By John RittenhouseThe Adrian football team snatched a victory out of the jaws of defeat Friday in Minneota.Trailing by six points late in the fourth quarter, Adrian drove 84 yards in the final two minutes of regulation play to knot the score at 33 and force overtime.After scoring a touchdown and adding a two-point conversion on the first play of overtime, Adrian kept the Vikings out of the end zone during their offensive series to lock up a 41-33 victory."We showed some character," said Adrian coach Randy Strand, after watching his team record a come-from-behind victory to up its record to 5-1."An 84-yard drive in the final two minutes is pretty good in high school football. The players just started making plays," he added.The Dragons looked to be in trouble when Minneota’s Steffan Sticklestad ran 33 yards for his fourth rushing touchdown of the game to give the Vikings a 33-27 lead with 2:01 left to play.Minneota tried to tack on a two-point conversion, but a pass fell incomplete to keep the difference at six points.Adrian countered with a 13-play drive that ended with Levi Bullerman tossing his fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 23-yard strike to Brett Block, to tie the game at 33 with 14 seconds remaining.Adrian’s extra-point attempt was blocked, sending the game into overtime.Dragon back Brandon Wolf scored on a 10-yard run on the first play of overtime before hauling in a conversion pass from Bullerman to give AHS an eight-point lead.Minneota faced a fourth-and-goal situation on the three-yard line moments later. The Vikings threw a pass that was in the hands of the receiver near the goal line, but Bullerman delivered a hit that separated the ball from the receiver’s hands and it fell incomplete."Levi just drilled the kid," Strand said. "The receiver was near the goal line, but Levi’s hit jarred the ball loose."Both teams sported leads during regulation play.Adrian drew first blood when its second possession developed into a 13-play, 84-yard scoring march. The drive ended with Bullerman tossing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Wolf at the 3:29 mark of the first quarter. Bullerman booted the extra point to make it 7-0.Minneota returned the ensuing kickoff across midfield, which set up a three-play, 47-yard possession. Sticklestad scored on a one-yard plunge to cap the drive, but Adrian’s Casey Knips blocked the extra-point attempt to keep the Dragons clinging to a 7-6 edge.The Vikings threatened to take the lead in the second quarter before a drive ended on downs on the AHS five-yard line.The Dragons took over and mounted a 16-play, 95-yard drive. The march ended with Bullerman throwing his first of three touchdown passes to Block, a 17-yard play, with 6:14 left in the first half. Adrian’s extra-point attempt was blocked, leaving the Dragons with a 13-6 cushion.Minneota battled back to score twice in the final four minutes of the first half to gain a 19-13 halftime advantage.Sticklestad capped a pair of 56-yard drives with touchdown runs of three and eight yards at the 3:21 and 24-second marks of the second quarter. Ben DeVlaceminck added the extra point to tie the game at 13 after the first touchdown. Adrian’s Knips blocked the second extra-point attempt.The Dragons regained the lead at 21-19 by scoring eight unanswered points in the third quarter.Minneota tried to punt deep out of its own territory early in the second half. The snap, however, sailed out of the end zone for a two-point safety for the Dragons at the 10:24 mark of the third quarter.Adrian put together a 51-yard, seven-play drive after the ensuing free kick. Bullerman and Block hooked up for an 18-yard touchdown pass to cap the drive with 7:47 remaining in the third quarter. The pass for a conversion failed, leaving the Dragons with a two-point advantage at 21-19.The Dragons increased their lead to 27-19 with a 13-play, 67-yard drive that started in the third quarter and ended with Bullerman scoring on a four-yard run at 10:55 left in the fourth quarter. Adrian’s extra-point attempt was blocked.Minneota tied the game at 27 when quarterback Derek Stripling threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Josh Timmerman with 5:30 left in the fourth quarter. Stripling carried in the tying two-point conversion.Both team scored six points in the final 2:01, setting up Adrian’s win in overtime."We didn’t really play well," Strand added. "We gave up a lot of big plays defensively. I thought our offensive line did a nice job in the fourth quarter. The linemen did a nice job of giving Levi some time to throw, and that gave us a chance to win the game."Adrian hosts 1-5 Murray County Central tonight.Team statisticsAdrian: 222 rushing yards, 251 passing yards, 473 total yards, 17 first downs, 11 penalties for 75 yards, three turnovers.Minneota: 279 rushing yards, 81 passing yards, 360 total yards, 11 first downs, nine penalties for 66 yards, one turnover.Individual statisticsRushing: Billy Anderson 5-16, L.Bullerman 23-101, Wolf 13-47, Trent Bullerman 8-25, Anthony Sauer 7-33.Passing: L.Bullerman 15-27 for 251 yards.Receiving: Block 7-126, Wolf 8-125.Defense: Sauer 16 tackles, Darren DeBeer 11 tackles, Knips 10 tackles and two blocked kicks, Block nine tackles and one interception.
