Adams JV vs. Lake Orion H.S.
Sept. 5, 2007

Fake Kick and Clutch “D” Seals Win for Highlanders

The Adams JV football team overcame mistakes and miscues to get a gritty, 21-20 come-from-behind victory over the Lake Orion Dragons in the first home game of the season.

There were moments when things looked bleak for the Boys in Brown, but the Highlanders never gave up and found themselves in a position to take the lead with time running down. Trailing 19-20 after a touchdown, Adams faked the point-after kick, and #3 Austin McClelland passed to #42Alec Prechtel for the winning points.

But the win did not come without some adversity first. For the second game in a row, the Highlanders struggled in the first half. No doubt the talented Dragons played a part in those struggles.

Lake Orion got the first possession of the game and put together a drive that consumed six minutes before sputtering on the Adams 42 yard line. Linebacker Tom Roncelli was a one-man wrecking crew with several tackles for losses on the drive. Roncelli played inspired the entire game, chalking up countless tackles.

After punting the ball back to the Dragons, their talented halfback Marques Stevenson went to work. Runs of 6 and 9 yards, plus an Adams penalty moved the ball to the 14 yard line. On 3rd and 3, Stevenson ran through the middle of the line for the first score of the game and Lake Orion led 7-0 with 36 seconds in the first quarter. The drive was nothing fancy, just old-fashioned power football running behind an effective offensive line.

Adams had a golden opportunity to even the game early in the second quarter. Starting on their own 30, the Highlanders mixed it up with runs by Prechtel and #32 D.P. Park, along with passes from Tyler Martin to Prechtel and #36 David Addy. All of a sudden it was first and goal on the 5 yard line. But Martin’s pass was intercepted in the end zone, stopping the scoring threat and any momentum the Highlanders had gained.

But the Roncelli-led defense forced Orion to punt on the next possession, and what a punt it was—57 yards that rolled to the Adams 5. Just under five minutes remained in the half. Facing 3rd and 3 on the 13, #9 Martin ran a QB keeper for 76 yards down to the Dragons 12. After a holding penalty and recovering their own fumble, the Highlanders stared at 2nd down and 17 on the 20. Prechtel ran for 8 to make it 3rd and 9 at the 12. A pass into the end zone fell incomplete, and now it was decision time—4th and 9. The coaching staff decided to go for it, and #22 TJ Trouba came through with a clutch run to the 2, and a fresh set of downs with :55 left in the half. On the next play Martin kept the ball and ran in for the touchdown. The kick by #6 Michael Biebelhausen was perfect, and the half ended 7-7.

Adams received the second half kickoff with a chance to keep the mo’ rolling. But both teams exchanged turnovers on their next possessions.

The Highlanders got the ball back on their own 32 with 8:47 in the 3rd quarter. On third down, Trouba took a pitch in full stride and raced 60 yards for the go-ahead score. The PAT failed, but Adams was back where they have been accustomed—in the lead.

The Highlander defense—led by Roncelli and #25 Marc Benacquisto-- was even more fired up now, and forced a 3-and-out. But the offensive could not capitalize and was forced to punt. A low snap caused punter #20 Chad Gierak to go down on a knee to field the ball, which immediately blew the play dead. Orion had a huge break and only 12 yards to get into the end zone.
After two consecutive runs behind middle of his offensive line, Stevenson gave the Dragons first-and goal. QB Josh Hoffman ran 6 yards for the touchdown, and the PAT kick dribbled over the crossbar to put Lake Orion back in the lead 13-14, with 2:30 in the third quarter.

Now it was the Dragon defense breathing fire, firing off the ball and bottling up the Adams running game. On 3rd and 5, a fumbled pitchout was recovered by Lake Orion on Adams’ 10 yard line. Momentum was ready to switch course again.

Again, the Highlander “D” stepped up huge. #58 Tyler Kilpatrick made two key tackles and the fourth quarter began with what was the first of several “biggest plays of the game”, in this case 4th and goal on the 4! But #18 Justin Hawes made a huge tackle on Marques Stevenson at the one yard line, and Adams had the ball back.

Nice runs by Martin and Trouba moved the ball out from the goal posts shadow to the 46 yard line. But then the drive stalled. Gierak got off a beauty of a punt this time that was downed at the Lake Orion 12 yard line with 8:35 remaining.

Stevenson showed his speed with a 25-yard run to the 37. Two plays later #17 Bruce took a pitch and ran down the left sideline 64 yards for a TD. The PAT failed, but Adams now trailed 13-20 with just over six minutes left in the game.

But the Highlanders displayed a “never give up” attitude and were ready to give the home crowd a thrilling finish.

Starting on their own 25, the offense faced the biggest drive of the young season. QB Martin came up big with a key run on 3rd down that moved the chains. Alec Prechtel got into the big play act with a 28-yard run to the Lake Orion 36 with 4:46 remaining. Then it was Benacquisto’s turn, with a rare run around end for 10 more yards. Now there was exactly 4:00 on the clock, and the Adams crowd cranked up the noise!

The next “biggest play of the game” was a few snaps later when the Highlanders recovered their own fumble for a 1st down at the Dragons 15. Talk about dodging a bullet! On the next “biggest play” Tyler Martin ran a QB keeper – breaking several tackles in a show of determination – and scored a touchdown. Adams now trailed by 1, and the “armchair quarterbacks” in the crowd started guessing what the coaching staff might do: kick for the tie or go for the win?

Adams lined up as if to kick the PAT, but McClelland took the snap, ran a few steps to his right and threw a strike to Prechtel in the end zone that sent the team and the homefield faithful into a frenzy.

But Adams lead was just one point, and the potent Dragon offense had plenty of time left at 2:36. But there was no way the Highlanders would let this comeback slip away. Just ask #60 Matt Hart, who delivered a huge hit on the kick returner, bringing him down on the Orion 16 yard line.

Time for the defense to step up again, and they did not disappoint! On 2nd and 7 from the 31 Prechtel made a perfect read and tackled the Lake Orion runner as soon as he got the ball in the backfield for a 6-yard loss. On the next play, Austin McClelland continued his prime time performance by intercepting a halfback pass that sealed the win for Adams.

The Highlanders are a perfect 3-0, while Lake Orion suffered its first defeat and is 2-1. Adams’ takes to the road next week for a game against Lathrup on Thursday, Sept. 13.

Rob Minton