By Joe St. Henry
Review Sports Writer
Lake Orion’s football team got good news last Sunday when it learned the Dragons would be playing in the MHSAA state playoffs for the first time in three years, despite losing their last game of the regular season to the Bloomfield Hills Black Hawks, 21-0.
The loss dropped Lake Orion’s final record to 5-4 (4-2 OAA Red, third place) and put the team on the playoff bubble.
Any doubts turned to smiles, however, when it was announced the Dragons would be playing at least one more week, lining up against the defending Division 1 state champion Romeo Bulldogs (6-3) in the first round of district play this Friday.
“It’s been a rough couple of years missing the playoffs, so this is a positive step for the program,” Head Coach Chris Bell said. “We’re very happy for the kids. They’re being rewarded for their hard work.
“We expect them to enjoy the moment, but play hard and compete.”
Against the Black Hawks, the Dragons’ offense sputtered, generating only 166 total yards – 150 of those on ground.
The team generated 12 first downs in the game and converted 1-10 third downs.
Junior quarterback Johnathan Marshall was sacked five times. Lake Orion lost three fumbles.
“This has been the story of our season,” Bell said. “When we take care of the football and avoid mistakes we play well and score points. But when we are careless with the ball we get ourselves in trouble.”
The tone of the game was established early, when Lake Orion took its opening drive down the field but turned the ball over on a fumble at the Bloomfield Hills’ 18-yard line.
The Black Hawks could not capitalize on the mistake, but they did put together a scoring drive later in the first quarter, capped by a passing touchdown to grab the lead, 6-0.
The Dragons offense continued to struggle in the second quarter, taking losses on early downs and putting the team in third-and-long situations that it was unable to convert.
Bloomfield Hills scored again just before halftime on a 34-yard touchdown pass.
Another turnover, penalties and failed fourth down conversion stymied the Lake Orion offense in the third quarter, but the Dragon defense stepped up, too.
After being kept in check, Bloomfield Hills’ quarterback threw his third touchdown of the game on the last play of the quarter.
Bell said Lake Orion’s banged up secondary did limit the Bloomfield Hills offense to 100 yards in the air for the game. The Dragons also intercepted a Black Hawk pass in the end zone for a touchback in the final quarter.
Bloomfield Hills could not covert any PATs, but did kick a 35-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to finish the scoring.
“Our defense played well enough for us to win, but our offense didn’t hold up their end of the bargain,” Bell said. “Now, when we looked at the game film on Saturday, the plays were there. We have to execute better when we have the ball.”
In addition to Romeo, Lake Orion’s playoff district bracket also includes Waterford Mott (5-4) and Rochester Adams (6-3).
Bell said the playoffs present the Dragons with a new opportunity and anybody can win the district. “It’s a great draw for us, but we have to play well with no mistakes.”
Lake Orion has faced Romeo on a number of times in the playoffs and the Dragons’ head coach thinks this year’s teams are very similar to each other.
“They lost a number of players to graduation, but are still well coached, feature strong athletes and they play very hard,” Bell said. “I expect another great game from these two teams.”