Ogemaw's Pete VanOosten passes through traffic during Friday's league opener at Oscoda.
Adam Dettmer hits for two of his game-high 16 points.
Matt Faiman drives past Oscoda's Jason Jimenez for two points during the Falcons' big second quarter run.
Brent Baker
A little "fan appreciation"

OSCODA - Dec. 8, 2006 - Ogemaw Heights has high hopes of making a run at the North East Michigan Conference title this season, and Friday's 57-40 victory at Oscoda did nothing to dispel the notion that those hopes are realistic.

The Falcons broke out to a 32-13 halftime lead, thanks primarily to a dominant second quarter, and were never seriously threatened in the second half.

"They were just a lot quicker than us," said Oscoda coach Scott Lueck. "They got to every loose ball in the first half. We shot 25 percent for the game, but credit Ogemaw for that; they closed out our shooters really well."

Coming into the game Ogemaw coach Jon VanOosten was concerned that the Owls had already played a game, while this would be the Falcons' opener.

"That was a big concern, and that first-game inexperience showed up a bit in the first four minutes," he said. "But once we got going, we were fine."

The Falcons led 11-6 after a sluggish first quarter, but after the Owls' Adam Dettmer opened the scoring in the second period, the Falcons finished out with a 21-5 run. Matt Faiman scored 11 of his 14 points in the quarter and Cody O'Neil added all six of his points during the run.

The Falcons led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter before both benches emptied.

"I thought Michael Noffsinger did a nice job in his first (varsity) game at the point," VanOosten said. "Kyle Wangler did a nice job inside, directing traffic like he has always done well."

What might be even more cause for concern for Falcon opponents was that they built their big lead while leading scorer Pete VanOosten was scoring just two points in the first half. He finished with 11, including eight in the opening minutes of the third quarter when the Falcons extended their lead.

Dettmer led Oscoda (1-1, 0-1 NEMC) with 16 points, with Jason Jimenez adding 13.

Faiman had 14, with Wangler adding 11 for the Falcons (1-0, 1-0). Ogemaw hosts Gaylord on Tuesday, Dec. 11.