Dragons were at Crossroads.

Written Saturday October 1st at 1:05 AM

 

The Dragons were at a crossroads on Friday night at Troy Athens when the Red Hawks had a great second quarter to tie the score at 14-14.

Now what was the crossroads???

Was it, remembering last year’s disaster where Orion lost 21-14 to Troy Athens.

Was it a backup quarterback scoring two touchdowns on the Dragons defense.

Was it Troy Athens offensive line that was getting all the attention.

Was it the Red Hawks homecoming???

Well the Dragons went back to who they were in the second half.

Physical, relentless football.

Orion started the second half scoring 33 unanswered points and gain a measure of revenge from last season’s 21-14 loss to Troy Athens with a 47-14 win on the Red Hawks homecoming.

The Dragons started the game red hot as Chris Wilson went 67 yards for the first touchdown and a 7-0 Orion lead. The Dragons would then get another touchdown to close out the first quarter as Dylan Frank went in the end zone from one yard out and a 14-0 lead.

The Red Hawks would respond as quarterback Jake Cavazos whom replaced Joey Stark as Stark did not play due to a concussion would score a three-yard quarterback keeper and a one yard quarterback keeper keeping Troy Athens in the game at 14-14 heading to the half.

Orion would respond in the second half on defense as the Dragons took Cavazos out of the game with an injury as Tyler Vesterland scored on a five-yard touchdown run but the PAT hit the post for a 20-14 lead. The Red Hawks went with running back Brody Fitzpatrick to close out the game.

The Dragons would then get another stop and force a Red Hawks punt. Parker Edmonds blocked the punt and recovered the loose ball for a touchdown but the two-point try was no good and Orion led 26-14.

Orion would then respond again, only this time Frank went 46 yards for a touchdown and a 33-14 lead. Nick Fletcher would then get two touchdowns of his own to close out the scoring, one from seven yards out and the other from 17 yards out closing the score at 47-14.

Wilson finished with 98 yards and a score on seven carries, Frank had five carries and 69 yards with two scores, and Fletcher had four carries for 51 yards and two scores.

Cavazos finished with 59 yards rushing and two scores while Fitzpatrick had 15 carries for 59 yards for Troy Athens.

The Dragons sit at 4-2 and 4-1 in Red play on the season. Orion will play on yet another homecoming game as they will travel to Birmingham to take on the Maples of Birmingham Seaholm on Friday night.

Dragons didn't look like themselves tonight but got the W.

Written Thursday September 29th at 11:40 PM

The Dragons fresh off a big win at Clarkston on Tuesday but something wasn't right on Thursday night against arch rival Oxford.

It was like they didn't come ready to play or wanted to be there. Where was the motivation or energy to come out and play??? 

The sign of letdown was there.

There are a lot of factors to look at with this sluggish performance.

1. The hangover from the Clarkston game. Of course playing a five game thriller like they did on Tuesday will do that to you.

2. Parents Night.

3. The constant mistakes that led to side outs. The over-hitting that wasn't hitting their marks.

4. Oxford came to play, in which they did.

All the above looks to be the right word to say this night.

Orion lost a set to the Wildcats but ended up prevailing 18-25, 25-12, 25-20, and 25-13 which kept the Dragons unbeaten in league play.

The Dragons looked sluggish early but managed to overcome them but mistakes were still made. Something this team must address. Orion led by Sarah Kelly’s 10 kills on the night.

The Wildcats were led by Paige Briggs 12 kills and Nicole Elzerman’s five kills on the night. Oxford is very talented themselves led by Elzerman and Briggs but have underachieved all season long.

Orion is 27-8 and 5-0 in the Red on the season but this team has a lot of work to do to find that magic they had at Clarkston on Tuesday. The Dragons will go to the Mount Morris Tournament on Saturday and then they host Seaholm on Tuesday night and conclude league play on Thursday at West Bloomfield against the Lakers.

We'll see what happens.

Oxford Volleyball Preview.

Written Wednesday September 28th at 12:20 AM

 

The Oxford Wildcats have been an up and down team this season but the Wildcats will enter this match on Thursday with a lot to prove.

The Wildcats have some talent back for coach LaToria Thomas in the form of Nicole Elzerman and Paige Briggs. Elzerman is the team’s top killer and best player. Briggs is also lethal for the Wildcats on the other side of the ball.

Besides Elzerman and Briggs, the Wildcats have four other players that will make some noise as well in Ellie Wright, Kayla Manzella, Paige Parent, and Madelyn Weiss. Oxford besides these five players have a team that has been playing better and is healthy, something which they weren’t at the beginning of the season.

Elzerman had 18 kills and 7 digs, Briggs had 12 kills and six digs, Parent had seven digs, Wright had 19 assists and Manzella had 14 assists against Harrison.

Manzella had 17 assists, and three kills, Parent had 10 digs and five aces, Weiss had 14 assists and two kills, Elzerman and Briggs combined for 26 kills against West Bloomfield.

Oxford is 2-2 this season in league play with sweeps over West Bloomfield and Harrison but they lost to Bloomfield Hills and Seaholm both in four games. They still have to play Orion, Stoney Creek, and Clarkston.

Thoughts:

Orion and Oxford have seen each other in tournament play, at Notre Dame Prep. These teams know each other well.

I’m worried about a letdown from the Dragons because of the five-set win at Clarkston on Tuesday so that’s something to keep an eye on.

Oxford has won two straight league matchups and had a strong showing at the Novi Invitational this past weekend falling to Novi in the semifinals 25-20, 25-18 so they are battle tested coming in. 

Orion meanwhile had a strong showing at the Northville Invitational before falling in three hard fought matches to Northville including a tough third set loss 15-13 to the Mustangs. The Dragons are also battle tested as well.

This should be fun and interesting on Thursday night.

Dragons Went into the Storm and got a Big One.

Written Wednesday September 28th at 12:00 AM

The Dragons entered the storm on Tuesday night. Think about it from a meteorologist’s perspective about the storm of Clarkston High School. The Wolves hostile student section was the thunder and lightning. The thunder is the noise and passion from the student section, that would give the home team the energy and passion. The lightning would be the one that takes the Dragons down like everyone that has went to Clarkston in years past.

At the end of the day, it was just another chapter in the rivalry between the Dragons and the Wolves.

Orion was ranked sixth in the State while Clarkston entered at fourth in the State.

At the end of the day it was the Dragons that survived the Wolves 27-25, 18-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-13 on Tuesday night at Clarkston in front of a hostile Wolves student section.

The Wolves have won the last eight Red crowns until last season when the Dragons shared the Red with Stoney Creek and Seaholm but Orion beat Clarkston in both the regular season and in the playoffs last season.

The Dragons came from behind this night, down two sets to one. They showed no quit where there were reasons to quit. They were down 6-1 early and 16-8 in the middle of the fourth set but Orion found a way to overcome the storm and win the set to force the fifth game.

In the fifth game, the Wolves controlled things and at one point they led 12-8 but Orion seemed to find a way to answer every Clarkston rally like they did this night.

The Dragons were led by balanced effort led by Mallorie Berriman, Danielle Sargent, Leah Kalugar, and Sarah Kelly. Sargent had 18 kills and six blocks, Berriman had 12 kills and three blocks, Lindsay Wightman had 32 digs, and Rebecca Zelmanski had seven blocks.

Clarkston was led by Abbey Malanowski and Sarah Austin. Malanowski had 22 kills, Austin had 17 kills on the night.

It wouldn’t surprise anyone if the Dragons and Wolves meet again in the district at Orion.

Orion is now 26-8 and 4-0 in the Red this season. They will play Oxford on Thursday in the Fieldhouse.

The Dragons went through the storm and left with a huge win but they still have the target on their backs. They will see Clarkston again in tournaments and in districts. Expect some fireworks when these two teams meet again.