Lake Orion’s 29-25 loss to Hudsonville in their first game of the season was a tale of a devastating fourth quarter.
‘We played a good football game for three quarters, then just really handed them the ballgame,? said Coach Chris Bell.
It brought back an eerie reminder of last season, when the football squad lost their first game to Rockford, only to lose to them again in the state finals after going on to win the rest of their games.
Once again, the Dragons are 0-1 to start the season.
Lake Orion was winning 19-0 going into the fatal quarter at Friday’s game at Eastern Michigan University.
Then, Hudsonville scored. And scored again. And again. Then, once more.
After their first fourth-quarter touchdown, Hudsonville surprised the Dragons with an onside kick and got the ball back.
They scored the second touchdown, bringing it 19-14.
Then, just two plays after Hudsonville’s kick-off, sophomore quarterback Sean Charette connected with Mike Nelson for a 59-yard touchdown. The score was then 25-14.
But Hudsonville kept charging ahead, scoring another touchdown, and then, with three minutes left in the game, Hudsonville capitalized on a Dragon interception and scored again, taking the lead for the first time in the game.
Lake Orion would get one more possession, which would end in a fumbled pass that was recovered by Hudsonville.
Penalties were main factor in the game, too, according to Bell. Lake Orion had 14 penalties for 120 yards while Hudsonville had five.
Lake Orion had three turnovers; Hudsonville had one.
‘It comes down to penalties, special teams and turnovers,? Bell said. ‘We had multiple mental errors. It was a complete collapse.?
But the mistakes are things to learn from for the upcoming game against West Bloomfield, Bell added.
‘We have nobody but ourselves to blame. We’re going to learn from it, be better and come back and compete.?