By John Rittenhouse
A second-half rally remained in tact after a late goal-line stand to give the Adrian Dragons a berth in the Section 3A Football Playoff championship game Saturday.
Playing second-seeded Wabasso in the section semifinals in Wabasso Saturday, No. 3 seed Adrian was able to pull out a 21-14 win in a game that wasn't settled until the second to the last play.
The home-standing Rabbits were in a first-and-goal situation inside the Adrian five-yard line in the game's final minute, but the Dragon defense rose to the occasion to keep Wabasso from a potential game-tying touchdown.
"It was a barn-burner," said Dragon coach Randy Strand. "We were able to keep them out of the end zone late in the game, and I guess that was the difference."
The victory ups Adrian's season record to 8-2 and sends the Dragons to their first section title tilt since 1998. Adrian travels to Mountain Lake Friday for a 7 p.m. tilt that will decide the section championship.
Strand and the Dragons are looking forward to playing in their first championship game in four years, and they are fortunate to have the opportunity after surviving a scare in Wabasso.
The Rabbits led 14-7 during the first half, and Strand said the spread could have been bigger. Adrian scored 14 unanswered points in the second half to gain a 21-14 cushion that was preserved by some outstanding play from the Dragon defense late in the game.
"It didn't look too good for us in the second quarter," Strand said. "Wabasso was having its way with us, but we were able to survive the storm. It was just a matter of us coming out and playing better in the second half."
The Dragons didn't waste any time in getting back into the game in the third quarter.
After forcing Wabasso to punt early in the period, Adrian marched 71 yards in four plays with Dusty Henning scoring on a two-yard run at the 6:50 mark of the third quarter. Levi Bullerman booted his second of three extra points to knot the score at 14.
Henning, who ran the ball for 133 yards and nabbed three pass receptions for 30 yards in the game, accounted for all 71 of the yards during the game-tying drive.
Henning picked off a pass that set up what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Adrian advanced the ball 53 yards in 10 plays with Henning hauling in an eight-yard touchdown pass from Bullerman with 8:48 left to play to make it a 21-14 game.
The touchdown pass caught the Rabbits napping as Adrian ran the ball during the first nine plays of the drive.
The teams exchanged punts as the fourth quarter progressed, with Wabasso taking over on its own 48-yard line with 4:48 remaining.
The hosts had a second-and-goal on the Adrian three when a running play was stopped by Adrian's Brent Voss for a one-yard loss. Another run on third down resulted in another one-yard loss as Dragons Joe Kruger and Dusty Speiker teamed up to drag down the Wabasso runner. Wabasso tried to pass on fourth down, but Adrian defender Brandon Wolf knocked the ball down in the end zone to thwart the attempt. The Dragon offense then ran one to chew the remaining time off the clock.
Adrian drew first blood in the game as it received the opening kickoff before mounting a 10-play, 67-yard drive that ended with Bullerman scoring on an 11-yard run at the 7:52 mark of the first quarter. The drive consisted of 10 running plays.
Wabasso answered the challenge with its first offensive possession as the third play of the series resulted in an 80-yard touchdown pass from Brent Baune to Jase Guetter. Cole Guetter booted his first of two extra points to tie the game at seven with 6:19 left in the first quarter.
The teams exchanged punts before an Adrian drive ended with an interception on the Wabasso seven in the second quarter, setting up a 10-play, 93-yard drive featuring a 51-yard pass completion and ending with Jase Guetter scoring on a three-yard run with 6:33 left in the first half.
Wabasso had an opportunity to pad its 14-7 lead when it advanced the ball inside Adrian's five-yard line late in the second quarter, but Wolf came up big again when he intercepted a pass in the end zone to end the threat.
"We could have been behind 28-7 in that first half, but our defense made some plays," Strand said. "With the exception of two plays, the defense played a solid game. We kept their quarterback, who is a pretty good athlete, in check all day long."
The Dragons will need another strong defensive effort when they play 10-0 Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin tomorrow. The Wolverines are the section's No. 1 seed, and Strand said they deserve that ranking.
"They are loaded. They can pass and run the ball, and they are big and quick. They've got the whole package, but we’ll go up there to play them anyway," he said.
Team statistics
Adrian: 210 rushing yards, 65 passing yards, 275 total yards, 13 first downs, four penalties for 35 yards, one turnover.
Wabasso: 112 rushing yards, 241 passing yards, 353 total yards, 11 first downs, seven penalties for 65 yards, two turnovers.
Individual statistics
Rushing: Henning 21-133, L.Bullerman 15-56, Joe Kruger 3-13, Pete Hohn 1-5, Wolf 1-1, Trent Bullerman 1-2.
Passing: L.Bullerman 6-12 for 65 yards.
Receiving: Henning 3-30, Brett Block 1-13, Cliff Lynn 1-12, Hohn 1-10.
Defense: Kruger 10 tackles, Wolf 11 tackles and one interception, L.Bullerman nine tackles, Henning one interception.