Dogs go down battling in 39-29 quarterfinal loss to Adrian

Adrian victimized Gallatin’s pass defense for 197 yards and four touchdowns Monday night, including a 70-yard bomb on the first play from scrimmage, as the state-ranked Blackhawks averted an upset with a hard fought, 39-29 Class 1 quarterfinal win.

The Bulldogs didn’t roll over after falling behind, 16-0, by the 11:06 mark of the second quarter. Junior halfback Derrick Love, who ripped off runs of 15 and 40 yards to carry the Bulldogs inside the Blackhawk red zone, provided the needed spark. Stephen Wood, whose contributions were limited due to his leg injury, moved the ball to the AHS four-yard line, where Nic Burrell scored around right end on an option keeper.

The Bulldogs literally threw caution to the wind with a high kickoff into a stiff breeze that Corey Lee recovered on the Blackhawk 36. Burrell scored again on fourth and two from the seven-yard line on a run-pass option keeper. Riley Rains’s 18-yard pass reception, and a Love 9-yard run, help set up the score. Duffy added the PAT to close the gap to 16-13.

Reeling from two quick GHS scores, Adrian could not get back in sync. An intentional grounding penalty against quarterback Josh VanSlyke set Adrian back 10 yards with a loss of down. Wesley McDonald recovered his own fumble but lost 6 yards. Forced to punt from his own 20, Kenny Saathoff took off running when he glimpsed Clayton Baker bearing down on him from the outside. He made it out to the 36-yard line, where Gallatin took over.

Love gained 6 yards in two carries. Duffy blasted up the middle for 13. Love got the call again from the 17 and responded by shedding tacklers all the way to the end zone. Burrell rifled a pass to Andrew Adkison for the two-point conversion and the Bulldogs enjoyed a 21-16 lead.

The Blackhawks would cut Gallatin’s celebration short. Wade Tenholder returned the ensuing kickoff 40 yards to the Bulldog 47. Six plays and a Bulldog holding penalty later, Van Slyke hit Ty Wimberly on a 7-yard scoring route in the corner of the end zone. Saathoff added the extra point and the half ended with Adrian back in control of the scoreboard, 23-21.

The Blackhawks capitalized quickly in the third quarter off a pass interception. Saathoff, who earlier knocked through a 35-yard field goal, added another from 42 yards to up the ante to 26-21.

Adrian cranked up its power running game, but got a huge break that would put Gallatin down by two scores. With the ball on Gallatin’s 4-yard line, McDonald took the handoff, but quickly lost his grip on the ball, which appeared to come out before he broke the plane of the goal line. The officials saw it differently and awarded a touchdown even though the Bulldogs recovered the ball in the end zone.

The Bulldogs were able to shake off adversity by fighting back on an 80-yard scoring drive. After Burrell connected with Duffy for a 9-yard completion on fourth down to keep the series alive, Love hit Adkison on the sideline for a 25-yard gain on halfback throw. Burrell rocked the Blackhawks back on their heels with an 11-yard gain, then popped into the end zone from 5 yards out. Burrell and Adkison repeated their earlier success by again connecting for a two-point conversion.

The Blackhawsk put the game out of reach with a drive that ate up five minutes of the fourth quarter clock. VanSlyke threw to McDonald out of the backfield and he broke tackles down the sideline on his way to a 30-yard TD reception. Saathoff’s PAT pushed the final margin of victory to 39-29.

Love finished with 125 yards on 14 carries for the Bulldogs. Burrell added 69 yards on 12 carries.

McDonald gained 122 yards on the ground to supplement VanSlyke’s 197-yard passing effort.

After the game, GHS head coach Mark Cole praised the effort of his players, and singled out seven seniors for their contributions to a turn around that propelled the Bulldogs into the state quarterfinals for the first time since 1997.

“We were 2-3 at the midway point of the season,” Coach Cole said, “and a down football team, but the seniors didn’t let us quit.”