Missed tackles, big plays lead to 34-12 loss for W. Bloomfield

West Bloomfield was able to hang with Farmington on the road for one half before the Falcons took flight and pounced on the Lakers, 34-12, in the season opener for both teams on Thursday, Aug. 25.

“They were more physical than us,” said West Bloomfield Head Coach Ron Bellamy. “I was encouraged that we were in the right spots, but we missed tackles and gave up big plays.”

The Lakers (0-1) trailed 6-0 at halftime after Farmington’s Bryan Green rushed 49 yards for the only touchdown of the first half.

The Falcons (1-0) then scored first in the third quarter when quarterback Chris Morgan connected with Isaiah Gourdine for a 34-yard touchdown before Green scored a two-point conversion to give Farmington a 15-0 lead.

Senior running back CJ Bratwaite finally got West Bloomfield on the board in the third with a 38-yard touchdown run, but the Lakers’ extra-point attempt was blocked and they trailed 15-6.

Green then continued his dominating performance as he scored two straight touchdowns from one yard in the third quarter and 45 yards in the fourth to increase the Falcons’ lead to 28-6.

Green finished with 228 yards rushing on 15 carries to lead all rushers.

Jordan Degreffenreed then capped Farmington’s scoring with a 28-yard touchdown run in the fourth.

Senior quarterback Daryn Byrd later threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Cortez Hardrick for the Lakers’ second touchdown.

Hardrick finished with 7 catches for 111 yards on the night to lead all receivers.

“(Hardrick) introduced himself to the OAA (Oakland Activities Association) Thursday night,” Bellamy said.

Bratwaite finished with 72 yards on 9 carries while Byrd completed 12-of-24 passes for 158 yards.

“This is Byrd’s first year starting and I thought he did OK. He’ll continue to gain confidence over time,” Bellamy said.

West Bloomfield will face a tough challenge tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 1 when the Lakers play their home opener against Clarkston in an OAA Red division matchup.

The Wolves are coming off a 28-21 opening week victory over Rochester Adams.

“We have to go back to the drawing board. We didn’t do a good job of teaching the fundamentals of tackling during camp, so we have to go back and work on those,” Bellamy said. “We’ll be fine for the stretch run.”