Defense Dominates in 24-0 Blanking of Hope on Homecoming
ADRIAN, Mich. - The memory of last year's overtime loss at Hope stuck in the minds of the Adrian College football team, but on Homecoming Night it was sweet revenge for the Bulldogs who captured a 24-0 shutout of the Flying Dutchmen. The Bulldogs posted a shutout against their MIAA rival for the first time since the 1983 season and opened the conference slate with a statement.
"I can't say enough about the effort of our team tonight," said head coach Jim Deere. "We have been looking for a game like this where he put together both sides of the ball. We were dominate tonight and need to keep this intensity up next week at Alma. The biggest thing was that we controlled the ball on offense and ran the ball better than ever. Our depth at running back combined with an inspired defense was a winning formula."
The biggest stat of the night may have been the time of possession. The Bulldogs used 40:04 of game clock compared to Hope's 19:56. Adrian ran 76 offensive plays while the Flying Dutchmen ran 54 plays. The balanced rushing attack saw four guys tote the ball at least seven times. Sophomore Dae'Von Robinson led the team with 84 yards on the ground and delivered a punishing 44-yard touchdown run for the game's first points with 2:11 left in the first quarter.
Michael Atwell was harrassed all night by the Adrian defense and finished 13-of-30 passing for 159 yards and an interception. Shawn Jackson was the leading ground gainer with 31 yards on 14 carries. Senior Kevin Kleine recorded a team-best 10 tackles from his defensive tackle spot. Hope's defense was led by Adam Drooger with 12 tackles and an interception returned for five yards.
