By Joe St. Henry
Review Special Writer
A 62-yard touchdown pass with 26 seconds to go in the game lifted Troy Athens past Lake Orion, 21-14, putting a damper on the Dragons? weather-postponed home football opener last week.
The loss dropped Lake Orion to 0-2 for the season.
The Dragons had hoped to build on their opening loss to state-ranked Chippewa Valley, but had Coach Chris Bell said the offense took a step back last Friday against the Red Hawks. Penalties put the Dragons in long-yardage situations which stalled the Dragons? offense for most of the first half.
Lake Orion finally broke through when senior running back Danny White put Lake Orion on top, 7-0, from two yards out with 30 seconds left before the break. It was his second touchdown of the young season.
‘Danny is an old-fashioned, very strong football player,? Bell said. ‘He’s all in.?
Thanks to Lake Orion’s stingy defense, the Dragons? lead held up deep into the third quarter, before the Red Hawks tied the game on a 14-yard touchdown scramble by their quarterback. It was the type of big play that Bell said the defense, which he said played well, must stop.
On its next possession, Lake Orion’s offense was pinned deep in its own territory and after a nice punt return Troy Athens took advantage of the short field to go on top, 14-7, with a minute left in the third quarter.
The Dragons? offense woke up to tie the game with six minutes to go on junior Keith Fields? 28-yard touchdown run. At that point, it appeared Lake Orion grabbed the game’s momentum. The possibility of overtime loomed.
The Red Hawks were apparently not interested in this prospect. They scored the long game-winning touchdown on a third-and-28 pass play that stunned the Dragons and their home fans.
‘We let them hang around, gain confidence as the game went on and then their big play at the end beat us,? said Bell. ‘We made a few plays, but not enough of them. We’re not yet playing or coaching at the level we need to be at to compete.?
Lake Orion’s offense was kept in check most of the night, generating a total of 210 yards. Fields finished with 83 yards and a score on 15 carries. Sophomore quarterback Caden Prieskorn was pressured often during the game, but still completed 15-23 passes for 153 yards. Junior Michael Jarvis led the team in receptions, catching six of those passes for 68 yards. The Dragons? defense kept them in the contest, giving up only 249 total yards to the Red Hawks.
‘There’s no doubt our defense kept us in it,? Bell said. ‘But there were a couple of breakdowns where we let their quarterback out of the pocket and he scrambled to make something happen.?
There is little room for error moving forward for the Dragons, with six wins needed to qualify for the playoffs and seven games left on the schedule.
This week, Lake Orion travels to Troy to face the also winless Colts. But Bell was quick to point out that Troy has lost to two state-ranked teams ? Sterling Heights Stevenson and West Bloomfield. He said the Colts have struggled on offense, but feature a very good defense.
‘It’s going to be another dogfight,? Bell said, hoping the Dragons get their bite back this week.