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ANGOLA, IND.-- Adrian claimed their second MIAA Championship in three years with a 40-7 victory over Trine in the season finale Saturday afternoon at Shive Field and Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium.
The Bulldogs never trailed and outgained the Thunder by a 513-to-309 margin. Adrian racked up 321 yards on the ground, led by Emmanuel Stewart's 161 yards on 24 carries. Stewart scored two touchdowns. Dae'Von Robinson added 125 yards on 13 totes, while quarterback Aaron Tenney scored three rushing touchdowns. The Bulldog defense held Trine to a season-low in yardage. The second-best third-down defense in the nation held the Thunder to just 4-of-14 on third down (29 percent), and 0-of-4 on fourth down. Trine concludes their season 6-4 overall and finishes second in the MIAA with a 4-2 conference mark. The Bulldogs advance to the NCAA Division III playoffs with an 8-2 overall record, 5-1 in the MIAA.
The Thunder honored 17 players as they played the final home game of their Trine careers. Junior quarterback Taylor Masiewicz (Belmont, Mich./Rockford) passed for 120 yards and rushed for 89 yards and a TD. He finishes the season with 2,833 yards of total offense, the third-most in a single-season at Trine. Masiewicz's average of 283 yards of total offense per game is a school-record.
Tenney completed 15-of-22 for 192 yards and a touchdown in addition to his three rushing TDs. MIAA-leading receiver Nathan Hartline caught seven of those passes for 108 yards. Jack Carter had three tackles-for-loss, including a sack, and tied for the Bulldog-lead with eight tackles.
The Bulldogs set the tone immediatlely, going 65 yards on nine plays on the opening drive. Tenney capped the drive with a one-yard plunge to put Adrian up 7-0.
Trine drove deep into Bulldog territory late in the first quarter, but the Adrian defense held to force a missed field goal. That was the only trip into the red zone the Thunder were able to muster in the first half. The Bulldog defense also came up with a fourth-down stop from the Adrian 37 after AC had gone up 14-0.
Tenney's second rushing TD of the contest put Adrian up 14-0 early in the second quarter. After the fourth down stop, the Bulldogs marched right back to other way for another scoring drive. Tenney had a hand in another score, capping the drive with a four-yard pass to Kyle Blough with seven seconds remaining in the half. The extra point was missed, and the Bulldogs went to the half up 20-0.
The Thunder were able to muster some offense midway through the third quarter, as they went to work on a six-play, 50-yard drive. Masiewicz completed 2-of-3 passes on the drive, and capped it with a nine-yard TD run.That was one of few times the Thunder offense was able to move the ball against the conference's best defense.
After that, it was all Adrian. Tenney added his final rushing TD of the game on the ensuing drive. Stewart added rushing TDs of 51 and 12 yards in the fourth quarter to seal the Bulldogs' conference title.