Rochester Adams senior quarterback Alan Guy racked up 168 yards passing, another 58 rushing, and led the Highlander defense to avenge last year’s 42-0 drubbing at the hands of the Lake Orion Dragons, giving Adams (6-2) an automatic spot in the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s postseason varsity football playoffs.
The Dragons, after winning the coin toss, elected to give Adams the ball, and Guy wasted little time, as the senior hit Marcus MacNamara for a 65-yard scoring strike on the Highlanders’ first play from scrimmage.
On the ensuing Dragon offensive possession, Orion’s Roger Allison fumbled on the Dragons’ first play from scrimmage, which was recovered by Guy from his linebacker position at the 11-yard line, leading to an Adams 21-yard field goal.
After pinning the Dragons deep in their own territory and forcing a punt, the Highlanders started a march from the Orion 47-yard line, which ended in a Guy-one-yard-touchdown run and a 16-0 lead for Adams, with 5:25 left in the first quarter.
Lake Orion quarterback, sophomore Brad Hood, put together an impressive Dragon drive to close the first, by threading the ball between to Adams defenders to a diving Brian Hewitt for a 33-yard Dragon score, closing the gap to 16-6.
Although the Dragons wouldn’t score the rest of the game, Hood, who was moved up from junior varsity last week to fill in for injured Nate Recknagel, showed a great deal of progress through the game, ending the night 15 of 33 passing for 170 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Junior wide receiver Brad Neary hauled in three Hood-passes for the Dragons.
Hood will get one more tune-up game before he leads his team into the playoffs, as the Dragons host the Clarkston Wolves on Friday, in the regular season finale for both teams.
Heading into last Friday’s contests, both Clarkston and Lake Orion were ranked among the state’s top-10 Division I teams. Clarkston, however, suffered defeat at the hands of Farmington Hills Harrison, 35-0.
Although the OAA-I title is firmly in the hands of Farmington Hills Harrison, and both the Wolves and Dragons have already qualified for the playoffs, Friday’s game is important to both reams. They fight for playoff points and a possible home playoff game, but when it comes to a Clarkston-Orion football game, little else is need to make for a hard-hitting and exciting finale.
Friday’s game begins at 7 p.m., however it is suggested to plan to arrive early for what usually results in a full house when these two teams meet.