Written Wednesday May 27th, at 11:30 AM: Updated Wednesday June 3rd, at 3:00 PM
The Orion Class of 2015 has suffered another setback when it came to athletics in a sound of disappointing seasons this school year.
The Dragons baseball team was eliminated from the state playoffs with a 5-2 loss to Rochester Adams at home in the pre-district on Tuesday. The team was not the same since they beat Clarkston twice in the middle part of the season despite the fact they shared the Red with Rochester Adams.
This class was the first to miss the 2015 state playoffs in football for the first time since 2000 going 4-5 and losing on homecoming for the first time since then as well.
This class suffered through a 4-17 boys basketball campaign last winter.
The girls volleyball team won 60 games during the regular season but suffered a disappointing three game sweep to Clarkston on its home floor in the district finals.
The girls basketball team won 13 games but lost a tough district semifinal game to Rochester Adams on it's home floor.
Girls soccer had a strong season but ran into a very good Stoney Creek team that featured six college players. Boys soccer had it's ups and downs last fall.
The girls softball team had high expectations to go deep into the state playoffs but ran into Clarkston in the district finals, losing on their home field.
Track all though young in the boys took fourth in the regional for the boys, eighth in the county, and did win another Red title. The girls, still young, struggled at county but did take fourth at the regional.
Wrestling although young had a tough transition but had some questionable losses in the White as a team but ran into Oxford and Adams in a tough pre-district.
Boys Lacrosse had a brutal schedule and had a losing record but playing in the Red and likely state champion Birmingham Brother Rice will do it to you. On a side note they did beat Oxford in the pre-district playoffs.
Yes a lot of blame can be put on this class, maybe they weren't talented enough, maybe they played below expectations, and chemistry could had been an issue as well.
There was some success if you count that Hockey went to the regional championship game, Girls Bowling won an Oakland County Championship in the winter, Girls Lacrosse went to the regional finals before losing to a very good Hartland team.
Most of these teams are young and talented in the lower levels and their is a strong eighth grade class coming from Scripps, Waldon, and Oakview but senior leadership is key for any team to be successful.
The 2015 class does have a lot to be proud of as they graduate from Orion with their high school diplomas. Players and students will be going to college next season to chase their dreams, even though they will go their separate ways, once a Dragon, always a Dragon.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Manzo in running to be Dragons Boys Basketball Coach Could be a Game Changer.
Written Thursday May 14th, at 1:30 AM
When Jim Manzo left the Lake Orion boys basketball program in 2008 after being upset by Waterford Mott at Clarkston in the pre districts nobody knew where the program was heading. The team has had it's ups and downs since Manzo left. The ups being the 2012 state quarterfinal trip under former coach Tom Risi and the downs was last season's 4-17 season along with five of the seven losses were to Clarkston under Risi, Lance Davis, and Mike Shafkalis.
Manzo put his name back on the list on Wednesday to possibly be the next Dragons coach.
Oddly enough it was Manzo that was the last coach to beat Clarkston, in 2007. The Dragons haven't beaten the Wolves since then.
Manzo is a 1988 graduate of Lake Orion and played basketball at the school, works in the school district as a math teacher and has had success coaching on the varsity level winning two division titles in 2005 and 2006. He has had success at Waldon Middle School coaching both the football and boys basketball teams to undefeated seasons in 2014.
Why it's a Game Changer:
Manzo brings varsity experience (previously coached at Lake Orion,) he was a former player, most of the players know him real well. Manzo knows the alumni well, and he knows the game.
Thoughts:
Whomever the new coach is will return a boatload of talent along with a solid junior varsity team from a year ago and will be one of the favorites in the Blue this upcoming winter. Manzo was one of the names I mentioned in the blog and also on my podcast OAA Now. I think it's a two horse race for the head job at Orion between Manzo and current JV coach Steve DeHart. I think both men will do real well and it wouldn't surprise me if they coach together this upcoming winter, DeHart's son Andrew played for Manzo at Waldon on the undefeated team but that decision will be up to Orion Athletic Director Bill Reiss.
We'll see what happens, stay tuned to OAA Now for coverage.
When Jim Manzo left the Lake Orion boys basketball program in 2008 after being upset by Waterford Mott at Clarkston in the pre districts nobody knew where the program was heading. The team has had it's ups and downs since Manzo left. The ups being the 2012 state quarterfinal trip under former coach Tom Risi and the downs was last season's 4-17 season along with five of the seven losses were to Clarkston under Risi, Lance Davis, and Mike Shafkalis.
Manzo put his name back on the list on Wednesday to possibly be the next Dragons coach.
Oddly enough it was Manzo that was the last coach to beat Clarkston, in 2007. The Dragons haven't beaten the Wolves since then.
Manzo is a 1988 graduate of Lake Orion and played basketball at the school, works in the school district as a math teacher and has had success coaching on the varsity level winning two division titles in 2005 and 2006. He has had success at Waldon Middle School coaching both the football and boys basketball teams to undefeated seasons in 2014.
Why it's a Game Changer:
Manzo brings varsity experience (previously coached at Lake Orion,) he was a former player, most of the players know him real well. Manzo knows the alumni well, and he knows the game.
Thoughts:
Whomever the new coach is will return a boatload of talent along with a solid junior varsity team from a year ago and will be one of the favorites in the Blue this upcoming winter. Manzo was one of the names I mentioned in the blog and also on my podcast OAA Now. I think it's a two horse race for the head job at Orion between Manzo and current JV coach Steve DeHart. I think both men will do real well and it wouldn't surprise me if they coach together this upcoming winter, DeHart's son Andrew played for Manzo at Waldon on the undefeated team but that decision will be up to Orion Athletic Director Bill Reiss.
We'll see what happens, stay tuned to OAA Now for coverage.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
New Divisions are out for Basketball.
Written Thursday May 7th at 12:15 PM
The divisions for the boys and girls basketball divisions are out and they are interesting if you are a Dragons fan.
The divisions are a four/six format So we will go with the Boys First.
Red:
Clarkston
North Farmington
Southfield
Lathrup
Adams
Troy Athens
White:
Pontiac
Avondale
Oak Park
West Bloomfield
Troy
Bloomfield Hills
Blue:
ORION
Oxford
Stoney Creek
Rochester
Seaholm
Farmington
Gold:
Harrison
Hazel Park
Ferndale
Berkley
Royal Oak
Groves
I think the division the Dragons are in is a nice division, they have a chance to win the crown. Rochester and Stoney Creek will be solid but Farmington, Oxford, and Seaholm will be solid. Expect this race to be interesting this winter.
Girls:
Red:
Lathrup
Harrison
Clarkston
Adams
Stoney Creek
Oxford
White:
ORION
Bloomfield Hills
North Farmington
Troy
West Bloomfield
Royal Oak
Blue:
Seaholm
Farmington
Rochester
Oak Park
Southfield
Avondale
Gold:
Pontiac
Hazel Park
Groves
Ferndale
Berkley
Troy Athens
I look at the White as being a three team maybe four team race between North Farmington, West Bloomfield, Orion, and Bloomfield Hills but at the end of the day, I think this could be a two team race though between the Raiders and Dragons.
The divisions for the boys and girls basketball divisions are out and they are interesting if you are a Dragons fan.
The divisions are a four/six format So we will go with the Boys First.
Red:
Clarkston
North Farmington
Southfield
Lathrup
Adams
Troy Athens
White:
Pontiac
Avondale
Oak Park
West Bloomfield
Troy
Bloomfield Hills
Blue:
ORION
Oxford
Stoney Creek
Rochester
Seaholm
Farmington
Gold:
Harrison
Hazel Park
Ferndale
Berkley
Royal Oak
Groves
I think the division the Dragons are in is a nice division, they have a chance to win the crown. Rochester and Stoney Creek will be solid but Farmington, Oxford, and Seaholm will be solid. Expect this race to be interesting this winter.
Girls:
Red:
Lathrup
Harrison
Clarkston
Adams
Stoney Creek
Oxford
White:
ORION
Bloomfield Hills
North Farmington
Troy
West Bloomfield
Royal Oak
Blue:
Seaholm
Farmington
Rochester
Oak Park
Southfield
Avondale
Gold:
Pontiac
Hazel Park
Groves
Ferndale
Berkley
Troy Athens
I look at the White as being a three team maybe four team race between North Farmington, West Bloomfield, Orion, and Bloomfield Hills but at the end of the day, I think this could be a two team race though between the Raiders and Dragons.
Dragons will look Different in 2015-2016.
Written Thursday May 7th, at 11:30 AM
The Orion Dragons will be looking for their fourth boys basketball coach in seven seasons on Wednesday when coach Tom Risi stepped down Wednesday after suffering a tough 4-16 season in 2014-2015.
Risi led the Dragons to the state quarterfinals in 2012 and gave Orion their first district title in 28 years and first regional title since 1925 in 2012.
Possible Candidates:
With Risi's resignation it means that Orion Athletic Director, Bill Reiss will be looking for a new coach. It wouldn't be surprising at all, that these seven would be in the running for the job. The Orion job is a good job with three middle schools forming one big school. It is possible that Reiss would look elsewhere but these seven coaches do come into mind when looking for the best candidate.
1. Steve DeHart: DeHart is the current Junior Varsity coach for the Dragons. He is also known in the football routs as well as one of the freshman coaches and his kids are in district. DeHart has been successful on Junior Varsity in the last three seasons, including an 18-2 mark with this upcoming senior class. He knows the players well and is well respected by them. Risi was unproven as a varsity coach when he got the job and look what happened there, it could be possible that Reiss moves everyone up like he did with the girls volleyball program when Ross Talbot left for Oxford.
2. Dwayne Graves: The media (MiPrepZone and the Detroit News) will be all over this story if Graves chooses to come home and coach his alumni school. Graves is a 1994 Orion graduate and has had success coaching at Bloomfield Hills Lahser (three seasons) and one and a half seasons at Bloomfield Hills until an ugly incident cost him his job. He brings championship experience as he took the Blackhawks to the State title game in 2013-2014. Graves does have some friends in the school as Bob Brydges his childhood friend is the current Girls Freshman Basketball Coach. Graves would be a huge hire and give Orion creditably right away.
3. Randy Maynard: Maynard brings experience to the fold with his AAU background and was the former Freshman Basketball coach at Orion in 2010-2011. Also remember Maynard has a son in Drew and a daughter in Dawn and they know the basketball background and have had successful basketball careers. Also Maynard knows the players very well as well.
4. Steve Laidlaw: The former Oxford Varsity and current Avondale Junior Varsity coach has had an interest in running the Dragons program. Laidlaw brings varsity experience and has done very well since being forced out of Oxford. He has had success at Avondale as the team's Junior Varsity coach and an assistant under Tim Morton.
5. Al Katolla: Katolla has experience at Oak Park, he has been all over the program from Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Freshman. It could be interesting if he gets the job and if he wants it considering the situation at Oak Park.
6. Jim Manzo: Manzo was a former Dragons player in the 1980's and former Varsity Basketball coach until 2008. He has had successful seasons at Waldon and on the Varsity level as well and he knows the players well since he is in the school everyday as a math teacher. The question will be is will he come back???
7. Jack Lingeman: Lingeman was in the running for the job in 2011 before it went to Risi and he was a good coach at Scripps. It is possible he could make a run at the job.
We'll see what happens with the coaching situation keep updated with the Dragons Den Blog and OAA Now for complete updates.
The Orion Dragons will be looking for their fourth boys basketball coach in seven seasons on Wednesday when coach Tom Risi stepped down Wednesday after suffering a tough 4-16 season in 2014-2015.
Risi led the Dragons to the state quarterfinals in 2012 and gave Orion their first district title in 28 years and first regional title since 1925 in 2012.
Possible Candidates:
With Risi's resignation it means that Orion Athletic Director, Bill Reiss will be looking for a new coach. It wouldn't be surprising at all, that these seven would be in the running for the job. The Orion job is a good job with three middle schools forming one big school. It is possible that Reiss would look elsewhere but these seven coaches do come into mind when looking for the best candidate.
1. Steve DeHart: DeHart is the current Junior Varsity coach for the Dragons. He is also known in the football routs as well as one of the freshman coaches and his kids are in district. DeHart has been successful on Junior Varsity in the last three seasons, including an 18-2 mark with this upcoming senior class. He knows the players well and is well respected by them. Risi was unproven as a varsity coach when he got the job and look what happened there, it could be possible that Reiss moves everyone up like he did with the girls volleyball program when Ross Talbot left for Oxford.
2. Dwayne Graves: The media (MiPrepZone and the Detroit News) will be all over this story if Graves chooses to come home and coach his alumni school. Graves is a 1994 Orion graduate and has had success coaching at Bloomfield Hills Lahser (three seasons) and one and a half seasons at Bloomfield Hills until an ugly incident cost him his job. He brings championship experience as he took the Blackhawks to the State title game in 2013-2014. Graves does have some friends in the school as Bob Brydges his childhood friend is the current Girls Freshman Basketball Coach. Graves would be a huge hire and give Orion creditably right away.
3. Randy Maynard: Maynard brings experience to the fold with his AAU background and was the former Freshman Basketball coach at Orion in 2010-2011. Also remember Maynard has a son in Drew and a daughter in Dawn and they know the basketball background and have had successful basketball careers. Also Maynard knows the players very well as well.
4. Steve Laidlaw: The former Oxford Varsity and current Avondale Junior Varsity coach has had an interest in running the Dragons program. Laidlaw brings varsity experience and has done very well since being forced out of Oxford. He has had success at Avondale as the team's Junior Varsity coach and an assistant under Tim Morton.
5. Al Katolla: Katolla has experience at Oak Park, he has been all over the program from Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Freshman. It could be interesting if he gets the job and if he wants it considering the situation at Oak Park.
6. Jim Manzo: Manzo was a former Dragons player in the 1980's and former Varsity Basketball coach until 2008. He has had successful seasons at Waldon and on the Varsity level as well and he knows the players well since he is in the school everyday as a math teacher. The question will be is will he come back???
7. Jack Lingeman: Lingeman was in the running for the job in 2011 before it went to Risi and he was a good coach at Scripps. It is possible he could make a run at the job.
We'll see what happens with the coaching situation keep updated with the Dragons Den Blog and OAA Now for complete updates.
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