Lake Orion Rolls Over Troy Athens, 28-14

Quarterback Sean Charette may be ’s king, but running back Jacob Miller was its knight in shining armor on .

Charette was named homecoming king at halftime, but it was Miller who helped the Dragons win a key (OAA) Red division game 28-14 over the second place Red Hawks.

Miller rushed for 284 yards on 35 carries and three touchdowns. His career night helped Lake Orion (6-1; 6-0 OAA Red) clinch a playoff spot and at least a share of the Red division title.

Miller's running game

“He’s been waiting for that his whole life,” Lake Orion head coach Chris Bell said. “Jacob’s a great back. We just rode our work horse, he was ripping off chunks, and we felt like we could shorten this game if we kept it going.”

In the second half, the junior broke tackle after tackle to help his team take the lead and run out the clock. He rushed for two touchdowns in the third quarter and helped limit Athens (5-2; 4-2 OAA Red) time of possession in the second half to less than five minutes (4:49).

With Lake Orion up 28-7, he picked up four first downs on a drive late in the game to help the Dragons run eight minutes off the clock.

“Defensively we couldn’t stop Miller running right up the gut,” Athens head coach Josh Heppner said. “They weren’t trying to get cute with us, they just pounded the rock. We have given up way too many rushing yards the last two games and that’s unacceptable.”

Heppner watched Lake Orion call 24 consecutive run plays on his defense, but the Red Hawks solid secondary was part of the reason the Dragons avoided throwing the ball.

A kick start after the half

In the first half, Charette was picked off twice in the end zone. The interceptions on back-to-back possessions kept the game close in the first half. The teams went into halftime tied 7-7.

A 52-yard kick return by Nicholas Booker helped kick start the Lake Orion offense to start the third quarter.

“The kick return was great,” Bell said. “Our guys were a little upset at halftime, and that was Nick Booker just making a play, he’s done that all year. That gave us a spark to go in and score, that let our guys know it was time to go.”

Miller helped the Dragons go right up the field after the return. He capped off an eight-play drive with a 6-yard touchdown run. His second touchdown put Lake Orion up 14-7 with 8:30 left in the third.

It would take four minutes for Miller to find the end zone again. Athens had a quick three-and-out on its first possession of the half and then Miller broke off a 66-yard run up the sidelines. He scored again on a 4-yard run to extend the Dragons lead to 14 points.

Lake Orion put the game out of reach two plays into the fourth quarter when Zachary Arnold scored on a 29-yard run to make it 28-7.

The Red Hawks offense could only watch as Lake Orion scored 21 unanswered points.

Athens didn’t have a first down for almost the entire second half. Sam Haskell’s 77-yard touchdown run on the team’s final possession accounted for almost all of team’s offense after halftime.

“The second half blew my mind,” Heppner said. “What you say from Sam Haskell at the end, is what we’ve been doing all year long. We’ve been averaging close to 31 points a game and 335 yards offense. We obviously didn’t do that today, and that was thoroughly disappointing.”

Dragons advance record, Red Hawks fall

All the teams in the OAA Red and OAA White play next week based on where the teams are in the standings. So Athens will try and rebound against the in a battle of third place teams.

“We have to bring our ‘A’ game and we’ll be fine,” Heppner said. “We finish 7-2 and we go to the playoffs. We’re going to fix it and move on.”

Lake Orion will play Farmington's Harrison Hawks in a battle of the two divisions’ top teams. Last year, the Hawks handed the Dragons their only loss of the season. This year the game will be on Harrison’s home field.