What Clarkston gained from their 30-12 victory at Lake Orion on Oct. 22 was easy to see, the win gauranteed the Wolves a chance to play another day. Losing the game would have ended the season with Clarkston falling short of the six wins required for MHSAA playoffs.
On closer inspection, the win left the CHS seniors with a deep personal satisfaction. This is the first time in four years they had beaten Lake Orion.
Looking deeper stilliinto the victory, the win showed Clarkston fans and players what the coaching staff already knew: when the Wolves play as a team, they can hang with anyone.
‘We went old school, we took the names off the jerseys and the tape off the shoes. I felt there was too much individualism going on and that was my way of saying it,? said Clarkston Coach Kurt Richardson.
Clarkston scored early when senior quarterback Scott Leigh found senior Adam Briceland in the end zone for a 7-0 lead at 7:17 of the first quarter. The Dragons answered back with a scoring drive of their own capped by a three-yard run by senior Ryan Kelly.
‘We finally put it together offensively and defensively. It was a great game for us,? said Richardson.
The Wolves scored 16 points in the second quarter on drives finished with a touchdown run by Leigh, a touchdown pass from Leigh to senior Brad Goodman and a 29-yard field goal by sophomore Ryan Breen, which made the score 23-6 going into the half.
A key to the second quarter was a stop made by the Wolves when Lake Orion elected to go for the first down on fourth and one from their own 25.
‘We needed the win. It was do or die for the seniors,? said senior offensive lineman Garrett Phillips.
Both Phillips and Richardson felt that the offensive and defensive lines dominated the play in the trenches.
‘Our ability to control the line of scrimmage was key,? said Richardson.
Lake Orion managed another score halfway through the third quarter, but were unable to dent the Clarkston defense any further the rest of the way.
A fourth quarter drive ate nearly nine minutes of the fourth quarter and ended with Leigh’s fifth touchdown of the evening, on a 14-yard scramble.
‘In the fourth quarter we took over the game,? said Phillips.
The win qualifies Clarkston for the MHSAA playoffs and they will face undefeated Utica Eisenhower at 1 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 30 in Utica.
‘We will just go after them the way we go after anyone,? said Richardson. ‘If we play the way we played against Orion we can beat (Eisenhower).?
The Wolves finished the regular season with a record of 6-3.