Stevenson quarterback Jason Fracassa looks for an open receiver during Friday's regional championship game against Lake Orion. Source photo by Don Chamberlain

A year ago, Heath booted a 22-yard last-second field goal, lifting Lake Orion to a 24-21 win over Romeo in the opening round of the state playoffs.

Friday night Heath did one better, blasting a personal-best 49-yarder on the final play, lifting the Dragons to a 38-36 win over host Stevenson in a game that will be talked about for years to come.

“I can’t come up with words,” Heath said afterward. “The longest I’ve ever made in a game is probably 30 yards. I don’t know. I’ve never tried anything like it.”

The final kick spoiled what seemed like an almost certain Titan victory with only 1:48 left in the game.

Stevenson had stopped Lake Orion on downs at the Dragon 44 with 1:48 to go. On first down, the Titans took a knee and the Dragons immediately called time out with 1:41 left. On second down, Stevenson ran the ball off right tackle for a short gain and the clock ran. The Titans waited until the final second to run their third-down play with quarterback Jason Fracassa scrambling around before falling down when Lake Orion tacklers surrounded him. Stevenson ran the play clock down to one second before calling a timeout with 15 seconds to play, setting up to punt.

Lake Orion signaled for a fair catch on the punt, taking over at its own 45 with 9.1 seconds to play.

“It’s the toughest decision to make in football,” Lake Orion coach Chris Bell said. “There are 12 coaches and we’re all horrible math majors when it counts. We’ve been in that situation before, too. I felt for them. They were trying to figure out if they could run around and waste more time, and they’re going to look at it. When they took that knee on first down it really helped us with a quick time out. But, to lose like that, they’re probably saying, ŒWhat else could they do.’”

Dragon quarterback Sean Charette completed a 23-yard pass to Charles Fleck near the Lake Orion sideline, and Fleck ran out of bounds, stopping the clock with 2.5 seconds to play and allowing Lake Orion to set up for Heath’s game-winning kick.

“We didn’t know if he could kick it that far,” Bell said. “We knew he had a great leg and we didn’t know if he had it. We knew if he hit it right he’d have a shot. Jeff’s the guy we want in that situation and he came through.”

Stevenson coach Rick Bye was almost at a loss for words following the game.

“We knew they had to throw the ball to the boundary because they had no timeouts left,” Bye said. “I knew Heath was a good kicker and saw him all season long on tape. A 49-yarder with all the pressure on like that, that’s a helluva kick.

“In 34 years (of coaching) this has to be one of the toughest,” Bye added. “It’s hard on the kids. Like I’ve told them if this is the worst thing that happens to you in your life, you’re in for a pretty good life.”

Heath’s final kick was a fitting end to a game that was dominated by Lake Orion in the first half and Stevenson for the better part of the second half - and one in which the Titans rallied from a 35-7 deficit.

After each team exchanged punts to open the game, Stevenson opened the scoring on its second possession of the game when Fracassa connected with wide receiver D.J. Mershman for a 37-yard score. That play capped a seven-play, 66-yard drive and after David Brown’s PAT, the Titans led 7-0 with 6:56 left in the first quarter.

Stevenson’s defense stopped Lake Orion on fourth-and-five from the Titan 26 on the Dragons’ ensuing drive.

The Titans marched down to the Lake Orion 20 before a fumble on a running play was recovered by the Dragons’ Aaron Gill, thwarting the drive.

Lake Orion went to its running game, driving 76 yards in eight plays, seven of which were runs, capping the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run by Eric Knoblock on fourth-and goal. Heath added the PAT, and the game was tied 7-7 with 10:52 left in the second quarter.

Following a Stevenson punt, Lake Orion ran 12 straight running plays, marching 52 yards with Branden Oakes scoring on a 1-yard run. Heath tacked on the PAT and Lake Orion led 14-7 with 3:13 left before halftime.

“Our offensive line was dominating and we made sure we kept the tempo up so they couldn’t rest,” Bell said. “We felt like we had them on their heels.”

The Titans were forced to punt again on their next drive and Lake Orion capitalized again, driving 58 yards in nine plays with Charette connecting with Michael Nelson for a 9-yard score with 26 seconds left in the period. It was Charette’s first completion of the game and after Heath’s PAT, the Dragons went into halftime leading 21-7.

“In the first half we couldn’t get in sync,” Bye said. “We couldn’t get adjusted to (Lake Orion’s) speed. Maybe we were still having some pains from last week’s game (win over Dakota).”

Lake Orion increased its lead to 28-7 on its second possession of the second half when Oakes scored on a 32-yard run with 7:31 left in the third quarter. That touchdown run capped a six-play - all running plays ‹ 76-yard drive.

Then it was the Dragon defense’s turn to make a big play as Mikael Lott blocked a Titan punt on Stevenson’s ensuing possession, picking the ball up at the 4-yard line and running it in for another score that put Lake Orion in front 35-7 after Heath’s PAT with 5:57 left in the third period.

Stevenson wouldn’t go down without a fight, though.

On their ensuing possession, Fracassa connected with Thomas Beaurem for a 20-yard touchdown, capping a six play, 73-yard drive. He then fired a strike to Justice Wright for the conversion, cutting the Dragon lead to 25-15 with 4:32 left in the third quarter.

Following a Dragon punt on the next possession, Fracassa marched the Titans 81 yards in four plays, finding Mershman open for a 52-yard TD strike. Brown added the PAT, closing the gap to 35-22 with 2:02 left in the third quarter.

Lake Orion was forced to punt again on its next possession and Mershman returned the boot 50 yards, giving the Titans the ball at the Dragon 14 to open the fourth quarter.

On the second play of the final stanza, Wright raced up the middle for a 5-yard touchdown run. Brown made the PAT and Stevenson had trimmed the Dragon edge to 35-29 with 11:06 remaining.

The two teams exchanged interceptions on their ensuing possessions, with the Lake Orion interception giving the Dragons the ball at their own 28.

Four plays after the turnover, Stevenson’s Robert Strong intercepted a Charette pass, giving the Titans the ball back at the Dragon 48 with 7:11 to go.

Stevenson made the most of that turnover, driving 48 yards in eight plays, with Fracassa scoring on a 1-yard run. Brown added the PAT and the Titans had a 36-35 advantage with 3:43 to go.

“They came roaring back and they played great,” Bell said. “They put themselves in position to win and that’s a champion team now. They won their league title and showed the heart of a champion down there.”

Bye added, “After halftime they came out and played like they can play. It was a helluva comeback, huh? It’s a shame anybody had to lose that game.”

Lake Orion started its next drive at its own 13 and made two first downs, before the Titans stopped the Dragons on downs when Brian Falta deflected a Charette pass on fourth down, setting up the final 1:48 of the game.

“Our kids didn’t cave in,” Bell said. “They didn’t hang their heads. The rest of my coaches told them Stevenson was going to make a run and we had to keep fighting. It’s the state playoffs and we tell the kids the wild and crazy things are going to happen.”

The win was Lake Orion’s third straight against a MAC Red Division foe, defeating Eisenhower 7-0 in the opening round, before knocking off Romeo 24-23 in round 2.

“We had to come in and take on three straight Macomb County teams and come out with three wins against three great football teams,” Bell said. “I’m just proud of my kids. I feel like I played in the MAC Red.”

Lake Orion rushed for 379 yards in the game with Kim Bruce gaining 144 yards on 24 carries. Dan Ney added 81 yards on eight rushes, while Oakes finished with 76 yards on 13 totes. Charette completed 4-of-15 passes for 54 yards and had 41 yards rushing on two runs. The win improved the Dragons’ record to 11-1 overall and moved them into next Saturday’s Division 1 semifinal contest against Dearborn Fordson, which defeated Detroit Southeastern 29-18 in their regional final on Friday night.

Stevenson was paced by Fracassa, who completed 21-of-36 passes for 329 yards. Mershman had seven receptions for 182 yards, while Marcus Beaurem had five catches for 54 yards, and Thomas Beaurem chipped in four receptions for 53 yards. Wright led the ground attack with 22 yards on six carries, and had four catches for 39 yards.

The loss ended Stevenson’s season at 10-2 overall.

“We’ve got some great kids coming back and we lose some good seniors,” Bye said. “You don’t go ahead in a game like this when you’re down 35-7 unless you have great character on your team. We have great character on our team. The team chemistry all year long was tremendous. I’m happy they believed in themselves that they could come back.”