Lake Orion junior quarterback Brad Hood connected on 15 of his 19 pass attempts, to lead a potent Lake Orion varsity football team offense over the Rochester Falcons on Sept. 2, by a score of 42-18.
Hood’s pass attempts were good for 375 yards, with three touchdowns. The Dragons? offense had 575 yards total.
Rochester’s Brandon Elliot opened the game with a 95-yard kickoff return, and a 6-0 Rochester lead. The Dragons (2-0 in OAA I) struck back on their next possession, as junior running back Andy Miller scored on a four-yard run, and Hood connected with senior Ryan Kelly for a 31-yard touchdown pass, taking the lead to 14-6, Lake Orion.
Elliot came back for the Falcons, returning his second kickoff of the quarter from 90 yards out. The Falcon’s two-point conversion attempt failed and the first quarter closed with the Dragons up, 14-12.
Lake Orion began the second quarter with Hood hitting senior Ryan Allison for a 63-yard scoring strike. Five minutes later, the Dragons scored again on a Jayson Bodo 10-yard run, to take the lead to 28-12.
Rochester put together a scoring drive to close the half, capped by a 24-yard run by Gary Forgasch, but again failed on a two-point conversion attempt, to end the half with the Dragons leading, 28-18.
The second half belonged to the Dragons, as they ended two Falcon drives with interceptions by senior defensive backs Bobby Clouse and Brian Hewitt.
Dragon junior running back Steve Garver scored early in the third on a 13-yard run, while Hood connected with junior Joe Nowicki for a 51-yard scoring strike midway through the quarter, to close out the game’s scoring.
Sophomore place kicker Dylan VanFossen was 6-for-6 on extra point attempts.
Miller led the Dragons? ground attack with 105 yards on 11 carries, while Bodo had 44 yards and junior James Monko picked up 38 yards on 10 attempts.
Allison picked up four catches for 155 yards, Kelly caught five for 101 yards, and David Wurst hauled down three for 38 yards. Hewitt, Garver and Nowicki each had a catch.
Senior Mike Burch led the Dragon defense with eight solo tackles, while Hewitt had five stops to go with his interception, and Clouse picked up four tackles and a pick.
The Dragons next meet defending state champions Rochester Adams on Sept. 10 at Lake Orion High School.
Varsity game time is 7 p.m.
The Lake Orion junior varsity team defeated Rochester, 36-0, and the freshmen team also took out the Falcons, 45-7, both on Sept. 1.