DEARBORN — They’ve been talking about it all year, and now, the moment is finally here. The Dearborn Fordson football team is just one win away from Ford Field and the Division I State Championship Game.
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The Dearborn Fordson Tractors (team on the left), shown here against Dearborn, will make it to a game even bigger than their annual rivalry game with the Pioneers with one more win over Lake Orion: the State Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit. PHOTO: Nick Meyer/TAAN |
“They’re a tough opponent and a well-disciplined team,” said Fordson running back Hassan Amen. “They’ve played a lot of very good teams this year and they’re going to come out and play tough every play.”
At the same time, Amen doesn’t foresee the Tractors changing up their style too much because of how strong the Dragons are up front.
“We’re still going to try and pound them like we did to most of the other teams. We plan on running all three of our backs,” he said. “But if the running game doesn’t work, we still have a great passing game.”
Lake Orion won their last game 38-36 against Sterling Heights Stevenson and comes in on an 11-game winning streak after dropping their first game to fellow state semi-finalist Rockford by a score of 17-7.
Fordson head coach Fouad “Walker” Zaban talked about what he saw on film from Lake Orion.
“On the offensive side, they run the ball extremely well. Their offensive line does a good job of getting off the ball,” he said.
“Defensively, they have been outstanding. They are aggressive and quick. They will be a tough challenge for our team.”
High temperatures for Saturday are only expected to be in the mid-30’s and could dip down pretty low as the game goes on, but Zaban knows his team is ready for the conditions.
“Well, we’ve been practicing in this weather, there is no way around it,” he said. “I do not know if it plays in our favor or not but I do not think the kids will care at that point.”
Both Zaban and Amen said they didn’t think playing on the road would be a big distraction, especially since Fordson fans are so passionate and will most likely follow the team to Troy Athens and because it is a neutral site.
One unforeseen problem that the Tractors might face, however, are injuries to their top two running backs. Ali Alaboody was carted off the field last week against Detroit Southeastern, but eventually came back to play. Amen has also been battling a nagging high ankle sprain injury of his own.
Luckily for the Tractors, they also have a good third-string option in Abe Mroue to help carry the load and keep the other two rested throughout the game if need be.
Quarterback Ali Beidoun is also ready to step up on offense in the passing game.
“(Beidoun) has done a terrific job of leading and directing the team. The things he does don’t necessarily show up in the stat book all the time,” said Zaban.
As the Tractors prepare to go into the biggest game the program has seen since they won the state title in 1993, Zaban took time to put the team’s accomplishments into perspective.
“The team has done an excellent job of taking it one game at a time and enjoying the moment, and they deserve all the credit in the world,” he said.
“Also, I must add that my staff has worked tirelessly to game plan and prepare the players. They deserve a ton of credit.”
Besides being focused on the task at hand each week, another factor has also helped pave the way for the Tractors’ success: confidence.
“Throughout the year, even in the beginning, we knew we were going to make it to states and hopefully we’ll win it,” said Amen.
“We’re so excited because it’s so close. We’re one game away to be in the states and both teams are going to go 100% on every single play.”
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