The Adrian College football team plays its first road game of the 2020-21 season on Saturday when the Bulldogs travel to North Manchester, Indiana, for a non-conference affair at host Manchester. Kickoff at brand-new Spartan Stadium is scheduled for 6pm.
A preview of Saturday’s game:
Adrian has won eight of 11 meetings against Manchester by an average combined score of 26-5. The Spartans’ last victory in the series came in 1971. Jim Deere ’89 is 61-42 record (.592) record in his 11th season as the Adrian head coach. He has piloted the Bulldogs to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships in 2012 and 14, and NCAA tournament bids in those seasons.
Junior All-MIAA QB Jack Wurzer continues his climb on the school’s all-time passing record books: 3rd in yards (4,682), 3rd in touchdowns (42), fifth in completions (321) and 6th in attempts (559). His 147.6 career efficiency is by far the best in AC history so far. Senior WR Henry Wilson topped the conference last season with a career-high of 898 yards on 40 receptions and he ranked second with eight TDs en route to first team accolades.
Highlights from @AdrianCollegeFB and @TrineThunderFB's contest today. @TrineAthletics won 44-27. The full contest can be watched here: https://t.co/8OwFdjp2dH@AdrianBulldogs @FOX2Sports @d3football @D3FBHuddle #GoDawgs #D3FB #CFB #Football #Thunder #Bulldogs pic.twitter.com/CeZQDHhmhB
— Adrian College TV (@AdrianCollegeTV) October 3, 2020
Freshman WR Preston Smith hauled in five receptions and 136 yards–both game highs–in his collegiate debut against Trine in the season opener on Oct. 3. Junior DB Brandon Kwiatkowski, fresh off an All-MIAA Second Team performance in 2019, is the team’s leading returning tackler (64 last season) who posted nine total stops (3 solo) and two pass breakups versus the Thunder a couple weeks ago. He went over the century mark for 104 in his 19-game career.
Junior WR Gage Palus leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 12 points on a pair of receiving TDs–the first two of his AC career–for 48 yards against Trine. Junior Steven Moses, a converted defensive back, had a solid debut moving over to the offensive side of the football with a career-best 102 rushing yards on just 13 attempts and a TD. He averaged 7.8 yards per carry.
Junior WR Gage Palus leads the Bulldogs in scoring on a pair of TDs
ILB Kyle Minder, a junior transfer from Siena Height University, had quite the debut in an Adrian uniform by leading all players with 14 total stops (5 solo) in the season opener with the Thunder. Sophomore LB Sam Madrid posted a career-best 10 total tackles (5 solo) versus Trine–accumulating almost one-third of his career total (39) in the season opener alone.
Adrian defeated Manchester in the schools’ last meeting 39 years ago. The Bulldogs won that last matchup back in 1981 handily by a 44-0 final score. Adrian owns an 8-3 all-time lead over the Spartans, who last won in the series in 1971 by a 21-6 count.
Adrian defeated Manchester in the schools’ last meeting 39 years ago
The teams first met in 1925 with a 28-7 win for AC. With a win, the Bulldogs can tie for the longest win streak–four games–in the series (1925, 1926, 1931, 1933). Adrian has won the last three meetings 36-6 in 1972, 42-0 in 1980 and 44-0 in 1981. The Spartans kicked off the 2020-21 season last weekend at Trine University. A veteran Trine squad took down the young Spartans 37-0. Manchester battled in the first half, coming up just shy of scoring in the red zone on two separate occasions.
The Black & Gold debuted with pair of newcomers at quarterback in sophomore Dylan Paul and freshman Eric James. Paul went 7-14 through the air for 53 yards while James went 14-28 on the day for 174 yards. Also debuting was a new backfield tandem for the Spartans. Cameron Parker rushed 10 times for 43 yards while Dave Paul rushed for 28 yards. Paul added a game-high seven receptions for 63 yards.
SPARTANS / BULLDOGS BROADCAST INFO:
Non-Conference Regular Season Game
Adrian College Bulldogs @ Manchester University Spartans
Date: Saturday, October 17th | Time: 6:00 pm ET
Location: Spartan Stadium – North Manchester, Indiana
TV: Adrian College Television | Radio: 107.9 WVAC-FM, 103.9 WLEN-FM
Defensively, Manchester racked up 10 tackles-for-loss against Trine. Devontay Moore led Manchester with 12 tackles, 3 tackles-for-loss and 1.0 sack. Moore also forced a fumble which the Spartans recovered.
Conner Sherwin finished with 11 tackles and 2 tackles-for-loss. Josue Castro totaled 10 tackles against Trine.
Adrian fell to visiting Trine, 44-27, in an entertaining non-MIAA contest despite outgaining the Thunder 394 yards to 322. TU led 28-20 at halftime. Wurzer threw for 231 yards on just 11 completions and three TDs, Palus caught two TD passes that accounted for 48 yards, and Smith made his freshman debut with game highs of five receptions and 136 yards.
Defensively, Minder led all players with 14 total tackles (5 solo) followed by Madrid with five tackles (10 total), junior Kevin Smitherman with seven total (7a) and classmate DeAndre Jennings with four tackles (7 total). Trine was able to take advantage of a few Adrian miscues that turned into points, including a block field goal returned for a touchdown on the game’s opening possession, a muffed punt at the AC14 gave the TU offense a short field to work for another score, and a fumble out of the end zone resulted in a safety.
This article is largely a repost of an Adrian College press release from Patrick Stewart. For more sports, news and entertainment, follow the Midwest Sports Network on Twitter @MWSNsports or like the MWSN page on Facebook.
