Tale of Two Half's as Dragons beat Wildcats to retake Double O Trophy

Written Saturday August 25th, at 8:10 PM

On the first Friday night of 2012 a new era shifted in Lake Orion. After a disappointing 6-4 season the Dragons kicked off the regular season against the rivals to the north the Oxford Wildcats.

With upsets brewing all over the state from Troy Athens (ranked third in the Dragons Den) shocking 41-6 loss to Warren Mott to Dearborn Fordson’s win on the road at Macomb Dakota along with Flint Carman Ainsworth’s 27-12 win in Grand Blanc and Midland’s 29-28 overtime win over Plymouth Canton. Lake Orion didn’t want to join this upset list that happened to these teams.

Thankfully they didn’t.

The Dragons (second in the Dragons Den) had to overcome a 10-0 first half deficit to beat the Wildcats 17-10 at Lake Orion to retake the Double O Trophy after Wildcats stunned the Dragons 41-20 last season.

The difference was the second half and the adjustments Lake Orion coach Chris Bell made. The Dragons (1-0, 0-0 Red) abandoned the jet sweep spread offense and went to its traditional house package set and installed its power offense

Oxford (0-1, 0-0 White) dominated the first half, out playing Lake Orion on offense and defensibly. The Wildcats led 37-13 in total plays and controlled time of possession. Oxford used a lot of bootleg along with its traditional power offense, trap, and veer option offense to confuse the Lake Orion Defense early and it worked in the process.

Already clinging to a 3-0 lead after a 36 yard field goal by kicker Josh Nelson, Wildcats quarterback Glacier Wallington found wide receiver Kyle Anderson on a 26 yard fade pass into the end-zone past two Dragon defenders with 33.2 seconds left in the second quarter to give Oxford a 10-0 lead heading into the half.

The second half was another story.

The Dragons returned to something that they haven’t ran constantly since 2003, Power Football.

Lake Orion then took the second half kickoff and drove down the field on a six play 64 yard drive which resulted in a one yard touchdown run by running back Jacob Miller and suddenly the Dragons were back on track at 10-7 with Oxford still leading.

The Dragons defense, led by linebacker Derric Williams took over the second half, limiting Oxford and stopping key drives to keep Lake Orion in the game.

Once the Dragons got the ball back they drove back into Wildcats territory only to get a 38 yard field goal from Jeremy King to tie the score 10-10 heading to the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter Lake Orion managed to drive down the field once again with its full house package that was taking the Wildcats apart. The Dragons then gave Miller the rock once again and he connected on a five yard touchdown with 7:24 left in the game to give Lake Orion a 17-10 lead.

Oxford wasn’t finished yet.

The Wildcats with the tandem of Wallington and sophomore running back Ben Line, the brother of Prescott Line, who last year torched the Dragons for 135 yards and scored five touchdowns. Oxford then drove the ball to the Lake Orion 36 yard line before turning the ball over on downs. The Dragons then ran out the clock to get its first win of the season and snapped its three game losing streak dating back to last season.

The Dragons won the second half time of possession and held a 33-19 advantage in plays.

Lake Orion’s next game will be in the Gridiron Classic on Friday at 5:45 PM against Troy Athens at Ford Field. The Red Hawks were embarrassed at home by Warren Mott 41-6 where they allowed 396 yards on the ground in the loss. The Red Hawks were better than they were against the Marauders and it will be an interesting match up in Detroit.