Bright lights, filled stadium, tailgaters, fanfare and a town decked in green and white.
It’s really nothing new to the Dragon football team. And this Friday, they’ll do it all again for homecoming where the Troy Colts, 3-2, will face an undefeated Lake Orion on home turf.
‘Troy is very well-coached,? said Dragon Head Coach Chris Bell. ‘They always play very well, defensively. They have some weapons on offense, so we just have to do what we do. We have to worry about us.?
Bell says the team will look to it balanced offense, defense and special teams to keep their feet on the field.
‘Our strength is our balance. We can throw it as well as we can run it. The key for us is just to execute and take care of football,? he said.
Last Friday’s 42-7 victory over Royal Oak gave the Dragons their current 5-0 record.
‘Everybody played well. Our kids did a great job on special teams in the kicking game. Offensively, we’ve got contributions from a ton of people, it wasn’t just one guy,? said Bell. He noted Demitri Hudson had some big receptions and scored a touchdown, tallied up with Marques Stevenson’s two touchdowns. Danny Ney and KJ Ester ran the ball well, Chaz Miller caught his first touchdown pass and Sean Charette played well. In the kicking game, Nick Kinsler blocked a punt for the second week in a row.
‘We just did a lot of very good things,? Bell said.
But the key to this season and any successful season, says the coach, is a solid defense.
‘We get a lot of attention for our offense and the points we score, but the key to a great season is when you can play great defense,? said Bell. ‘When we play great defense, it puts our offense in really good positions, and our defense has done that for us all year long ? keeping us in good field position and making sure we get the ball back.?
Bell says their goal is to limit an opponent under two touchdowns or less, and they’ve done it so far.
He says their perfect record going into homecoming comes as no surprise to the team ? it’s something they’ve been talking about achieving since the season began. But the players recognize there’s still work to be done.
‘There’s a lot of room for improvement,? Bell said. ‘We’re not where we need to be yet, but every week we’ll get a little bit better.?