Despite losing all-league QB, Brandon still soaring
Ortonville Brandon is beating the odds and continuing to treat scoreboards like pinball machines.
Even after losing All-Flint Metro League quarterback, Micah Miller, to a season-ending injury, the Blackhawks remain in the hunt for a repeat league crown and haven’t missed a beat on offense.
Heading into Week 3, Brandon was 2-0 and averaging 60 points per outing. Against a determined Lake Fenton club that week, Miller went down with a broken elbow in the first half. Things looked bleak.
But if history tells us anything in this regard, it is a wellestablished fact that Brad Zubecoached squads are the definition of gritty and resilient. Zube’s Blackhawks responded in a major way.
Enter Dylan Dickens stage left. Then, Lance Briolat, stage right. Like superheroes in a Marvel movie, ready to save the day. Or the season, in this matter.
Dickens, the team’s running back, slid under center in the second half of the Lake Fenton game and operated a makeshift wildcat offense to perfection, rushing for a career-high 351 yards and three touchdowns in a 48-40 victory. He also threw a touchdown on the night.
“That might have been my proudest moment as a head coach,” Zube said.
Zube was known for coaching feisty and efficient football teams in stints on the sidelines at Pontiac and Stoney Creek before arriving at Brandon in 2016. Last year, Brandon raised a Flint Metro League championship banner.
Prior to Week 4, Zube moved freshman Lance Briolat from the secondary and gave him the reins of the offense. Briolat proceeded to go 15-of-20 and pass for 290 yards and four scores in his varsity debut, as Brandon thumped Clio 55-0. Dickens ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and catching another
score in the blowout win.
Senior linebacker Gio Akrawi calls signals for the defense. He is averaging 10 tackles per game and making a strong argument for being the Flint Metro League’s most improved player on the defensive side of the ball.
“Gio is stepping up huge for us this season, he’s getting everybody where they need to be,” Zube said. “We are small in size, but mighty in spirit,” he said. “This team has just faced one obstacle after another and all they do is keep on fighting.”