The Lake Orion Dragons knew the challenge that faced them Friday when Southfield Lathrup came to town for an Oakland Activities Association prep football game.
Lathrup came in undefeated, averaging some 30 points a game and having only been scored upon in one game so far this season. So it may not have been a surprise to watch Lathrup march downfield with its opening drive.
But when Adam Groh stuffed a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak to snuff the drive, the Dragons were off and running.
Four plays later, running back Kim Bruce set the pace for the night with a 69-yard touchdown run, and the Dragons (3-1, 3-0) never looked back in a 35-0 victory.
‘You look at the scoreboard and you say, ‘that was a pretty thorough win,?? Dragon coach Chris Bell said. ‘But it was hard-fought and well-earned. It was the most complete game we’ve played yet. We played fundamental defense. We’re starting to play fast, which tells me our young guys are growing up.?
Bell said high-scoring Lathrup’s game plan was to keep the ball away from the Dragons, but it didn’t work well. Lake Orion rushed the ball so well (360 yards rushing as a team) that quarterback Sean Charette only had to throw the ball nine times.
Bruce led the attack with 120 yards on 16 carries, while Danny Ney added 110 yards on 11 carries and Marcus Stevenson chipped in 70 yards on 12 carries.
Bell said the Dragons won the physical battle, and Charette’s handling of the team’s constant no-huddle offense was another key to the win.
‘Sean does a great job of checking things at the line and putting us in great situations,? Bell said. ‘We did a great job in the kicking game, offensively we were very efficient. We had one turnover, although we turned it over on downs twice), and we never had to punt.?
Charette, who was an economical 4-of-9 for 71 yards passing, hit Mike Nelson with a 31-yd touchdown pass for Lake Orion’s second touchdown.
Ney scored on a 4-yard run (on a fourth-down play) in the third quarter, and Stevenson got his touchdown on a 25-yard, fourth-quarter run. A third-quarter safety accounted for the rest of the scoring.
‘The challenge for our kids was to play more physical than they were ? that’s what we do,? Bell said. ‘They came in feeling good about themselves, and they should ? they have a great team. But we played physically with them, played hard and played great football.?