Dragons Fall to Clarkston Again.

Written Thursday November 2nd at 7:00 AM

Sometimes it wasn’t meant to be.

The Dragons Girls Volleyball team found that out losing in four games to Clarkston for the second straight season in the MHSAA District State Playoffs in four games 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 16-25 on Wednesday night in Clarkston.

The eighth ranked Wolves and fifth ranked Orion battled back and fourth most of the night with 25-23 games. It could have gone either way but at the end Clarkston found a way on their homecourt to move on.

The Wolves move onto the district final and will host Brandon on Thursday night.

Orion concludes its season at 43-8 record. They will lose some great seniors in Iyria Kalaj, Erin Collins, and Danielle Sargent.

It’s always hard to lose these type of games, it always is.

Dragons Hammer Maples but changes have to be made in 2018.

Written Saturday October 21st at 12:30 AM

Things will have to change next season for the Dragons if they want to get back into the postseason but for tonight it felt like the Lake Orion Dragons of old.

The Dragons used a dominating ground game on Homecoming night in the final game of the regular season with a 45-7 rout of the Birmingham Seaholm Maples.

Dylan Frank had 300 yards rushing including three long touchdown runs of 87, 85, and 47 yards in his final game.

Kobe Manzo added a passing touchdown catch from Blaze Laurer. Manzo also added a rushing score as well.

Parker Blust kicked a 30 yard field goal to conclude the season.

Orion had three sacks from Jordan Lewis and three goal-line stops including two interceptions, one from Tyler Vesterand and Chris Kade.

The Dragons finished the season at 3-6 and 2-5 in the Red but there will have to be some changes heading into next season as mentioned.

Stay tuned to my podcast OAA Now and Between Taorminas for the latest Dragons information.

Dragons Fall to the Wolves.

Written Friday October 13th at 11:40 PM

The Dragons lost a hard fought game on Friday night in Clarkston to the Wolves 17-9 falling to 2-6 and 2-5 in the Red.

Orion was led by Dylan Frank whom had 87 yards and a six yard touchdown. Blaze Lauer had 127 yards, and Drew Van Heck had seven catches for 76 yards. Parker Blust added a 25 yard field goal in the contest as well.

It is the seventh straight time that the Dragons have fallen to Clarkston.

Orion will conclude the season with a game at home on Homecoming against the Seaholm Maples next week.

Dragons Volleyball Bounces Back.

Written Friday October 13th at 12:00 AM

The Dragons Girls Volleyball bounced back on Senior after losing a heartbreaker to Seaholm which cost them a league championship with a big win over the Troy Colts on Senior Night 25-13, 25-19, 23-25, and 25-17 on Thursday night in the Fieldhouse.

The sixth ranked team in the State was led by Riley Hunter whom had 16 kills, Sydney Smith added 15 kills, while Illyra Kalaj had 31 digs, Wren MaCauley had 30 aces, and Erin Collins had 20 assists on the night.

Orion will compete this weekend in the Beast of the East Tournament at Michigan Elite.

Dragons Have Double O Trophy for Third Straight Year.

Written Saturday October 7th at 12:35 AM

The Dragons snapped a two-game losing streak on Friday night in Oxford using a strong third quarter to keep the Double O Trophy in Lake Orion for a third straight year in a 31-14 victory over the Wildcats.

The game started out slow due to the foggy and wet environment on the blue turf but Orion started off on defense with Marcus Brown picking off Parker Fleming giving the Dragons good field position to start the game.

Orion would kick a 24 yard field goal by Parker Blust and a 3-0 lead.

The Dragons defense would stall Oxford which resulted in a long drive which led to a Blaze Laurer pass to Johnny Haggitt for a 11 yard touchdown pass and 10-0 halftime lead.

Orion would then start the second half using Dylan Frank and Tyler Vesterand on the ground and a strong offensive line that dominated the Wildcats up front all night. Vesterand scored from five yards out making a 17-0 game.

The defense would then strike on Oxford’s next possession as Fleming fumbled the ball thanks to Dustin Sokolowski and Chris Cade took the ball back 25 yards resulting in a 24-0 lead.

Orion’s defense would then force the Wildcats to turn the ball over on downs and Frank went 36 yards for a touchdown which resulted in a 31-0 lead.

Oxford would then score two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter but the game was out of reach giving the Dragons their second win of the season.

Orion will be back on the road next week when they travel to Clarkston to take on the Wolves.

Injuries doom Dragons in loss to Maples.

Written Tuesday October 3rd at 10:05 PM

The Dragons saw their Red title hopes slip away on Tuesday night in Birmingham.

The fifth ranked injury riddled team in the State couldn’t complete the comeback against the Seaholm Maples as Orion fell 20-25, 8-25, 25-22, 25-9, and 8-15 to the Maples.

The loss means that the Clarkston Wolves and Stoney Creek Cougars if they win next week will share the Red crown.

As mentioned the Dragons were without Danielle Sargent (ankle), Paige Briggs (back), and Kendall Robertson (back) due to injuries.

Mental errors and mistakes also played a role as well in the contest. Orion battled back in the third and fourth games but didn’t have enough to overcome Seaholm.

The Maples played well tonight being at home against an injury riddled Dragons team but give coaches Heather Lippert and Jason Gambone credit for having Seaholm prepared tonight

The Dragons will have a week and a half off to prepare for their final league contest of the season when the Troy Colts come to the Field House next Thursday.

Thoughts.

Historically the Dragons have not fared well against the Maples in Birmingham but it’s not just in Volleyball but in Girls Basketball and Boys Basketball. Last season in football, Orion had to go to overtime with Seaholm but the Dragons survived 21-14 on that night.

I believe things would had been different if Orion had its team healthy. I think the score would had been different. For sure the Dragons need to get healthy, with the league title gone, there are bigger goals to get and it’s important for everyone to get healthy and on the same page.

Be Patient With Lake Orion Football.

Written Saturday September 30th at 12:05 AM

People have asked me what is going on with Lake Orion Football???

"Why have they been struggling???,""why aren’t they winning games???," "they suck now."

People don’t understand at times the Rome was not built overnight. People I assume these days feel like the years from 2001-2013 when we were winning games, winning championships. I feel we were spoiled at times seeing great football, making the playoffs. I was on the 2004 and 2005 teams, we won a district championship in my Senior season, something I will always cherish for the rest of my life.

I’ve seen the 2008 team when they went through “the five weeks from hell” to get to the State Finals, to winning it all in 2010, and in 2012 only to get screwed by a bad call against Detroit Cass Tech in the State Semifinals.

I understand the frustration of the community seeing this proud program go through some dark times, going 14-20 since 2014. I know it’s frustrating but what is it that is making the program suffer???

Every Lake Orion team has fought, worked hard, and continues to work hard and fight but the league has really changed since I’ve been a player. The league has gotten better, look at West Bloomfield, they added transfers to the fold, they started winning, Clarkston has always had a solid feeder program go through their area, Southfield Arts and Tech merged schools and added kids from the Detroit area, Adams is always Adams, Bloomfield Hills added a quarterback from Birmingham Brother Rice that is going to Ball State, Oxford has had some good teams as well. West Bloomfield, Southfield Arts and Tech, and Clarkston are open enrollment schools, something I do not like very well, I’ve have always believed in homegrown talent and one or two transfers.

Sometimes transitions are always hard and that’s what we are seeing here with the football program. Now the Dragons have some flaws especially in the secondary but the reason why they sit at 1-5 is not about the talent, coaching, getting the job done, or effort.

It was the schedule and the league.

When the schedule and league were put together the Red had eight well established programs ready to beat each other up. When I saw the schedule, I knew this was the toughest I have seen in my 15 years playing or being involved with the Dragons football program. I didn’t like the reason why Chippewa Valley was on the schedule, I always believe that the first game should always be a confidence boost and getting a team well on its way to a successful season. Since putting the Big Reds on the schedule, Lake Orion has lost all four meetings to Chippewa Valley. I worried in those meetings with the Big Reds that it would damage the team’s confidence and the records have proven that statement true. I also noticed that the Dragons haven’t beaten West Bloomfield since 2013 and Clarkston since 2010, those have to change and soon if Lake Orion wants to be back where they were at years ago.

I’m optimistic with this program under first year coach John Blackstock for a few reasons. First, I’ve played under him when he was the secondary and Special Teams coach during my two seasons of playing. Second, he is a proven winner, he knows what he is doing.

Lake Orion will win games in the future. I encourage everyone in the community to be patient with this team. This proud Dragon football program will be back and better than ever and it will start with this group.

 

Dragons Depth shows at Oxford.

Written Friday September 29th at 1:45 PM

Injuries are a part of life for any team.

For the fourth ranked Orion Girls Volleyball team, having a deep bench has its positives.

The Dragons used their deep bench as they were without five players including Paige Briggs (back) and Danielle Sargent (ankle) on route to a three-game sweep of the Oxford Wildcats 25-20, 25-17, 25-19 at Oxford on Thursday night.

Orion picked up an emotional win on Tuesday over Clarkston with a three game sweep and with this win kept pace with the Wolves and Stoney Creek as all three teams remain tied at 4-1 records.

The Dragons will play North Branch on Saturday in Ann Arbor and return to league play with a road trip to Birmingham to play the Seaholm Maples. Seaholm has always been a tough to play at, not just for Volleyball but also Girls Basketball and Boys Basketball as well.

We shall see what happens.

Turnovers Doom Dragons.

Written Thursday September 28th at 11:00 PM

The Dragons couldn’t overcome four turnovers including two off special teams in a 27-21 loss to Bloomfield Hills on Thursday night.

Orion had 245 yards on the night but as mentioned the turnovers hurt tonight.

The Dragons scored three times with John Marshall throwing two touchdowns including a 45 yard score to Dylan Frank and a 15 yard touchdown to Matt Freeman. Tyler Vesterand scored on a 24 yard touchdown run to close out the scoring.

The Blackhawks were led by quarterback John Paddock, whom had a nine yard touchdown run along with two touchdown passes including one on a trick play and the other one on a 20 yard strike. Bloomfield Hills added two field goals to get the six-point win.

Orion is now 1-5 on the season and will go to Oxford to play the Wildcats next week.

Dragons Volleyball Rolling.

Written Tuesday September 26th at 11:30 PM

It’s strange to say how much a team responds after a loss.

Opening league play the Dragons lost in five games to Stoney Creek however they have managed to win three straight matches since the loss by sweeping Troy Athens and Bloomfield Hills but Tuesday match against sixth ranked Clarkston said a lot.

Orion whom was ranked fourth in the State beat the Wolves for the fourth time this season 25-23, 25-23, and 25-16 creating a three-way tie with themselves along with Clarkston and Stoney Creek whom beat the Dragons and lost to the Wolves in the season. The Cougars survived Seaholm in five games in Birmingham on Tuesday night.

Orion was without Paige Briggs whom re-aggravated her back injury during warmups.

The Dragons started out the first set with a 6-0 run early but Clarkston battled back keeping the set within striking distance. The Wolves went on a 7-0 run at one point tying the score at 21-21 before Orion escaped with the set winning 25-23.

The second set was all Clarkston, taking an 11-4 early lead before the Dragons battled back and eventually stealing the second game from the Wolves 25-23.

Orion would then dominate the third set winning 25-16 and the match creating a three-way tie for the Red.

It’s possible that Orion and Clarkston could meet at Birmingham Marian sometime later this month and likely the Dragons and Wolves will meet in the district playoffs at Clarkston on October 30^th.

Orion was led by Danielle Sargent’s 11 kills and three blocks, Riley Hunter whom replaced Briggs had eight kills, Lauryn VanLoon had seven kills, and Sydney Smith had six kills and four aces. Illyra Kalaj had 24 digs and Wren MaCauley had 35 assists on the night.

Clarkston was led by it’s Michigan bound outside hitter Abbey Malinowski whom had 11 kills, 14 digs, two blocks, and two aces.

The next time these two teams meet again, expect the same intensity as always when these two meet.

What If's Hurts Dragons.

Written Saturday September 23rd at 12:40 AM

The What ifs happened on Friday night in the Mothers Wish matchup with Southfield Arts and Tech at Orion.

What if in a tie ball game in the third quarter that the Dragons went for the field goal instead of going for it on fourth down, it would had been 19-16 Orion but it didn’t happen, they went for it and it fell incomplete. Three plays later Southfield Arts and Tech was in the endzone.

What if the penalties didn’t happen??? Orion had 17 penalties for 175 yards in the game.

What if the touchdowns weren’t called back, do the Dragons win???

What if the officials didn’t officiate the game, would the game be different???

Instead it was the Warriors that came out with a 24-16 victory. The what ifs became a factor. If these don’t happen, we’ve be talking things different right now.

Orion whom is 1-4 and 1-3 in the Red will now be on the road for three starting with Bloomfield Hills (3-2, 2-2 in the Red) on Thursday.

Dragons Get First Win of 2017.

Written Saturday September 16th at 12:35 AM

The Dragons got their first win for coach John Blackstock as the team beat the Troy Athens Red Hawks 26-6 at Troy on Friday night on Troy Athens Homecoming.

The first half went perfect on the night for Orion as Blaze Laurer (nine for 14 for 81 yards) connected with Pierce Burke on the Dragons first drive of the game from 28 yards out for a 7-0 Orion lead.

Orion would then strike again as Laurer connected with Casey Strionek on a seven-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 lead.

The Dragons would then get an interception from Chad Dolland which led to a Laurer ten-yard touchdown run for a 21-0 lead.

Orion would close a strong first half with a Parker Blust 35-yard field goal making the score 24-0 at the half.

The Dragons did not fare well in the second half which resulted in two Dylan Frank fumbles and an ejection which gave the Red Hawks some life as Bobby Birney found Patrick Graham for a 26-yard touchdown pass however the two-point conversion failed making the score 24-6.

Orion would then get a safety late in the game as Sam Kinnie made a sack on Birney making the score 26-6.

This win gives the Dragons their first on the season at 1-3. They are still in a tough spot and it doesn’t get any easier. Orion plays Southfield Arts and Tech at home next week.

We’ll see what happens.

Dragons Bounce Back.

Written Thursday September 14th at 10:30 PM

The Dragons bounced back after losing in five games to Stoney Creek with a convincing three set victory over Troy Athens 25-13, 25-20, 25-11 at home on Thursday night.

Orion was led by Paige Briggs whom returned from injury. She had 12 kills while Danielle Sargent added nine kills and Illyra Kalaj had 17 digs on the night.

The Dragons are now 27-4 overall and 1-1 in the Red on the season and will go to Portage Central on Saturday to compete in the Portage Central Invitational.

Thoughts

This was a much needed win for the Dragons, it also helped that Briggs was back from her back injury that caused her to miss the Stoney Creek game on Tuesday. Although the Red Hawks are a young team, a win is a win for this group.

Dragons Upset by Cougars.

Written Tuesday September 12th at 10:30 PM

Let downs happen.

This wasn’t supposed to happen but it did to the Orion Girls Volleyball team.

The Dragons fresh off winning the Novi Invitational on Saturday and was ranked third in the State was upset by Stoney Creek in five games 25-16, 21-25, 19-25, 25-16, and 13-15 on Tuesday night in Rochester.

Orion has had the Cougars number in tournaments but it was Stoney Creek that put the Dragons in a hole early in league play. Orion still has to go to Bloomfield Hills, Oxford, and Seaholm during the season.

Stoney Creek had big nights from the Stration sisters and Molly Asmus. Also, it was a strong team effort for former Orion coach Ross Talbott’s team.

What didn't help things was that the Dragons were without Paige Briggs whom sat out with a back injury.

No one saw this coming.

Orion is now 26-4 on the season and will host Troy Athens on Thursday.

Thoughts.

You got to give Stoney Creek credit tonight, Talbott had a great game plan. I don't know what the mindset of the Orion players were heading into the contest. I also think the Dragons were riding high after the Novi Invitational win so a letdown had to be coming and it happened.

This was a really bad loss for Orion because now this puts them behind the eight ball early in the Red but hopefully they learn from this.

 

Dragons Volleyball Sends Message to the State.

Written Saturday September 9th at 8:40 PM

When describing the Dragons Volleyball team this early season, you got to look at a team building a ton of confidence in this early season.

Red play hasn’t started yet, that starts on Tuesday.

Orion sent a message to the entire State on Saturday winning the Novi Invitational and knocking off two State Powers in Clarkston and Novi.

The Dragons were ranked fourth in the State coming into the weekend while the Wolves were ranked fifth and the Wildcats were third in the State.

Orion has beaten Clarkston now three times in this early season. The Dragons and Wolves will meet a few more times during the season including a showdown at Orion in October and likely in the District playoffs at Clarkston.

The Wolves have a player in Abbey Malanowski whom is heading to Michigan next season.

Novi is the two-time defending State Champions in Class A and has two Big Ten players on their roster in Michigan bound Erin O’ Leary and Abryanna Cannon whom is heading to Northwestern next season.

Orion has their fair share of talent and experience but not of the Big Ten caliber of talent as the Wolves and especially the Wildcats but the Dragons have Illyra Kalaj whom is heading to Western Michigan and Paige Briggs whom is a Western Kentucky recruit and that’s not even mentioning Wren Macauley, Sydney Smith, and Danelle Sargent whom should be College Volleyball offers soon.

The Dragons beat Lakeland, Plymouth Christian and Detroit Cass Tech in pool play. They would be placed in the Gold bracket in which they took on Ann Arbor Huron in which Orion won 25-20 and 25-20 in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal the Dragons took on Clarkston in which Orion beat the Wolves 25-16 and 25-20 for the third time this season. In the final it was the Dragons that beat Novi in two games 25-23 and 25-21 on the Wildcats home gym.

Orion now goes to 26-3 on the season and will travel to Stoney Creek on Tuesday to kick off the league play.

I'm sure the State now knows whom the Dragons are.

Dragons Lose Again.

Written Saturday September 9th at 12:05 AM

The Dragons took it to the chin again this time it was against the West Bloomfield Lakers. The Lakers beat Orion 49-21 on Friday night.

West Bloomfield used their Division One prospects on full display. Quarterback Bryce Veasley whom committed to Bowling Green threw for five touchdowns, four of them were to Wisconsin commit AJ Abbott whom had touchdowns of 66 yards and 90 yards.

Collin Heard added two touchdowns from six yards and one yard out in the game. Veasley threw one more touchdown to Taj Mustapha whom is heading to Wisconsin.

Orion responded with a touchdown in the first quarter from Kobe Manzo whom scored from four yards out tying the score in the first quarter at 7-7. The Dragons would get two more scores in the third quarter as quarterback Blaze Laurer ran 48 yards for a touchdown making the score 35-14 and then got an onside kick which resulted in a 12 yard touchdown run from Tyler Vesterand making the score 35-21 at the time.

The Dragons fall to 0-3 on the season and will travel to Troy Athens to take on the Red Hawks next week for Troy Athens Homecoming.

Thoughts:

I thought the Dragons played with much better effort tonight but West Bloomfield is a very good team. The secondary got exposed but there is nothing anyone can do about it. Orion has to win out if they have any chance of making the playoffs for a second straight year.

Dragons Football In Deep-Deep Trouble.

Written Friday September 1st at 12:05 AM

The Dragons are in deep-deep trouble right now.

You can kiss playoffs goodbye for now.

Discipline, lack of pressure, lack of offense, everything that went wrong gone wrong. It really spelled itself out in an ugly 39-8 home loss to Adams.

Orion’s defense was not existent against the Highlanders veer offense attack that was balanced all night.

Adams defense and offensive line were key to the Highlanders victory tonight.

Adams opened the scoring after a roughing the kicker penalty gave the Highlanders new life behind a five yard touchdown run from Steven Roncelli. Adams would then get a three and out again which led to a field goal by Ben Patton making the score 10-0 Highlanders.

Adams would then get the ball back off a turnover which resulted in Chase Karleta four yard rushing touchdown making the score 17-0 Highlanders.

The Highlanders would then start the second half going down the field with their veer attack leading to a quarterback Carter Farris throwing the ball to Missouri bound wide receiver Vincent Gray for a 29 yard touchdown pass for a 24-0 lead.

Adams would then extend the lead to 32-0 after Farris found Karleta for a 26 yard touchdown pass and two point conversion from Farris to Cole Patritto.

Orion would get on the scoreboard when Dylan Frank scored from one yard out making the score 32-8. Casey Strionek would get the two point conversion on the drive.

Adams closed out the scoring when Farris found Collin Weeks from 27 yards out making the score 39-8.

Thoughts.

I couldn’t be anymore disappointed with what happened. The Orion defense was confused, looked soft, just looked awful. The Dragon offense has major issues, they don’t have a passing attack, they don’t have a true quarterback, and they are one dimensional. That won’t win games.

This team is in deep trouble when you look at the schedule and it says Southfield Arts and Tech and Clarkston are still on there, and that’s not mentioning West Bloomfield whom they play next week.

I was also very disappointed with the Dragon students tonight. I felt there was a disconnect between the players and the students. The players were trying to get the students to support them, it further explains the disconnect.

I hate to say it but the Dragons are in deep trouble right now.

 

Dragons Volleyball off to a Nice Start.

Written Wednesday August 30th at 10:00 PM

The Dragons Volleyball team is off to a nice start in this early season.

Orion captured their second tournament of the season on Wednesday winning the Stoney Creek Invitational at Oakland Elite in Waterford.

The Dragons had no problem in pool play beating Avondale, Holly, and Grosse Pointe South. In the Gold Bracket they took down Stoney Creek, Romeo, and Adams in straight sets.

Orion was led by Paige Briggs whom had 45 kills, Danielle Sargent had 33 kills and eight blocks. Wren Macaulay had 109 points and nine assists while Iyria Kalaj had 58 digs.

The Dragons will have a tough quad on Wednesday with Farmington Hills Mercy, North Branch, and Stoney Creek at home.

Adams Preview.

Written Wednesday August 30th at 3:45 PM

The Dragons will renew a rivalry with a familiar foe on Thursday night in Rochester Adams at Orion.

The Highlanders come in at 1-0 destroying Rochester 38-6 last week. Adams coach Tony Patrino runs a veer offense. The veer offense is a triple option offense very similar to what Georgia Tech, Navy, and Nebraska back under Bo Pelini and Tom Osbourne used to run.

Orion holds a 19-13 edge on the Highlanders in the all-time series. This will be the first meeting between the rivals since Adams beat the Dragons 30-26 in 2014.

Adams has a Division One recruit in Vincent Gray. Gray committed to Missouri as a defensive back will likely get the Dragons top wide receiver. He also play wide receiver as well and catches the football really well in a veer offense. The Highlanders also have running back and linebacker Steven Roncelli. Roncelli was very instrumental running the football last week against the Falcons. Zach Soldan is the team’s quarterback, taking over for Kyle Wood. He did pretty well against Rochester last week.

Line play will be a key to this game, Orion is a much different team than Rochester for Adams but the Highlanders are a much different team for the Dragons than Chippewa Valley. Time possession is key, both teams want to run the football. Whomever wins the time possession battle will win this football game.

This will be a fun game to watch.

Dragons fall to Chippewa Valley Again.

Written Friday August 25th at 1:45 AM

The Orion Dragons kicked off the 2017 football season in Clinton Township on Thursday night against the Big Reds of Chippewa Valley.

Chippewa Valley had to survive an Orion rally in the fourth quarter to earn a 20-17 victory on Thursday night. It was the fourth straight loss to the Big Reds.

The scoring started when Chippewa Valley blocked a punt deep into Dragons territory. The Big Reds quarterback Tom Schuster found Jon Naise Owens for an seven yard touchdown and a 7-0 Chippewa Valley lead.

Orion would then respond thanks to a 24 yard field goal from Parker Blust but they could not convert on a fourth down similar to last season’s game at Wayne State at the one yard line last season keeping the halftime score 7-3.

There was some controversy in the middle of the third quarter with Orion trailing 7-3. The Dragons were forced to punt, the ball hit a Big Reds player on the heel of the foot, Orion would recover the football. The referee even gave the Dragons the football however he reversed his own call and gave the ball to the Chippewa Valley.

After taking advantage of the call Schuster drove the ball down the field when he threw a 58 yard pass to Owens along with a personal foul to the Orion five yard line. That play would led to a three yard rushing touchdown by Andre Chenault but the point after was blocked giving the Big Reds a 13-3 lead.

Orion had another punt blocked, this time by Austin Fredrick. The blocked punt led to another Chippewa Valley touchdown as Schuster found Jacob Rybicki for a 20 yard touchdown pass for a 20-3 Big Reds lead late in the third quarter.

Schuster and Rybicki were instrumental against Orion in last season's game at Wayne State in which Chippewa Valley won 35-7.

The Dragons would then respond late in the fourth quarter after the Big Reds missed a 39 yard field goal try. Running back Dylan Frank ran for a 68 yard touchdown making the score 20-10 Chippewa Valley.

Orion got another stop on defense which led to their second touchdown of the night as quarterback John Marshall found Frank for a 15 yard touchdown cutting the score to 20-17 Chippewa Valley.

The Big Reds would try to run the clock down but the Dragons defense stiffened and got the football back to their offense one more time but Marshall was intercepted by Brian Nadius ending the game.

Lauer was seven for eight for 72 yards, Marshall was four for seven for 70 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Frank had 25 carries for 86 yards. Schuster was seven for 15 for 120 yards and two touchdowns for Chippewa Valley.

Orion is 0-1 for a fourth straight season. The Dragons will host Rochester Adams next Thursday at Dragon Stadium for their home opener.

Thoughts.

Looking back, I'm trying to understand why the official made the call that he made during that third quarter. Following a Dragons punt, the football clearly hit the left heel of a Big Reds player and Orion recovered the football. The referee pointed out that it was LO football but following a conference with the rest of his crew, he changed his mind and gave the football to Chippewa Valley. Normally the first instinct is the call on the field and by rule, you go with the call is on the field. The call shouldn't had been changed but it was. The Big Reds took advantage and scored two touchdowns in the process. I wonder if High School Football had instant replay would this happen, would the outcome be different???

The Dragons left a bunch of plays on the field in the first half especially one in the second quarter that was very similar to the game last season at Wayne State when they had the ball on the two yard line and couldn't get a first down but it’s not an excuse to leave points on the field.

I thought the Orion defense held their own against Chippewa Valley. They made plays and got some key turnovers, stops, and sacks at the same time. The defense was given bad field position thanks to the punt blocks which gave the Big Reds the short field to score their points. The offense wasn't great but showed flashes especially late in the fourth quarter. The special teams needs some work after having two punts blocked.

This team is a work in progress.

This loss puts the Dragons in a bad spot heading into league play. They have Adams next whom destroyed Rochester 38-6.

We’ll see what happens.

Dragons Volleyball Looking Good Early.

Written Tuesday August 22nd at 11:05 PM

The Dragons kicked off the 2017 season in style.

Fresh off winning the Lake Orion Tournament last weekend, the Dragons went 6-2 in the Lake Orion Quad at Lake Orion High School that featured two State ranked teams in Clarkston and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, and their arch rival Oxford.

Orion would beat Oxford in their first match 25-12 and 25-18. The Wildcats have a new coach in Brian Kim and a team that could be dangerous later in the season. The Dragons were led by Paige Briggs whom had 14 kills and two blocks against her former team. Briggs transferred to Orion from Oxford this offseason. Sydney Smith another transfer whom came over to Orion from Avondale added five kills. Wren Macauley had 26 assists and Illyra Kalaj had 14 digs, three aces, and 23 serves in the contest. The Dragons will see the Wildcats later in the season as both teams are in the Red and in the same district.

Orion would then play Pontiac Notre Dame Prep next, they are expected to be one of the top teams in Class B and they did not disappoint. The Dragons had to survive the Irish winning in three games 25-27, 25-17, and 25-19. Orion was led by Briggs with 15 kills while Danelle Sargent added nine kills. MaCauley added 32 assists while Kalaj had 20 digs, Briggs added 15, and Ciara Livingway added 14 digs. Livingway added 16 serves in the match.

Orion would then play Clarkston in a rematch from Saturday and what will be many more yet to come including the district playoffs at Clarkston and a regular season meeting at Orion. The Dragons won over the Wolves for a second time this season beating them 26-28, 25-17, 25-19. Orion was led by Briggs was 15 kills, Sargent added 10 kills, and two blocks while Lauryn Van Loon added eight kills. Kalaj had 17 digs and Livingway added nine digs. Lauren Bell had 17 serves on the night.

Overall Briggs had 44 kills, Sargent added 20 kills, Smith and Vanloon had 17 kills each, MaCauley had 99 assists, and Kalaj added 51 digs on the night for Orion.

The Dragons will be at Macomb Dakota this weekend to play in the Macomb Dakota Invitational. So far it’s a good start for Orion thus far but can they keep it up, that’s the question.

Chippewa Valley Preview.

Written Wednesday August 16th at 12:00 AM

The Chippewa Valley Big Reds will be a solid team yet again in the Macomb Area Conference Red division this season.

Orion will travel to Chippewa Valley to start the 2017 season on Thursday August 24^th in Macomb County. The last time, the Dragons played at Chippewa Valley it was the Big Reds that beat Orion 38-35 in 2014.

Orion is fresh off a 5-5 season will need to make some noise if they want to be a player this season under first year coach John Blackstock. The Dragons are an alarming 13-15 since 2014.

The Big Reds are 30-13 since the 2012 season will have a ton of talent back from a team that went 6-4 and had wins over Macomb Dakota and Sterling Heights Stevenson.

Chippewa Valley has won the last three meetings over the Dragons, outscoring Orion 100-70 in the process.

As mentioned the Big Reds return 40 players and 17 starters back.

Chippewa Valley scored 254 points last season will return the balk of their offense. The Big Reds run a spread offense from the pistol formation and a lot of misdirection as well. Chippewa Valley returns starting quarterback Tommy Schuster. He will have a solid wide receiving core to throw too in wide receivers Jacob Rybicki, Cardell Snorton, Fredrick Austin, David Ellis, Isaiah Booker, and Jonnazine Owens. Schuster’s lineman are possibly going to be Nick Reindhart, Don Wesley, Amir Sanders-Tillman, and Austin Grabill along with Jacob Varney, Vince Buccilli, Matthew Davey, Collin Lockemy, and Jessie Kelly. It is possible that Ja’Von Kimpson could be the team’s starting running back and Jon Naize-Owens could be the starting tight end.

Schuster was responsible for three touchdowns, two of them were in the air and one on the ground in the Big Reds 27-7 victory last season over the Dragons at Wayne State.

Chippewa Valley on the defensive side of the football struggled at times, allowing 288 points last season, including 48 in the playoff meeting against Macomb Dakota, 42 against Utica Eisenhower, 42 against Warren Mott, 36 against Romeo, and 38 in the regular season meeting against Macomb Dakota (1-4 in those games) but the balk of the defense is back for coach Scott Merchant’s team. The Big Reds will be led by defensive end Kevin Krasniqi and a deep linebacking core of Marcel Lewis, Donvan Edsell, Brian Naidus, and Brian Schieweck along with Terry Brazil, Mitchell Smiecinski, Celestino Guerrerro, and Kyle Baranski. The defensive backfield should also be solid led by Stanley Williams, Jalen Jennings, Kimpson, and Booker along with Adam Schihl, Matthew Bolden, Nick Leksutin. Their defensive lineman will be deep as well, led by Shakur McGarrity, Nicholas Nikpreljevic, and Dwayne Lewis along with Reginald Reid, Mikel Kola, Connor Montilla, and Joe Stavale.

Schieweck and Rybicki will also be the Big Reds top returning men for Merchant.

This will be an interesting matchup in front of the “Rowdy Red Zone.” This will be a test for the Dragons secondary especially against Schieweck and Rybicki. Rybicki scored a touchdown last season. Chippewa Valley is one of the top teams in Macomb County behind Utica Eisenhower and Romeo.

We shall see what happens.

Transfer Update.

Written Monday August 14th at 5:10 PM

Here is the update of transfers that are coming into Orion High School and could make an impact right away for the Dragons.

Football:

The Dragons Football program added two new players in the form of Sam Kinne and Issac Kinne.

Both Kinne’s transferred in from Lapeer. Sam will be a Senior while Issac will be a Junior.

They were both a force in Lapeer. Sam will be expected to play multiple positions along with his brother as well.

Sam has gotten multiple Division One offers.

The Dragons will be tested week one against Chippewa Valley, whom has their fair share of experience back. Orion will also have experience back under first year head coach John Blackstock.

Volleyball:

The Dragons Volleyball program might have gotten stronger with the addition of two solid players. Orion got Sydney Smith from Avondale and Paige Briggs from Oxford. Briggs is a Western Kentucky commit for Volleyball.

Both players should make an immediate impact right away for the team. Coach Tony Scavarda’s team returns Danielle Sargent, Erin Collins, Wren Macaulay, Illyra Kalaj, and Lauryn Van Loon.

Briggs will be a Junior while Smith will be a Sophomore.

Orion should be pretty good this season and could be a team to watch in the State. They open up the season on Saturday at Michigan Elite.

Dragons Name New Girls Basketball Coach.

Written Tuesday May 23rd at 12:30 PM

The Dragons have named their new Girls Basketball coach, but it’s not whom you think it is.

Orion named Mike Griffin as the new Varsity Girls Basketball Coach replacing Kevin Kopec last week.

Griffin brings a ton of Basketball experience, especially from the Boys side of things. He used to coach at Sterling Heights and was an assistant coach at Birmingham Detroit Country Day under coach Mark Bray.

Griffin is a teacher in Sterling Heights, it is not known if he will travel to Orion every day or not.

It will be a new challenge for Griffin coming to Orion as well coaching the Girls instead of the Boys.

The Dragons finished 8-13 last season losing to Waterford Kettering in the pre-district. They were bumped up from the White to the Red and have a ton of experience returning in Tessa Nuss, Paytin Shadaia, Sophie Canine, Sophie Wyborski, Cameron Coltrin, Sydney Strenger, Lauryn Van Loon, and Shannon Falter.

Thoughts.

I don’t know what to think about this move, he has a lot to prove to me. There are a ton of unanswered questions surrounding this coaching hire like how will the Girls respond to him???, Will the turmoil come back???, Can he win with this group now and in the future???, Can he be there for the Girls when they struggle???, How will he be in the community???, Can he make this team a State title contender and go deep into the postseason???

Yes, Griffin brings experience to this team but I have some concerns looking at his record when he was a Sterling Heights. His record when he coached at Sterling Heights is a bit alarming. Also, the division the Dragons will be in will not be easy, heading into the Red and going up against teams like Clarkston, Southfield Arts and Tech, North Farmington, and Stoney Creek.

In his three seasons at Sterling Heights he posted a 25-32 record, and has not necessarily fared well against other big schools when he was in the Macomb Area Conference. Griffin went 0-3 against Chippewa Valley in the postseason.

Now this is a different situation that Griffin has stepped into than the time he spent at Sterling Heights and at Birmingham Detroit Country Day. Orion has suffered a ton of turmoil surrounding this program in recent years. Everyone likes to move on from this, and I expect they will.

Experience matters, I’m not sure if Pandora’s Box has been opened. Could it be a Gene Chizik situation with Auburn for College Football with this hire, I don’t know???

We’ll find out.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest updates on this developing story.

Dragons Make Surprising Move.

Written Saturday April 22nd at 4:40 PM

The Dragons Girls Basketball team are going to have their third head coach in three seasons this upcoming winter.

Orion coach Kevin Kopec was let go a few weeks ago after serving one season in the Varsity ranks. He has been very successful coaching the Junior Varsity until last season.

Kopec took over the team for Steve Roberts whom was let go following the turmoil that has effected the program last season. He has been with the Dragons Girls Basketball program since 2007 and has been around the Basketball world since 2002.

The Dragons had a tough season going 8-13, losing 59-33 to Waterford Kettering in the pre-district. Orion was ranked one of the top teams in Oakland County to start the season but they struggled off the bat, especially in the White where they finished third at 5-5 behind Bloomfield Hills and Royal Oak.

Kopec had some adversity issues in his only season as the Varsity Coach. Orion had two setbacks during the season, Maddie Novak transferred to Birmingham Detroit Country Day and Cameron Coltrin being injured in the middle of the season.

The Dragons also had some issues offensively during the season, including games where they couldn’t score. There were three games that Orion scored under 25 points, all of which were losses (15 vs Stoney Creek, 22 vs Bloomfield Hills, and 24 vs Lapeer.)

Whomever the new coach will be next season will have a ton of talent in Coltrin, Sophie Canine, Tessa Nuss, Paytin Shadaia, Sophie Wyborski, Shannon Falter, Lauryn Van Loon and Sydney Strenger returning.

Thoughts.

This was a surprising move to let Kopec go. Kopec was trying to build a program and tried to change a culture that has gone through so much turmoil the last few seasons.

It will be interesting whom gets the job at Orion. The Dragons have a solid Junior Varsity and Freshman programs, not to mention the Middle School programs at Scripps, Waldon, and Oakview are also solid as well so it’s a good job.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this developing story.

Novak Leaves Orion.

Written Saturday January 21st at 6:00 PM
Updated Sunday January 22nd at 11:15 AM

Well a superstar player is on the way out at Orion.

Maddie Novak has left the Dragons and Lake Orion High School. She will enroll at Birmingham Detroit Country Day for the remainder of the season. Novak will be eligible to play next season for the Yellow Jackets.

The Dragons are in the midst of a 3-7 season so far under first year coach Kevin Kopec. Orion will have ten games left to turn things around this season.

Novak has struggled this season point wise but had 23 points against Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in a 52-51 win and 17 points against Harrison in a 50-49 loss for her now former team.

Novak next season will join a Birmingham Detroit Country Day team loaded with talent.

Thoughts.

This is a big loss for the Dragons with Novak’s departure. They will miss her scoring and playmaking ability but this could be a win-win for both sides here.

Orion still has players whom can play in Lauryn Van Loon, Delaney Bryce, Sophie Wyborski, Tessa Nuss, Sophie Canine, Paytin Shadaia, and Shannon Falter. Many of them played for Kopec on the JV level.

For Novak, this is a fresh start in Birmingham as a Yellow Jacket.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for complete coverage on this developing story.

Blackstock to Succeed Bell as Dragons Football Coach.

Written Thursday January 12th at 10:45 PM

The Dragons are heading into a new era when it comes to coaching in football.

Longtime coach Chris Bell stepped down from coaching to focus on being Athletic Director at Lake Orion. John Blackstock has been named Bell’s successor.

Bell took over the Dragons in 1998, posting a 149-59 record as head coach. He took Orion to four State Semifinals, won four regional crowns, eight district crowns, and one State Championship in 2010.

Bell took the team to the postseason 16 of the last 19 seasons.

Blackstock was Bell’s defensive backs and special team’s coach for all of the 19 seasons they were together. Before coming to Orion with Bell, Blackstock played at Bad Axe and played at Central Michigan. He got into coaching as a graduate assistant at Eastern Michigan.

Thoughts.

I love this move to name Blackstock the head coach. He will have a talented team coming back next season. To keep the program within the family is huge especially where the direction of the Lake Orion football program is going.

For me to play in this football program, it was an honor and would be an honor to support the Lake Orion program.

The program is in good hands.

Stay tuned to OAA Now and Between Taorminas for complete coverage of this developing story.