Clarkston up next in districts on Friday

By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
ORION TWP. — The Lake Orion varsity football team defeated Oxford 58-26 in the district semifinal playoff game at Dragon Stadium on Friday to remain undefeated at 10-0.
Lake Orion now takes on Clarkston (5-5) in the MHSAA Division 1 District No. 5 game at 7 p.m. Friday at Lake Orion High School. The winner moves on to the Regional No. 2 game on Nov. 10.
Clarkston beat Romeo 33-10 on Friday, and previously lost to Lake Orion 42-21 on Oct 6.
Lake Orion dominated Oxford in nearly every aspect of the game but head coach Chris Bell and his staff had the Dragons prepared for playoff football
“We knew Oxford was going to come to play and their running game is tough to stop and they have a good little quarterback. So, they gave us some problems early on. We just had to keep scoring and our offense played really well,” Bell said.
Quarterback T.R. Hill opened the scoring with a 68-yard run on the second play of the game to put the Dragons up six.
Oxford scored with 7:59 left in the first quarter with a 26-yard pass from quarterback Jack Hendrix to receiver Jay Cady, to tie the game 7-7.
Hill put the Dragons ahead with another rushing touchdown, but Oxford running back Luke Johnson answered with 2:46 left in the first quarter to tie the game 14-14.
Lake Orion dominated the second quarter, with two touchdowns from running back Billy Roberson, one from Hill and one from slotback Raymond Payne on a pass from Hill.
Lake Orion scored 30 unanswered points in the second quarter and took a 44-14 lead into halftime.
Oxford would get a touchdown in the third and fourth quarters but elected to try both times for two points, failing to convert each time. While the Wildcats scored 12 points in the second half, Lake Orion scored two touchdowns and the PATs, giving the Dragons the 14-12 second half advantage.
On offense, Lake Orion racked up 590 total yards, 220 yards more than Oxford’s 370 yards of offense. The Dragons had 24 first downs, doubling the Wildcat’s 12.
As the team has done all season, Dragon runners accounted for most of the offensive yardage with eight Lake Orion players contributing to 503 total yards rushing on 46 carries, an average of 10.93 yards per carry.
Quarterback Tristan had one of the best performances of the season, carrying the ball 14 times for 308 yards rushing and five touchdowns.
Hill also went 3-for-5 passing for 87 yards and a 42-yard TD pass to Raymond Payne. Receiver Dominic Novak had one catch for 27 yards, while Jackson Vasquez had a catch for 18 yards for Lake Orion.
Running back Billy Roberson rushed for 129 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns. Jackson Vasquez carried the ball five times for 46 yards and Payne had 10 yards on four carries. Jackson Shoskey, Brody Thompson, Travis Acker and Trey Pochmara also gained yardage for the Dragons.
“The offensive line opened up some holes (in the Wildcat defense). Raymond (Payne) and Jackson (Vasquez) were big tonight. Dom (Novak) and Jahmari (Cooper) are the most unselfish wide receivers I’ve had. They do a great job blocking and their big weapons as well. So, the good thing is we can spread the ball around. If they’re going to focus on one area then the other guys are going to hurt you.”
While Hill and Roberson each had multiple touchdowns, Bell knew it was a total team effort to create those opportunities and praised the offensive line, and the defense for shutting Oxford down after the Wildcats’ first two touchdowns.
“Once the defense straightened a couple of things out the defense played really well as well. Defense started getting some stops and we got up a couple of scores, so I’m really happy overall,” Bell said. “Special teams were good, so it was a very solid performance. You know, it’s a playoff so everybody plays well and the other teams are going to score some points as well. Overall, I’m very happy.”
Kicker Will Hoffman had a field goal to notch another three points for the Dragons.
Oxford did beat Lake Orion through the air, with eight completions on 20 attempts for 175 yards. Time of possession was a mere two seconds apart, with Oxford at 24:01 minutes to Lake Orion’s 23:59 minutes.
It was a clean game with neither team committing any turnovers. Lake Orion had three penalties for 15 yards, while Oxford had one penalty for 10 yards.
Against Clarkston Bell knows that despite defeating them earlier in the season, the Wolves will come prepared.
“It’s going to be a great game. Whenever you play somebody – and we exposed some things the last time we played them – they’re going to fix those and they’re going to be ready,” Bell said. “So, it’s a long week of preparation for us. Both teams are a little beaten up right now but we just have to fight through it, stay healthy and it will be a great game next week.”