Sept. 13, 2008

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ADRIAN, Mich. - The weather was frightful and so was the Adrian defense on Saturday night under the lights at Multi-Sport Performance Stadium. The Bulldogs posted a shutout with a 20-0 victory over Defiance College marking their fifth win in the last six tries against the Yellow Jackets. AC got a little revenge after Defiance beat Adrian 10-0 in the stadium dedication game in 2006.

Adrian held Defiance to 155 total yards and just 73 yards on the ground in 26 attempts (2.8 ypr). The Bulldogs gained 307 yards in the less than ideal conditions as they rushed for 205 yards on 48 carries (4.3 ypr). AC held a slight edge in time of possession and converted on 5-of-16 third downs. Defiance just could not put anything together especially on third down going 0-for-12 against the 'Dogs.

Mike McGee got Adrian on the scoreboard with 13:31 left in the second quarter on an eight-yard touchdown run. Adrian needed five plays to drive 47 yards as McGee carried the final 16 yards and completed a 21-yard pass to Stevie Freeman to put AC in the red zone for the first time in the game.

Adrian would add a late field goal from 32 yards off the foot of Justin Warner capping off a nine-play, 64-yard drive with 43 seconds left until intermission. Adrian had 208 yards in the first half and hit 5-of-8 passes in the first 30 minutes.

Brad Smagala intercepted the first play from scrimmage in the second half and raced to the Defiance 10-yard line giving Adrian great field position. Warner's second field goal of the day from 23 yards made it 13-0. Danny Taylor took a deflected pass for an interception to the Defiance four-yard line in the fourth quarter setting up Myke Johnson's four-yard touchdown run with 3:58 left in the game.

Troy Niblock led the team in rushing with 129 yards on 24 carries (5.4 ypr) and also was 2-of-3 through the air for 45 yards. He also caught three passes for 13 yards on the night. Jomar Jackson carried six times for 26 yards. The Adrian defense forced three interceptions as Justin Judd had a 35-yard return for his second takeaway of the season.

Chris McGuire led the Bulldogs with a career-high 10 tackles and had five tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. Bobby Watson registered eight tackles, one pass breakup and one tackle for loss. AC ended the game with 10 tackles for a loss of 32 yards. Adrian (1-1) will host Bluffton next Saturday with kickoff set for 1:00 p.m.