Dragons remain ninth in the state

By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
ORION TWP. — The Lake Orion varsity football team secured its place at the top of the OAA Red leaderboard with a decisive win over Stoney Creek on Friday, sending the battered Cougars limping home after a 49-28 thrashing.
But the win did not help the Dragons (5-0, 3-0 OAA Red) in the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) state rankings.
Lake Orion upset then-unbeaten West Bloomfield, the No. 3-ranked team in the state at the time, 17-13 in dramatic fashion at Dragon Stadium on Sept. 15. That was the first time the Dragons have beat the Lakers since 2013
Despite victories over West Bloomfield, and now Stoney Creek, the Dragons remained ninth in the state as of Monday. West Bloomfield (4-1, 2-1 OAA Red) fell to No 8.
Clarkston (3-2, 3-0 OAA Red), the only other unbeaten team in the OAA Red, is ranked 14th in the state and will play Lake Orion on Oct. 6 at Clarkston.
Against Stoney Creek, the Dragons were led by senior running back Billy Roberson who had a monstrous night with four touchdowns.
Senior defensive back Andrew Parker had an interception return for a touchdown and a kick return for another TD, putting the game out of reach for Stoney Creek in the second half.
Junior slotback Jackson Vasquez also had a touchdown for the Dragons.
Lake Orion got on the scoreboard first with 8:24 left in the first quarter, taking the 7-0 lead after the extra point. Vasquez then went 12 yards into the endzone with 1:43 left in the first quarter to put the Dragons up 13-0. The PAT was no good.
Roberson had a 30-yard touchdown run with nine minutes left in the second quarter to put the Dragons up 19-0. Head coach Chris Bell then called for a two-point conversion attempt, which the Dragons converted, putting them up 21-0.
Then with 48 seconds left in the half, Stoney Creek completed a 5:25, 67-yard scoring drive with an 18-yard pass to the endzone. The PAT was good and the half ended with Lake Orion leading 21-7.
Less than four minutes into the second half Lake Orion had a touchdown called back on a procedure penalty. Just under two minutes later, however, Roberson scored on a 19-yard pass. The PAT was good and Lake Orion went up 28-7.
Stoney Creek answered with 4:24 left in the third when their quarterback scored on a six-yard run, making 28-14. Things seemed to be turning the Cougars’ way when Lake Orion quarterback Tristan Hill threw an interception with 3:09 left in the third.
Senior linebacker Joey DeBrincat sacked the Cougar quarterback on a third-and-nine play, but on the next play Stoney Creek managed to get a first down and began a drive toward the end zone. The third quarter ended with Stoney Creek first and goal on the Dragons’ eight-yard line.
Two plays later, at the start of the fourth quarter, the Cougar quarterback completed a short pass to a wide receiver in the end zone making it 28-21 Lake Orion after the successful PAT.
On the kickoff, Parker returned the ball 50 yards for a touchdown, giving Lake Orion the 35-21 lead.
Stoney Creek got the ball back but a bad snap over the quarterback’s head resulted in Lake Orion recovering the ball on the Cougars’ nine-yard line. On third-and-one of the Cougars’ one yard line, Roberson ran into the endzone for another Dragon TD with 9:09 left on the clock, putting them up 42-21 after the PAT.
Just over a minute-and-a-half later, Parker intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown, putting the Dragons up 48-21. The PAT was good, giving the Dragons the 49-21 lead with 7:32 left in the game.
Stoney Creek managed another touchdown late in the game making it 49-28.
Despite Lake Orion’s impressive numbers on the scoreboard, it was the Cougars who were more impressive on paper.
Lake Orion had 210 yards of total offense, while Stoney Creek racked up 379 yards. The Cougars also had 21 first downs to the Dragons’ 13. Stoney Creek’s offense stayed on the field for 31:53 minutes, nearly doubling the Dragons’ 16:07 time of possession.
The Dragons went 6-for-12 in the air with only 48 yards passing, while the Cougars went 17-for-27 for 145 passing yards. On the ground, where the Dragons usually dominate, Stoney Creek outran Lake Orion 234 yards to 162 yards.
But what Lake Orion did well was score when they needed to and stop Stoney Creek from reaching the end zone to close the scoring gap.
For Lake Orion, Roberson had 14 carries for 110 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Vasquez had three carries for 34 yards and a TD, while Hill and back Raymond Payne each had eight rushing yards.
Hill was 6-for-12 passing for 48 yards. Dominic Novak led the receiving core with two catches for 21 yards.
The Dragon defense came up big when needed to stop the Cougars. Carson Negri racked up 14 tackles for the Dragons while Andrew Parker and Joey DeBrincat each had 12 tackles.
Lake Orion travels to Rochester Adams on Friday for another OAA Red matchup. Game time is 7 p.m. Adams (3-2, 1-2 OAA Red) is coming off a 32-36 loss to West Bloomfield and is 24th in the MHSAA rankings.