In the first 15 minutes of the match-up on Sept. 10 against OAA powerhouses Rochester Adams and Lake Orion, the two teams had already combined for four touchdowns, and a 14-14 deadlock.
But with five minutes left in the half, Adams took the lead for good, on their way to scoring a 33-14 victory over the Dragons.
Less than a minute into the game, Orion opened the scoring on a 63-yard touchdown run by senior Ryan Allison and a 7-0 Dragon lead.
Adams took the ensuing kickoff and responded with a six-minute scoring drive, capped by a Jeff Niswonger one-yard run.
The Dragons mounted a drive of their own to close out the first quarter, which ended with a fumble deep in Adams? territory. The Highlanders quickly marched down the field and took a 14-7 lead on a 20-yard run by Ryan Jock.
Less than two minutes later, Dragon signal caller Brad Hood, a junior, connected with Allison on a 36-yard touchdown strike.
Sophomore Dylan VanFossen’s extra point tied the game at 14.
The Highlanders responded again with a 14-yard scoring run by Jacob Bell, his first of three touchdowns on the night, and a 21-14 Adams? lead with 5:16 remaining in the half.
Lake Orion failed to score on their next possession, and allowed Adams into the end zone on a 64-yard run by Bell with 2 minutes remaining in the half.
The extra point failed and the Highlanders took a 27-14 lead into halftime.
Adams? final score came with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter, when Bell caught a pass and scampered 58 yards for the score.
Defensively, the Dragons were led by senior Mike Smietana and junior Scott Avery, who both recorded 11 tackles, while Mike Burch had seven.
Senior Bobby Clouse also collected his third interception in as many games.
Hood finished the night 22 of 36 for 232 yards and a touchdown. Allison collected eight catches for 106 yards, and senior Ryan Kelly had six catches for 45 yards.
Sophomore David Wurst caught four for 52 yards.
The Dragons travel to Southfield Lathrup on Sept. 17.
Lake Orion’s junior varsity team fell to the Highlanders, 16-13, while the freshmen team lost, 28-0.