Oct. 24, 2009

Final Stats

HOLLAND, Mich. - The field conditions at Holland Municipal Stadium were less than desirable on Saturday afternoon and after a week's worth of rain in west Michigan it was a battle of attrition which saw Adrian prevail with a big 7-6 win over Hope. The Bulldogs have defeated Hope in back-to-back years and it was not easy as both teams could not get their footing all afternoon. In the end, it was a couple of big plays made by Adrian which propelled them to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the MIAA.

Hope got on the board first on their first possession after a Mike McGee interception was returned 43 yards by Kyle Warren to the Adrian 11-yard line on the third play of the game. Adrian's defense held strong not allowing a yard and Steve Hazekamp kicked a 28-yard field goal at the 13:00 mark.

The rest of the first quarter yielded very little offense by both teams. Adrian gained two first downs in the quarter and gained 25 yards. Hope also got two first downs and had 41 yards of offense. The second quarter was not much better for either team. Adrian gained seven yards on their first drive of the second, five yards on their second drive and seven more yards on their third drive. Adrian managed just 32 yards of offense in the second quarter.

Adrian had their best scoring chance in the third quarter after Hazekamp connected on a 23-yard field goal at the 7:21 mark to give Hope a 6-0 lead. The Bulldogs started at the Hope 45-yard line after Danny Taylor took a short kickoff and rumbled 24 yards into Flying Dutchmen territory. Justin Hemm ran for 11 yards to the 34 and Myke Johnson carried 13 more yards to the Hope 21. On third down and 9 at the Hope 20, Hemm was intercepted in the end zone to thwart the threat.

Adrian forced a punt by Hope with 2:15 left in the third and Adrian had their longest play of the day as McGee found Eric Suttie for a 55-yard reception down to the Hope 21 as the third expired. The Bulldogs moved the ball to first and goal territory at the six-yard line and gained just three yards in three plays to set up fourth and goal at the two-yard line. McGee connected with Suttie again for a touchdown with 11:50 left and the Justin Warner PAT made it 7-6. Adrian went 76 yards in 10 plays for the winning score.

Hope had a big kickoff return starting at the Adrian 39 and advanced the ball to the 11 after Chris Feys found David DeBoer for 23 yards. The Bulldog defense held tight and forced a 31-yard field goal attempt which was blocked by Sederick Dunbar. After the teams traded possessions, Adrian had a big time-consuming drive which did not result in points but kept the ball away from the Flying Dutchmen. The Bulldogs went 33 yards in 10 plays and ran off 4:12 and Kevin Allaer pinned Hope at their own three-yard line with 1:23 left.

Hope gained nine yards on second down to set up third and one and could not get a first down. Feys threw incomplete to Kyle Dietrich on third down and Adam Loveless was stuffed for a loss of one yard by Taylor on fourth and one. AC did the victory kneel down twice and escaped with a tough-fought win.

Adrian gained 223 yards and Hope finished with 212 yards. Both teams combined for 18 punts and were 7-of-34 yards on third down. Johnson finished as the leading rusher for Adrian with 67 yards on 25 carries. McGee was 9-of-18 passing for 123 yards. Rodney Donald led Adrian with nine tackles as the defense had eight tackles for loss with one sack. Adrian hosts Alma in another key MIAA tilt next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.