If you look up the definition of “dominate” in the dictionary, odds are you will find the description of Lake Orion’s win over OAA-I opponent Troy Athens on Sept. 19.
The Dragons seemed to move the ball, score and stop the Red Hawks at will, on their way to a 42-0 romp. Orion travels to winless Rochester this Thursday night, before they enter what should be an interesting OAA-I title stretch, as they entertain Troy (2-2) for Homecoming on Oct. 3, and travel to Farmington Harrison (3-1), Rochester Adams (3-1), closing out the regular season against Clarkston (4-0) at home.
While the Dragons offense quickly put the game for Troy Athens out of reach, scoring 35 first-half points, it was again their defense that seemed to pull the tail feathers out of the Hawks. Athens couldn’t move the ball against Orion during the first half, picking up just two first downs, one by penalty and one on a fake punt.
In all, the Dragons held the Red Hawks to just 13 yards rushing and 112 passing, with Athens quarterbacks completing nine of 24 pass attempts. Defensively, the Dragons Mike Ripari and Brian Merideth stopped any hopes for the Hawks to move the ball with key interceptions.
Orion’s offensive production was spread around with five different Dragons scoring. Lake Orion chugged out 241 rushing yards and 134 in the air, with quarterback Nate Recknagel completing 12 of 18 pass attempts for two touchdowns, while the senior signal caller ran for another score and kicked six extra points.
Roger Allison led the Orion rushing attack, gaining 66 yards on nine carries, and scoring the game’s first touchdown on a two-yard run to cap the Dragons’ game-opening drive.
Four minutes later, sophomore running back Andy Miller (seven carries for 58 yards) scored on a 10-yard run. Lake Orion closed their first quarter scoring, following an Athens’ turnover with 1:06 left in the quarter, when Recknagel found Brian Hewitt for an 11-yard scoring pass and a 21-1 Orion lead.
In the second quarter, the Dragons scored early on a four-yard-Recknagel keeper, and a two-yard-Recknagel-to-Hewitt pass, to give the team a 35-0 halftime advantage.
For the fourth straight game, Lake Orion Coach Chris Bell managed to get all his players in the game for some extended playing time, with the Dragons’ second and third team players holding Athens in check throughout the second half. Lake Orion’s final score of the evening came with 5:25 remaining in the contest, when speedy backup quarterback Bobby Clouse sprinted around the end, untouched, for a 29-yard score.
Junior receiver Ryan Allison picked up 65 yards on three catches, Hewitt had eight catches for 65 yards, while Ryan Kelly hauled in another Recknagel toss for four yards. In addition to Allison and Miller, running back Adam Martin gained 45 yards on eight carries and Chase Moore carried three times for 28 yards.
The undefeated Dragons (4-0) face Rochester on Sept. 25, at Rochester, with a game time of 7 p.m.