Dexter’s Dream Season Ends with State Final Loss

A historical playoff run ended Saturday night when the Dexter football team fell to perennial state power Orchard Lake St Mary 51-14 at Ford Field in Detroit.

The state final was the first in school history while the Eaglets were making their 16^th appearance and 13^th since 2000.

Going into the game the Dreads knew they were facing the best defense they had seen all season. OLSM had allowed just over seven points a game in their playoff run and it showed from the start that Dexter was in for a fight. Dexter would need a near perfect game to knock off the defending state champions, and it did not happen with nearly every bounce going the Eaglets way.

The teams traded punts to start the game when the momentum began to shift to OLSM.

The record setting Cooper Arnedt to Cole Novara connection struck with a 55-yard touchdown pass, but it was called back due to a holding penalty and things quickly shifted in way of the Eaglets.

OLSM forced a short punt that went just 19 yards that was fielded and returned to the Dexter 16-yardline. The Dexter defense held and OLSM went on top with a 33-yard field goal.

The next drive saw Dexter move into Eaglets territory, but Arnedt was stripped of the ball on a sack and the Eaglets Daniel Taylor picked it up and returned it 59-yards for a score.

OLSM had just nine yards in total offense and no first downs but led 10-0 heading into the second quarter.

Dexter was forced to punt on its next drive, but the Dexter defense came up big and stopped OLSM on fourth down at the Dreads ten-yard line.

Arnedt hit Novara for 32 yards and OLSM was called for a late hit out of bounds to add on 15 more and the Dreads were in business at the Eaglets 43.

OLSM was called for pass interference and one play later William Simpson made a leaping catch of an Arnedt pass in the corner of the endzone and it was a new ball game at 10-7 OLSM.

The Eaglets quickly answered with a 62-yard scoring drive that was capped off by a five-yard TD pass for a 17-7 lead.

OLSM then picked off a tipped pass and took over at the Dexter 27 and took advantage of the short field with a one-yard TD run to quickly push the lead to 24-7.

The big lead was short lived when Novara took the ensuing kickoff at the four-yard line and sprinted up the left sideline for a 96-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 24-14.

The Dreads defense produced a big save just before the half when Gabe Dobry punched the ball loose and was recovered by Jake Stepaniak to keep it 24-14 at halftime.

Any momentum Dexter had going into halftime ended quickly to start the third when OLSM connected for a 65-yard scoring pass just 48 second into the third quarter for a 31-14 lead.

The Dreads high-flying offense was stymied by the Eaglets defense with a pair of punts and an interception and OLSM began to pour it on with two more touchdowns in the third for a commanding 45-14 lead after three.

The Eaglets punched one in early in the fourth to push the lead to 51-14.

Dexter had the ball just one time in the fourth with the running clock and moved to the OLSM 35 before turning it over on down and the Eaglets would run out the clock.

The Eaglets smothering defense held Dexter to a season low of 266 yards while the offense racked up 474 yards, but the damage was done early with the punt return and fumble return that put the Dreadnaughts in a hole.

Arnedt finished the night 24-37 passing for 215 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He set two MHSAA record for completions in a season (267) and yards passing (4523).

Novara caught ten passes for 61 yards and had the 96-yard kickoff return touchdown.

Simpson had a big night with nine catches for 91 yards and a TD. Jack Votaw caught one pass for 32 yards and had three carries for 16, while John Michael Jerome led the team in rushing with 53 yards on eight carries and caught two passes for seven yards. Oliver Hutchison caught two passes for 12 yards and Pearson Taylor one for nine.

Mateo Kipke, Nathan Gersh, and Charlie Pomo were in one seven tackles each, while Sam Cormier was in on six for the Dexter defense.

Dexter finished the season with a 12-2 record.

An impressive showing of nearly 11,000 Dexter faithful gave the Dreadnaughts a standing ovation as they walked off the field in a sendoff to thank them for an amazing season.

While the final score was not what they had hoped, it was a fantastic ending to a historic season for the Dreads and their fans.