By John RittenhouseThe Adrian football team bounced back from its first loss of the season Sept. 12 by thumping Fulda 38-22 in Adrian Friday.The 3-1 Dragons responded to the challenge of recovering from a 13-point loss in Tyler seven days ago by rolling to a 14-point win over the 2-2 Raiders in front of a Parents’ Night crowd in Adrian.Fulda gained a reputation as being a tough defensive team during the first three weeks of the season, but the Dragons tarnished the image while racking up 429 total yards in the game.Adrian’s ground game did most of the damage to the Raiders. The Dragons ran for 329 yards with four players running for a combined five touchdowns."Fulda has a pretty good team," admitted AHS coach Randy Strand. "All we heard about going into the game was how their defense was shutting everyone down. We still have some things to clean up, but we were able to get some yards and points against them."It didn’t take Adrian’s offense long to solve Fulda’s defensive scheme as the Dragons scored 25 points in the first half.Fulda gave the Dragons excellent field position early in the game when the Raiders fumbled a punt and Adrian’s Tyler Wolf recovered the ball on the Fulda 36-yard line.Adrian covered 36 yards in six plays with quarterback Levi Bullerman scoring on a one-yard touchdown run at the 8:19 mark of the first quarter. A failed extra-point attempt kept the score at 6-0.The Dragons doubled their lead by driving 55 yards in seven plays with their next possession.The drive featured a 24-yard pass from Bullerman to Tyler Wolf, but it was Bullerman who capped the advance with a seven-yard run with 3:33 remaining in the first quarter. A run for a two-point conversion came up short, leaving the Dragons with a 12-0 lead.Adrian lost the ball on downs at the Fulda one early in the second quarter, but the Dragons found the end zone twice before the first half was complete.The Dragons scored on a three-play, 46-yard possession with 5:09 remaining in the second period. A 44-yard run by Billy Anderson set up a four-yard scoring run by Tyler Bullerman to make it an 18-0 game. A pass for a two-point conversion failed.A long kickoff return by the Raiders set up a 44-yard drive that ended with quarterback Jake Lubben scoring on a seven-yard run at the 4:03 mark of the second period. Eastman Laackmann ran in a two-point conversion to make the difference 18-8.The Dragons squashed any momentum Fulda may have gained with its touchdown when Brandon Wolf returned the ensuing kick 87 yards for a score with 3:46 left in the half.It was Wolf’s second kickoff return for a touchdown in as many weeks, and it was followed by a successful extra-point by Levi Bullerman that gave the Dragons a 25-8 cushion.The Dragons put the game away by scoring the first 13 points of the second half.Adrian’s first possession of the third quarter turned into a nine-play, 67-yard scoring march.Wolf, who had a 38-yard run during the drive, capped the advance with a one-yard touchdown plunge at the 3:13 mark of the stanza. Levi Bullerman added the extra point to make it a 32-8 game.The Dragons scored during a two-play possession in the fourth quarter when Billy Anderson scampered 50 yards for a touchdown with 5:32 left to play. The touchdown, which was followed by an unsuccessful kick, gave AHS a 38-8 lead.Fulda scored twice in the game’s final six minutes, but the issue was settled at that point.Jeremy Crowley returned a kick 90 yards for a touchdown and Lubben carried in the two-point conversion following Anderson’s touchdown run.A 73-yard drive ended with Fulda’s Ryan Koopman scoring on a 24-yard run with 1:20 left to play to cap the scoring.Strand said the play of Adrian’s offensive line was the difference in the game."The key for us was the play of our line. We were getting pretty good yards behind some pretty good blocks," he said.The Dragons will entertain Canby for their 2003 homecoming game Friday.Canby won the Little Sioux Conference in 2002, but the Lancers are 1-3 this season after losing an 8-7 decision to Murray County Central Friday.Team statisticsAdrian: 329 rushing yards, 100 passing yards, 429 total yards, 15 first downs, two penalties for 10 yards, zero turnovers.Fulda: 241 rushing yards, 115 passing yards, 356 total yards, 12 first downs, three penalties for 12 yards, two turnovers.Individual statisticsRushing: Anderson 13-153, B.Wolf 14-75, L.Bullerman 11-47, Anthony Sauer 5-19, T.Bullerman 8-35.Passing: L.Bullerman 4-5 for 100 yards.Receiving: B.Wolf 2-45, Brett Block 1-43, T.Wolf 1-12.Defense: Sauer 18 tackles and one interception, T.Wolf one fumble recovery, B.Wolf 10 tackles, T.Bullerman 10 tackles.
