Adrian Bulldogs knock off Bluffton 45-21
By Bill Hanefeld Jr., interim sports information director
September 24, 2005
BLUFFTON, Ohio –The Bluffton University football team (1-3) dropped their second straight home contest to Adrian College (3-0) 45-21 on Saturday, Sept. 24.
Bluffton jumped out to a 7-0 advantage with five minutes to play in the first quarter when senior quarterback Jared Owens (Van Wert/Crestview) snuck across the goal line from one yard out. Chris Clay evened the score for Adrian when he went into the end zone from the nine-yard line four minutes later. Jared Owens led the next two Beaver scoring drives giving Bluffton a 21-7 lead with less than six minutes to play in the first half. He hit sophomore Aaron Whitlock (Grove City/Central Crossing) for a 37-yard touchdown and followed that with a two-yard touchdown run himself capping Bluffton’s scoring for the day. The momentum quickly swung in the Bulldog’s favor on the ensuing kickoff when Joel Mussielewicz ran it back 92 yards to the Bluffton seven yard line. Chris Clay pushed it into the end zone three plays later to cut the Beaver lead to seven going into halftime.
Adrian took a lead they would not relinquish when All-American linebacker Taz Wallace picked off a Bluffton pass deep in Beaver territory and returned it for a touchdown. Adrian widened the lead early in the fourth quarter when a near-sack turned into a 65-yard scoring pass from Randy Hutchinson to DJ Howard. Hutchinson capped off a clock draining 94-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Phil Widzinski to put the game out of reach as the Bulldogs opened up a 38-21 margin with five minutes to play. Tim Bruce finished the scoring for the day as he took a handoff and went 21 yards for the score.
Ben Dodds (West Liberty/Bellefontaine) led all rushers in the game as he carried the ball 23 times for 111 yards. Jared Owens completed 9-21 passes for 152 yards and one touchdown. Aaron Whitlock caught two passes for huge gains as he picked up 75 yards. Junior Jeremy Anderson (South Richwood, Mi./Airport) led the Beaver defense with 11 tackles including eight solos. Sophomore linebacker Sam McCullough (Bluffton/Bluffton) contributed with nine tackles. Sophomore defensive back Taylor Iceman (Lucas/Lucas) intercepted two Adrian passes to stop Bulldog drives.
The Beavers posted 345 total yards of offense (193 rushing, 152 passing) compared to Adrian’s 437 total yards (136 rushing, 301 passing). Bluffton picked up 20 first downs while it held Adrian to 17 for the contest.
Bluffton University will be back in action next Saturday, Oct. 1 when they travel to face HCAC rival Manchester College. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
