ADRIAN – The Adrian College Bulldogs opened their 2025 college football season up with two big wins in a row.
In Week 1 of the new season, the Bulldogs pulled off a feat never before seen at Adrian College as the Bulldogs stunned National College Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 program Valparaiso in a thrilling 10-7 win.
The victory marked the first meeting between the two programs since the days of yore, as the teams first met way back in 1926 when the game ended in a 13-13 tie.
From the opening kick, Adrian showed no fear and refused to be intimidated, trading turnover for a turnover, with the Bulldogs’ Quincy Dorsey intercepting a Valpo pass in the endzone to keep things scoreless.
The game continued to be a defensive stalemate throughout the second quarter, with both defenses digging in deep. After the teams traded punts, it was Adrian’s turn to capitalize with a methodical drive that was capped off by a Jack Boike field goal, giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead heading into the half.
Adrian opened up the second half with another long, methodical drive that chewed up over nine minutes off the clock, however the drive stalled on a 4th and short at the Valpo 9-yard line, turning the ball over on downs.
Adrian’s defense delivered once again, however, as Koronnis Davis hauled in a deep interception to set up the Bulldogs with great field position late in the third quarter. Although the offense again stalled out, it was the defense coming through in a big way, forcing another turnover as Ethan Layton stripped the ball loose for a fumble recovery.
After another stalled offensive drive, it was Dorsey forcing his second turnover of the day with a fumble. Adrian’s ensuing field goal attempt was no good, however, leaving the door open for Valparaiso to respond. The Beacons embarked on a 9-play drive that ended in a touchdown, giving Valparaiso a 7-3 lead with just 1:25 left in the game.
But there was no quit in the Bulldogs as Adrian stayed poised throughout its final possession. Quarterback Noah Beaudrie hit on a big pass play, finding teammate Ethan Abberger for 30-yards, followed by a 20-yard pass to Braiden Whitaker. One player later, it was Beaudrie finding Abberger through the air for a 26-yard touchdown pass with just under a minute to go, giving the Bulldogs a 10-7 lead. Adrian would finish out the win, taking the dramatic victory over Division 1 Valparaiso 10-7.
Beaudrie finished the night going 16 for 23 with 183 yards and one score while Trey Bruggemann carried the ball 22 times for 79 yards. Abberger led all wide receivers with six catches for 79 yards and the game winning touchdown while Whitaker added six catches for 68 yards.
Leading the Adrian defense was Dorsey with two forced turnovers and Maddox Woods with a team high nine tackles.
Adrian demolishes Thiel to continue hot start
ADRIAN – Adrian continued their hot start to the 2025 season on Saturday, riding the wave of their win over Division 1 Valparaiso into their home opener versus Thiel. It was all Adrian from the word go as the Bulldogs scored on their first drive and never looked back on their way to a 76-0 win.
Adrian scored 28 points in the first quarter, 21 in the second quarter, 20 in the third quarter and seven in the fourth to find its 76 points.
Adrian out-gained Thiel 414-32 in overall yardage, including a 260-8 advantage on the ground and a 154-24 advantage through the air. Thiel came just two yards shy of having more penalty yards (30) than yards gained (32) throughout the contest.
The Bulldogs managed 20 first downs to just four for Thiel while going 5 for 11 from third down and 2 for 3 on fourth. Thiel finished 2 for 16 on third down and 1 for 2 on fourth down.
Scoring in the first quarter for Adrian was Tyler Greer with a 40-yard touchdown run, followed back-to-back touchdown passes from Beaudrie to Ethan Abberger, throwing scores of 4-yards and 37-yards. Closing out the first quarter scoring was Braiden Whitaker with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Beaudrie to make it 28-0 after one quarter.
The second quarter saw Beaudrie score using his legs, running the ball in from 36-yards out to make it 35-0. Rounding out the second-quarter scoring was Georgia Pitts with a 23-yard catch from Sebastian Boswell, followed by a 5-yard scoring run by Boswell to find the halftime score of 49-0.
The third quarter saw Tyler Morgan kick off the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run, followed by Anthony Greear with a 33-yard touchdown run and Carsen Lewis with a 5-yard touchdown run, making it 69-0 after three quarters.
Adrian’s final score came thanks to a defensive play as Michael Brown scored on a 62-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Top Performances
Noah Beaudrie, QB, Adrian – Completed eight passes for 111 yards and three touchdowns
Anthony Greear, Tyler Greer, and Sebastian Boswell, RB, Adrian – Greear led the way with 46 yards rushing with one touchdown, Greer had 40 yards and a score, while Boswell added 40 yards and a touchdown.
Ethan Abberger, WR, Adrian- Led the Bulldog offense with four catches for 62 yards and two scores
Bryce Payne, DL, Adrian – Payne led defense with five tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss
Liam Karry, LB, Adrian – Karry had four tackles and one and a half tackles for a loss
The Adrian defense had three interceptions on the day with picks coming from Jonathon Melendez, Elijah Hayward, and Michael Brown.
With the win Adrian improves to 2-0 on the young season and will return to action Saturday when they host Manchester for their annual Homecoming game with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian football upsets D1 Valparaiso, routs Thiel to kick off 2025 football season
Reporting by Troy Tennyson, The Daily Telegram / The Daily Telegram
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
