Photo by John Rittenhouse
Adrian quarterback Levi Bullerman follows a block from Trent Bullerman to pick up some of his 141 rushing yards during Tuesday’s Section 3A Football Playoff game against Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in Adrian. Adrian routed the Knights 55-6 to advance to Saturday’s semifinals in Wabasso.
By John Rittenhouse
Adrian stormed into the semifinal round of the Section 3A Football Playoffs by routing Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 55-6 in Adrian Tuesday.
Sophomore quarterback Levi Bullerman ran for two touchdowns and passed for three more while helping the Dragon’s build a 48-0 lead in the first three quarters of play.
Several sacks by the Adrian defense played a key role in stopping R-T-R’s passing attack when the Adrian offense was putting the game away.
The win ups Adrian’s season record to 7-2 heading into Saturday’s semifinals.
Third-seeded Adrian plays No. 2 Wabasso, which upended Lakeview Tuesday night, at 3 p.m. in Wabasso.
Adrian controlled play in the first half while rolling to a 28-0 lead at the intermission.
The Dragons scored six points in the first quarter before exploding for 22 counters in an 8:04 span in the second period.
Bullerman, who ran the ball eight times for 141 yards in the game, made his presence felt early. On the second play from scrimmage, the AHS signal-caller dashed 57 yards for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead at the 11:12 mark of the opening period.
R-T-R had a chance to score as the first half progressed, but a fourth-and-one pass on the AHS 14-yard line fell incomplete on the first play of the second quarter.
Six plays after taking over the ball on downs, Bullerman struck again with a 48-yard touchdown run at the 9:43 mark of the second quarter. A failed conversion run left the Dragons sporting a 12-0 lead.
Adrian then scored touchdowns and added two-point conversions with its next two offensive possessions to open a 28-0 lead before the first half was complete.
On the third play of Adrian’s next offensive possession, Bullerman tossed a 62-yard touchdown strike to Pete Hohn.
Dusty Henning carried in the two point conversion to make it a 20-0 game at 7:07 mark of the second quarter.
After forcing the Knights to punt four plays later, the Dragons marched 56 yards before Bullerman hit Hohn for a 23-yard touchdown pass with 1:39 remaining in the second period. Hohn, who hauled in three passes for 130 yards in the game, then completed a conversion pass to Henning.
The Dragons put the game out of reach by scoring 20 points in the first nine minutes of the third quarter.
Adrian drove 74 yards with its first possession of the second half. The drive ended with Hohn latching onto a 45-yard touchdown pass from Bullerman. Bullerman added the extra point to make it 35-0 at the 7:12 mark of the third stanza.
R-T-R had to punt four plays later, setting a 46-yard drive that ended with Brandon Wolf scoring on a six-yard run with 4:02 left in the period. The extra-point attempt was blocked.
Dragon defender Dusty Spieker picked off a pass three plays into R-T-R’s next possession and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown. Wolf added the extra point to make it a 48-0 difference.
R-T-R ended Adrian’s shutout when Ramsey Gravely caught a screen pass from Reed Burckhardt and ran 25 yards for a touchdown with 1:37 remaining in the third period.
Wolf scored on a 14-yard run before kicking the extra point at 3:38 in the fourth quarter to make it a 55-6 game in the end.
Team statistics
Adrian: 288 rushing yards, 164 passing yards, 452 total yards, 15 first downs, five penalties for 45 yards, one turnover.
R-T-R: 100 rushing yards, 99 passing yards, 199 total yards, eight first downs, three penalties for 20 yards, three turnovers.
Individual statistics
Rushing: Henning 14-62, David Hoffer 2-7, Joe Kruger 6-22, L.Bullerman 8-141, Wolf 5-25, Trent Bullerman 11-31.
Passing: L.Bullerman 5-9 for 164 yards.
Receiving: Hohn 3-130, Henning 2-34.