Junior Jayke Welcher snaps the ball to Senior Bryant Burkes.
Several inches of rain just hours before the opening kickoff of the 2019 high school football season made the field a soft, soggy mess but did not stop the Adrian Blackhawks from defeating the Butler Bears 31-0 in front of the hometown faithful.
Butler won the coin toss and deferred possession to the second half. Adrian's offense had difficulty in the slippery conditions and was forced to punt. On Butler's first possession they, too, were forced to punt; however, that punt was blocked by Junior Gage Harris in his first high school start. The Blackhawks had the ball on the four yard line. Four plays later on fourth down, Senior Bryant Burkes found paydirt for the first Blackhawks touchdown on the season. Adrian led 6-0 and never looked back.
The Blackhawks scored another touchdown in the second quarter when Burkes connected on 74 yard catch and run by Sophomore Colton Bass. Adrian led 12-0 heading into the locker rooms at halftime.
Neither team scored in the third quarter but the Blackhawks erupted in the fourth quarter for three more touchdowns to ice the victory. Bass scored his second receiving touchdown on an 11 yard strike from Burkes. His third touchdown on the night came by over the goal line for the score. Senior Chris Freeman made the other touchdown on the night. Junior Case Doody is the new Blackhawks kicker this season. Doody was good on one of three extra point attempts.
Defensively, the Blackhawks were very tough, as expected. Adrian gave up just over 100 yards of total offense with many of those yards coming on just a couple of plays. They registered a whopping 13 tackles for a loss. Senior Brody Ford led the defense with nine tackles and Gage Harris close behind with 8. Junior Keaton Cook and Senior Kyler Six each registered six tackles on the night. Offensively, the Blackhawks completed nine passes to five different receivers. They topped the 100 yard mark in passing yards and receiving yards.
With a game under their belt, the Blackhawks head north this week to take on the Archie Whirlwinds. Archie was upended by Crest Ridge in the opening week. These two teams always play an exciting close game so Adrian must go into the game determined to play disciplined football and avoid costly turnovers in order to ensure a victory.
Comments from Head Coach Matt Cochran:
"All in all it was a really good game for us. We have several first year starters so we knew we would have jitters and make mistakes early - and we did. However, we didn't let that affect us. We kept playing hard and playing to the whistle, which is what we ask of the players. I really think we wore Butler down in the fourth quarter. Individually we had several players that played well. Of note was Gage Harris. This being his first starting varsity game we didn't know what to expect. Gage had a blocked punt early that put us in fantastic field position, and he also had an interception that kept Butler out of the end zone. Couple that with 8 tackles, and that makes a great game for him. Brody Ford, Kyler Six and Colton Bass played well, too. Bryant Burkes threw the ball well. We had 5 different players make a reception. We actually had more passing yards than rushing yards - which never happens. It was a good way to start the season. We have to focus on Archie now. We go to their place, and that's always a close, hard-fought game. We will have to play well to get the win."
Senior Cooper Meade
Senior Brody Ford
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