By John Rittenhouse
The Adrian football team continues to pick up steam heading toward the playoffs after the Dragons recorded their third straight victory Thursday.
Hosting the Dawson-Boyd Blackjacks in a Little Sioux Conference clash, the Dragons scored 28 unanswered points in the second and third quarters to run away with a 35-7 victory.
The win upped Adrian’s overall record to 5-2 heading into last night’s regular season finale against Ortonville. A victory over Ortonville, which was winless entering the game, would give the Dragons at least one home playoff game.
An efficient offensive effort carried the Dragons to victory over D-B.
Adrian scored touchdowns with five of its first six possessions in the game, which allowed the Dragon coaching staff to give their starters most of the second half off.
"We looked alright," said AHS coach Randy Strand. "Our offense is executing really well right now. We haven’t punted for two games now. The only time we’ve been stopped is when we stop ourselves with penalties or turnovers."
Adrian was at its offensive best in the second quarter, when it snapped a deadlock at seven by scoring 20 points in a span of 9:28.
Two plays after D-B knotted the score at seven, Adrian’s Dusty Henning put his team in front to stay by breaking loose on a 43-yard touchdown scamper with 10:33 remaining in the first half. Levi Bullerman added the extra point to make it a 14-7 game.
After the Dragon defense forced D-B to punt four plays after Henning’s touchdown, the AHS offense mounted a five-play, 77-yard touchdown march.
Bullerman, who completed four of five passes for 190 yards in the game, hooked up with Pete Hohn for a 50-yard touchdown pass to end the drive. Bullerman added the extra point as the Dragons increased their lead to 21-7 with 3:12 remaining in the second quarter.
Henning gave the AHS offense the ball moments later when he intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards to the Blackjack 45-yard line.
Two plays later, Henning hauled in a 42-yard scoring strike from Bullerman at the 1:04 mark of the period. A failed extra-point attempt kept the score at 27-7.
The Dragons capped the scoring 2:04 into the third quarter.
After D-B was forced to punt after running three unproductive plays to start the third quarter, Adrian took over on its own 30. Three plays later, Bullerman fired a 66-yard touchdown pass to Hohn. Trent Bullerman carried in the two-point conversion to make the difference 35-7.
The Adrian offense was equally impressive while conducting its first possession of the game.
The Dragons advanced the ball 78 yards in 10 plays before Henning pounded his way into the end zone from four yards away. Levi Bullerman booted the extra point, making it 7-0 at the 8:08 mark of the first quarter.
A mistake made by the Dragon offense allowed D-B to tie the game at seven.
Adrian fumbled and D-B recovered on the Dragon 24 late in the first quarter. Ten plays later, and with the help of a pass interference penalty on the Dragons, D-B’s Preston Lee scored on a three-yard run at the 10:58 mark of the second quarter. Aaron Schoephoerster added the extra point.
Take away Lee’s touchdown, and Adrian also played a good defensive game.
"Our defense is playing well," Strand said. "We bent a little bit, but we didn’t break. D-B had the No. 1 passer and two of the top three receivers in our conference, and they only got 94 passing yards against us."
Team statistics
Adrian: 264 rushing yards, 190 passing yards, 454 total yards, 18 first downs, one penalty for seven yards, three turnovers.
D-B: 142 rushing yards, 94 passing yards, 236 total yards, 15 first downs, three penalties for 25 yards, four turnovers.
Individual statistics
Rushing: Henning 12-100, L.Bullerman 8-63, Joe Kruger 4-12, T.Bullerman 7-38, Brandon Wolf 7-51.
Passing: L.Bullerman 4-5 for 190 yards.
Receiving: Hohn 3-148, Henning 1-42.
Defense: Brandon Schettler 16 tackles, Kruger 15 tackles, T.Bullerman 11 tackles and one interception, Dusty Spieker 11 tackles, Henning one interception, Wolf one interception, Darren DeBeer one fumble recovery.