By John Rittenhouse
Adrian moved one step closer toward a Little Sioux Conference football championship by downing Murray County Central 20-13 in Adrian Friday.
Freshman quarterback Levi Bullerman threw for 137 yards and two touchdowns and senior tailback Tyler Bullerman ran for 118 yards and one touchdown to help the Dragons up their record to 5-0 overall and in the LSC.
The Dragons can take another stride toward a league title with a win over Dawson-Boyd in Dawson tonight. The Blackjacks and Ortonville are Adrian's main obstacles in the hunt for a conference championship as both teams have 4-1 league records.
Adrian now will be paying a price for a bye week it had earlier in the season. After playing in Dawson tonight, the Dragons return home to host Elmore Academy Saturday before traveling to Ortonville Wednesday.
The Dragons earned the right to control their own league destiny and gained a little revenge at the same time by upending the Rebels Friday.
Winless MCC ended AdrianÕs 2000 campaign by knocking the Dragons out of the section semifinals.
The Rebels drew first blood in Friday's tilt with a touchdown 7:35 into the game, but the Dragons recorded the next 20 points before winning by seven.
"MCC is a tough ball team to stop," said Dragon coach Randy Strand. "They are big up front, and they kept pushing us back all night. We survived this game."
The Rebels gave Adrian an indication that the game would be a tough one when they stopped the Dragons on downs early in the first quarter before going on a 12-play, 48-yard drive that ended with Sean Kuechenmeister scoring on a five-yard run at the 4:25 mark of the opening period. Nick Bruning kicked the extra point to make it a 7-0 game.
Adrian responded to the challenge by scoring one touchdown in each of the first three quarters to take a 20-7 lead.
Levi Bullerman, who completed nine of 13 passes in the game, made two key connections when Adrian answered MCCÕs touchdown in the first quarter.
The Dragon signal-caller hooked up with Bryce Block for a 29-yard completion before tossing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Dusty Henning to cap a five-play, 60-yard drive with 2:27 remaining in the stanza. A missed extra-point attempt kept the Rebels clinging to a 7-6 edge.
Adrian moved in front late in the first half when the offense put together a six-play, 44-yard drive. Levi Bullerman threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Cliff Lynn before hitting Henning with a successful conversion toss to give the Dragons a 14-7 advantage with 3:43 left to play in the first half.
The Dragons padded their lead by six points with an 80-yard touchdown march to start the second half. The three-play possession featured the talents of Tyler Bullerman as the veteran back dashed 69 yards for a touchdown during the third play of the possession.
A botched snap during the extra-point attempt left Adrian sporting a 13-point advantage with 8:34 remaining in the third quarter.
It looked like the game might end with Adrian winning 20-7 before the MCC defense made a big play late in the fourth quarter.
Rebel defender Matt Kautz picked off a pass on the Dragon 33 to set up a six-play drive that ended with Ryan Streff scoring on a two-yard run with 4:44 left to play. A missed extra-point attempt kept the score at 20-13.
The Adrian offense made sure MCC didn't have the opportunity to tie the game as the Dragons ran the remaining time off the clock with a 13-play possession.
Team statistics
Adrian: 186 rushing yards, 137 passing yards, 323 total yards, 10 first downs, three penalties for 30 yards, one turnover.
MCC: 215 rushing yards, 28 passing yards, 243 total yards, 14 first downs, two penalties for 15 yards, one turnover.
Individual statistics
Rushing: T.Bullerman 16-118, L.Bullerman 11-59, Nate Bullerman 4-9.
Passing: L.Bullerman 9-13 for 137 yards.
Receiving: Henning 4-41, Lynn 2-30, T.Bullerman 2-37, Block 1-29.
Defense: Henning 17 tackles, Joe Kruger 15 tackles, Block 11 tackles, Brandon Schettler 10 tackles and one sack, Pete Hohn one fumble recovery.