Dragons Volleyball Starting to Roll.

Written Saturday September 29th at 1:00 AM

The Lake Orion Dragons volleyball program had a huge win on Thursday night over Clarkston.

The Dragons whom sit at 41-3 and 4-0 in league is still missing Sydney Smith due to an ankle injury won't be back for a few weeks went into Clarkston and beat the Wolves 25-18, 25-9, 21-25, and 25-17.

The third ranked Dragons were led by Paige Briggs whom had 28 kills. The Western Kentucky commit was all over the place for Lake Orion. New Hampshire standout Wren MaCauley had 43 assists and Ciara Livingway had 37 digs and Reagan Groeke had 10 kills on the night.

The Wolves for now is likely eliminated from the Red race but they are expected to be a threat to the Dragons once districts start at Waterford Kettering. Clarkston always get better during the season. 

Lake Orion will have their toughest challenge up to date next week when they host Stoney Creek and former Dragons coach Ross Talbott for what would likely be the Red crown on Tuesday at Lake Orion.

We shall see what happens.

Dragons Back at Level.

Written Saturday September 29th at 1:00 AM

The Lake Orion Dragons pulled off a huge win on Friday night in Southfield.

After losing a tough one last week to West Bloomfield, Lake Orion needed to respond after what happened last week.

They did just that in the rain.

The Dragons scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to stun the Warriors 20-12 on Southfield Arts and Tech’s homecoming.

Lake Orion would start the scoring after trailing 6-0 early with a one yard touchdown by Blaze Lauer giving the Dragons a 7-6 lead which would be the score at the half.

After Southfield Arts and Tech scored to open the third quarter to take a 12-7 lead the Lake Orion’s defense came to life stopping the Warriors offense most of the night.

The Dragons would score a huge touchdown on a gamble as Lauer found Mitchell Howell for an 11 yard touchdown pass giving Lake Orion a 13-12 lead.

Lake Orion’s defense kept stopping Southfield Arts and Tech forced them to punt a couple of times which led to big runs by Marlon Robinson which gave the Dragons another opportunity to score which late in the fourth quarter Lauer scored on a 16 yard touchdown run and a defensive stand put the game away for Lake Orion sending them back to 500 on the season.

The Dragons are 3-3 and 2-2 in the Red. They will host Bloomfield Hills next Friday night for homecoming.

Dragons at Level.

Written Friday September 14th at 11:20 PM

The Lake Orion Dragons are back to 500 with a dominating 42-14 victory at home on Friday night over the Troy Athens Red Hawks.

The Dragons had 427 total yards the whole game including three touchdown passes and a touchdown run from quarterback Blaze Lauer. Lauer did throw a pick six early but Lake Orion had plenty of scoring on the night.

The Dragons opened the scoring when Jack DeBrincat scored from three yards out and a 7-0 lead.

Lauer would then throw the pick six two drives later tying the score at 7-7.

DeBrincat would get his second touchdown of the game giving Lake Orion the lead for good at 14-7

Lauer would then get involved in the scoring throwing to Kobe Manzo from five yards out and a 21-7 lead.

Lauer on the next drive would then rush from 28 yards out closing the half with a 28-7 lead.

The Dragons on the first drive in the third quarter would have three touchdowns called back due to penalties but they did get their touchdown with Lauer found Sam Staruch from 34 yards out and a 35-7 lead.

Lake Orion would then get one more touchdown on the night as Lauer connected with Matt Freeman on a 35 yard passing touchdown to give the Dragons a 42-7 lead.

The Red Hawks would get one more score on the night making the score 42-14.

Lake Orion has a tough matchup coming up as they will travel to the Swamp to take on the West Bloomfield Lakers next Friday night.

Dragons lose two but should be fine moving forward.

Written Monday September 10th at 12:10 AM

It wasn’t a great week for the Lake Orion Volleyball team.

Expectations of being ranked number one in the State in Division One means that you will always have the target on your back.

On Wednesday at Lake Orion, the Dragons fell in two sets to Farmington Hills Mercy but they beat Mount Morris.

On Saturday, the ladies traveled to Novi for the Novi Invitational where it was a strong field which included powerhouses in Clarkston, Novi, Northville, and Utica Eisenhower. Lake Orion went 5-1 on the day which included wins over Lakeland, Plymouth Christian, Berkley, Utica Eisenhower, and the host Novi. The Dragons would run into Novi's arch rival the Northville Mustangs, a team they have beaten already in a tournament. Things went great early for Lake Orion but Northville got the upper hand winning the last two sets and beating the Dragons in three sets in the final giving them their first tournament loss.

Thoughts.

Will Lake Orion drop in the rankings, sure with the two losses but as long as this team is healthy they will always be a threat and will be fine moving forward. The Dragons will head into league play in arguably the toughest division in the State of Michigan (OAA Red), starting with a home matchup with the Oxford Wildcats on Thursday and then they will head to Portage and compete in the Portage Central Invitational on Saturday.

All that matters for this team is that they should thrive get better, not be stale. Focus on winning the league and then making that deep run in the State tournament. It won’t be an easy road but then again, nothing is ever easy and that’s the fun part of sports.

Dragons Get Big W at Adams.

Written Saturday September 8th at 12:00 AM

The talk last week was that the Dragons have hit rock bottom.

The talk now on Friday night was it was a good start to getting back to that foundation.

Lake Orion had to come from behind and beat the Rochester Adams Highlanders 28-24 in Rochester into which the Highlanders introduced their new stadium with new field turf, bleachers, and scoreboard in the process.

The first quarter started with a bang for the Highlanders as Mark Patrino scored rushing from three yards out for a 7-0 lead.

The Dragons would then get a fumble and take advantage of the turnover a few plays later as Blaze Lauer found Mitchell Howell tying the score at 7-7.

Lake Orion’s defense was opportunistic would then get another defensive takeway and in the ensuing drive. Lauer found Kobe Manzo giving the Dragons their first lead of the season at 14-7. Lake Orion would then shut Adams down for the rest of the half keeping their advantage.

The third quarter started great for the Highlanders as they went down the field behind quarterback Carter Farris and Patrino but they would have to settle for a field goal and a 14-10 Lake Orion lead.

The Dragons would then respond going down the field and connecting on a Lauer forth down at midfield. Six plays later Manzo found the endzone again and a 21-10 lead.

Adams would then respond again as Patrino went corner to corner from 25 yards out making the score 21-17 Lake Orion.

In the fourth quarter Farris went deep connecting with wide receiver Reece Collins for a 55 yard passing touchdown and a 24-21 Highlanders lead with ten minutes remaining in the game.

Lake Orion would then respond after a key fourth down stop stopping Patrino and the Adams offense but they needed to overcome another fourth down as Lauer kept the drive alive deep into Adams territory.

The Dragons would then respond with 1:24 left in the game as Jack DeBrincat scored from three yards out giving Lake Orion the lead back at 28-24.

Lake Orion needed a defensive stop and they got it thanks to some key defensive stops that ran the clock out.

This is a huge win for the Dragons and for coach John Blackstock. The offense has seemed to have returned from the doldrums scoring 28 points, doubling the total points in the last two games. The defense had their moments but its still a work in progress.

Lake Orion was outgained by Adams 390-197 but penalties and mistakes doomed the Highlanders in the game. Lauer was nine for 17 for 102 yards and three touchdowns. He would rush seven times for 11 yards. Manzo had 15 carries for 61 yards and five catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns in the game.

Lake Orion is 1-2 and 1-1 on the season and will host Troy Athens next week.