ADEL — ADM junior Bryce Holm started the scoring Friday with a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter. He ended the scoring by splitting the uprights from 25 yards away with just over 20 seconds left to play as the Tigers slipped past a determined Perry squad, 13-10, in non-district play.
ADM (2-0) finished with 367 yards of total offense to only 167 for Perry, but a resilient Bluejay defense made several key plays at the right time to offset some of the imbalance, while the Tigers hampered themselves with 10 penalties for 100 total yards.
The hosts ran for 66 yards in the first quarter but managed only five yards on the ground in the second period.
Holm’s kick looked as if might be the only scoring in the first half, but Perry began to win the battle of field position over traded punts, and eventually settled for a 40-yard Cori Alamina field goal attempt with 50 seconds left in the half. Alamina buried the kick, sending it straight down the middle and deep enough to have been good from at least 10 yards further back.
Perry struggled offensively for most of the game, with quarterback Kaleb Olejniczak finishing 10-of-19 for 84 yards with one interception. The team ran for just 83 yards on 32 carries.
ADM quarterback Tate Stine-Smith was 10-of-21 for 137 but was intercepted by Olejniczak and by Ever Tobar, who returned a pick in front of the Tiger end zone for 25 yards.
The Tigers were fortunate not to have turned the ball over more often, as they managed to avoid disaster by recovering two fumbled punts.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
The hosts began to find running room as the game wore on and finished with 230 yards on 43 carries. They had 114 yards entering the fourth quarter when sophomore Justice Paulson, who had been largely bottled up, broke free from the Tiger 21.
He sped off right end and down the sideline in front of the Perry bench before being caught from behind and yanked down two yards short of the end zone by a hustling Wilber Ramirez.
Nicholas Bradshaw plowed over from there, with Holm’s PAT putting the hosts ahead, 10-3.
However, Perry was not done and responded with a pair of drives deep into Tiger territory, the second of which ended with Olejncizak squirting free off right tackle and racing 16 yards for a touchdown, with Alamina’s PAT tying the score midway through the quarter.
A pair of 24-yard completions to Lucas Heitz surrounded a 20-yard reception form Nathan Conrad as the Tigers moved the ball inside the Bluejay 10-yard line. There the drive stalled, and, facing fourth-and-four from the eight opted to trust Holm’s right foot, a decision which proved wise.
Perry returned the ensuing kickoff almost to midfield, but a devastating holding penalty cost the Bluejays more than 20 yards. Olejncizak hit Kato Dougan with one long pass, with the final play a completed pass, then a series of prayerful laterals that ended near the ADM 40 yard line.
Paulson had 202 rushing yards on 23 carries, with Bradshaw (2-9, 1 TD), Zachary Fuller (2-6), Stine-Smith (13-6), Heitz (2-5) and Cody Anderson (1-2) also toting the ball. Heitz had six receptions for 92 yards and Conrad four for 52 yards.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
Dougan pulled in six Olejniczak aerials for 48 yards and Justin Stammer two for 25 yards, the Byron Melendrez (1-6) and Jared Narber (1-5) also recording receptions.
Olejniczak rushed for 69 yards on 23 carries, with Xavier Craddock (5-15), Stammer (3-12) and Dougan (1 for minus-4) also carrying the pigskin.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
Olejniczak had 13.5 tackles (10 solo and seven assisted), an interception and a deflected pass to lead Perry’s defense. Stammer had eight stops and two sacks and Ramirez and Rony Reyes eight tackles apiece. Mike Echeverria recorded 7.5 tackles and Luke Holtorf six, with Narber in on 5.5 stops while Tobar had an interception and a deflected pass.
All statistics are unofficial.
ADM visits Grinnell Friday. Grinnell opened their season with a 27-12 win over Mid-Prairie but fell in week two to North Polk, 39-14.
Perry will travel to Nevada, with both teams seeking their first win. The Cubs fell to North Polk, 49-35, in their opener and were stuffed, 38-10, by Greene County in week two.
