragons were still up 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Lake Orion hit a wall after that, running into sound defensive play from the Lakers and an offense that tallied 511 total yards to the Dragons 194 yards.
Lake Orion threw for 130 yards to West Bloomfield’s 339 yards passing. The Lakers also had 172 yards rushing to Lake Orion’s 64 yards on the ground. Excluding Horneffer’s touchdown run, the Dragons managed only 27 yards rushing, which Bell called unacceptable.
The Dragons also had five turnovers: two interceptions and three fumbles, but did recover a fourth fumble. “It’s definitely a factor,” Bell said of the turnovers.
West Bloomfield recovered both of their fumbles and did not throw an interception the entire game.
“Offensively we just played sloppy,” Bell said. “We played one quarter of football. Overall, as a team from the second quarter on we just didn’t execute (plays) when we needed too.”
“The kids played hard, but we didn’t play well,” Bell said. “And that’s on all of us. The coaches, too,” Bell said.
The Lakers scored a touchdown late in the second quarter, when Bloomfield quarterback Bryce Veasley threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tai Mustapha with 17 seconds left in the first half, putting the Lakers up 16-7. The Lakers missed the extra point.
West Bloomfield opened the second half with a 1-yard touchdown run at 7:37 of the third quarter, and then made a two-point pass conversion to go up 24-7.
In the fourth quarter, West Bloomfield added two more touchdowns: a 37-yard run at 8:52 mark, and another on a 16-yard pass at with 2:48 left in the game. The Dragons blocked the extra point attempt after the Lakers last touchdown.
“We missed a ton of tackles,” Bell said. “Offensively we were horrible.”
The Lake Orion coaching staff knows that this week the Dragons need to focus on executing the basics in practice.
“We have to fundamentally get better – tackling, blocking, running,” Bell said, adding that would be the focus of practices for the upcoming game. “It’s a big week for fundamentals.”
Lake Orion plays Oxford at home on Friday in the Pink Out game. Both teams will wear pink jerseys to support A Mother’s Wish and its goal of helping raised funds and awareness for Oakland County women afflicted with breast cancer.
Coach Bell knows that the Dragons need to come prepared to play against an Oxford team that
“Oxford is a very good team, they’re very physical,” Bell said. “They run their system well. It’s going to be a good challenge for our team.”