By John RittenhouseAdrian finished a 7-1 regular season by recording a 41-32 football win over Dawson-Boyd in Dawson Wednesday, Oct. 15.Junior quarterback Levi Bullerman ran for three touchdowns and passed for two others as Adrian locked up second place in the Little Sioux Conference with a 6-1 record.The Dragons opened the Section 3A Playoffs by hosting Minneota Tuesday. Look for the game story on the front page of the sports section.Adrian and D-B battled to a draw at 14 before the Dragons went on a 27-18 scoring run in the final 24:35 of the game to win by nine.The surge started late in the second quarter, after the Blackjacks tied the score at 14 with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Justin Wajer to Tim Cariveau, and a successful conversion pass from Justin Wajer to Jordan Wajer with 1:26 remaining in the first half.Adrian regained the lead before the second quarter was complete with an 84-yard, three-play offensive series.On the third play of the possession, Bullerman and Billy Anderson hooked up for a 72-yard touchdown pass with 29 seconds remaining in the half. A pass for a two-point conversion failed, leaving the Dragons sporting a 20-14 lead.The big play late in the second half gave the Dragons momentum heading into the third quarter, when they scored touchdowns with their first two possessions to open a 33-14 lead.Adrian’s Brandon Wolf picked off a pass by D-B to start the rally, and it set up a six-play, 58-yard march that ended with Wolf hauling in a 43-yard touchdown pass from Bullerman. The pass for a two-point conversion failed, keeping the difference at 12 points (26-14) at the 7:15 mark of the third quarter.The Dragon defense forced D-B to punt moments later, and the AHS offense moved the ball 56 yards in three plays with its second possession of the second half.Anthony Sauer capped the drive with a 41-yard touchdown run at the 4:02 mark of the third period. Bullerman added the extra point to make it a 33-14 game.The Blackjacks answered Sauer’s touchdown with a 66-yard, nine-play drive of their own. Preston Lee capped the advance with a 14-yard run with 35 seconds left in the third quarter. A failed two-point conversion pass left D-B facing a 33-20 deficit.D-B climbed within seven points of catching AHS early in the fourth quarter.Adrian lost the ball with a fumble on its own 49-yard line moments after Lee’s touchdown run. D-B covered the remaining 49 yards in five plays with Justin Wajer tossing a 38-yard touchdown pass to Dane Prestholdt at the 9:35 mark of the fourth quarter. A failed extra-point attempt left Adrian sporting a 33-26 cushion.The Blackjacks got the ball back with a chance to tie the game as the fourth quarter progressed, but Adrian defender Brett Block intercepted a pass and returned the ball to the D-B 34.Bullerman capped the ensuing drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge and threw a successful conversion pass to Block to make it a 41-26 difference with 1:20 left to play.D-B countered with a six-play, 49-yard drive that ended with Justin Wajer connecting with Cariveau for an eight-yard touchdown pass with 38 seconds remaining. The run for a two-point conversion failed, leaving the Dragons with a nine-point cushion (41-32) that would stand up at game’s end.Both teams sported leads in the early stages of the game.Adrian’s first possession of the contest ended with a fumble that was returned 60 yards to the Dragons’ eight-yard line by D-B.Lee scored on a five-yard run moments later, but D-B missed the extra-point attempt, leaving the Blackjacks with a 6-0 cushion at the 8:20 mark of the first quarter.Adrian tied the score at six with a three-play, 69-yard drive 1:14 later. Bullerman scored on a 53-yard run with 7:06 remaining in the opening stanza, but the ensuing extra-point attempt failed.The score remained deadlocked at six until the second quarter.After the Adrian defense stopped D-B on downs on the Dragon’ eight-yard line, the AHS offense put together a 17-play, 92-yard drive. Bullerman scored on a two-yard run at the end of the march, and Wolf carried in a two-point conversion to give the Dragons their first lead at 14-6.D-B then tied the game before AHS regained the lead at 20-14 late in the first half.Adrian coach Randy Strand gave his offensive line credit for helping the team score 41 points in the game. At the same time, he was concerned about yielding 32 points to D-B."Our offensive line is really blocking well right now. Hopefully that keeps up as we head into the playoffs," he said. "D-B is a team that has aired things out all season offensively, but we didn’t make a lot of plays in the secondary."Team statisticsAdrian: 332 rushing yards, 180 passing yards, 512 total yards, 17 first downs, eight penalties for 55 yards, two turnovers.D-B: 108 rushing yards, 244 passing yards, 352 total yards, 17 first downs, three penalties for 20 yards, two turnovers.Individual statisticsRushing: Bullerman 20-148, Wolf 17-86, Sauer 9-77, Trent Bullerman 4-16, Anderson 2-5.Passing: L.Bullerman 6-9 for 180 yards.Receiving: Wolf 2-80, Block 2-13, Anderson 1-72, T.Bullerman 1-15.Defense: Sauer 15 tackles, Darren DeBeer 10 tackles, T.Bullerman nine tackles, Wolf one interception, Block one interception.
