Rochester Scouting Report.

Written Monday September 30th, at 12:15 AM

In perhaps one of the toughest games of the season the Dragons (4-1, 3-1 Red) survived last week at Ford Field against Troy. This week’s opponent the Rochester Falcons could present the Dragons with similarities and differences that the Colts featured last week.

Rochester comes into this game with a record of 3-2, and 2-2 in the Red feature an experienced and senior laden team. The Falcons have 26 seniors on their football team and also this is their homecoming game this season. Rochester has big wins over Utica 28-14, West Bloomfield 33-26, and Pontiac 40-0. Their losses were to Troy 21-14 and Clarkston 34-13.

The Dragons historically have not been kind to opposing teams on their homecoming. Last season, Lake Orion was 2-0 in ruining teams’ homecoming games (Farmington and Pontiac fell to the Dragons.)

The Falcons run an I-pro offense under Coach Eric Vernon. The I-Pro offense is a regular pro style offense that most National Football League teams use and run. It features a combination of a power offense and a spread offense. It has a tight end, a fullback, and some good receivers and has to have a good quarterback to run it which Rochester does. In College Football, Alabama, Michigan State, Michigan, and Iowa run this type of offense.

Rochester returns all seven guys on both sides of the football on the offensive and defensive lines so they do have a lot of experience in that area. The Falcons run a 4-3 defense and has been prone to allowing touchdowns through the air. Rochester allowed three touchdowns each to Jay Darish of Troy and D.J. Zezula of Clarkston this season.

The Falcons features senior quarterback Kevin Byrd. Byrd did not play football last season after transferring from West Bloomfield to Rochester and has stabilized the quarterback position over at Rochester. Byrd has thrown two touchdown passes or more in every single game this season. He was ten for 13 for 178 yards and two touchdowns against Utica and had two touchdown passes against Troy. Byrd struggled against Clarkston when he threw a pick six for a touchdown and was pressured all night by the Wolves defense but had two touchdown passes. He also had two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown two weeks ago against West Bloomfield and played well in limited time against Pontiac. Byrd likes to throw the ball but can run when the play brakes down. He is a good quarterback and has played some when he was at West Bloomfield so he does have experience.

The next guy is senior wide receiver/defensive back Demetris Magee. Magee is a fast speedy athlete with good hands, and a good wide receiver. He is also the team’s kickoff and punt returner, Magee had a 60 yard kickoff return against Troy. Magee as a wide receiver has had some monster games this season. He had 134 receiving yards and two touchdowns against Utica and did catch a 13 yard touchdown pass against Troy. Magee had two touchdown receptions against Clarkston and had a ten yard touchdown reception against West Bloomfield. He is a very dangerous wide receiver and the team’s best athlete.

The next guy is senior fullback Tyler Carten. Carten is a big back but he has had some big games. He had 18 carries and 104 yards against Utica and a touchdown and had a four yard touchdown run against Troy. Carten will carry the ball some and does block well when need too.

The next guy is senior running back Vince Piacentini. Piacentini had a big game two weeks ago against West Bloomfield where he had 139 yards and a touchdown. He has become a good power running back for Rochester and he continues to improve each game.

The next guy is senior running back Blake Fetterhoff. Fetterhoff although does not get the attention at running back as Piacentini and Carten do but he has had some good games this season. He had 16 carries for 70 yards against Utica.

We’ll see what happens this week. This will be a difficult game for Lake Orion. If the Dragons play like they did for three quarters against Troy then they are in trouble. If they play like they did in the fourth quarter against the Colts then the game could get ugly real fast.