On a blustery and cold Saturday afternoon, the Alma College Football team hosted Adrian College in a MIAA matchup on Homecoming 2012 at Bahlke Field. the visiting Bulldogs spoiled the festivities, defeating the Scots by a score of 27-3. Alma is now 1-5 on the season and 1-1 in the league after the loss, while Adrian improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 overall.

"I thought we played inspired football and I was happy with the overall effort," said Scots Head Coach Greg Pscodna. "I thought the defense played well for the most part, but the offense just couldn't sustain any drives after our opening possession. Give them credit because that defense is good, but we certainly did not execute on offense and that does not allow you the opportunity to be successful."

The Scots received the opening kickoff and proceeded to have one of their most impressive drives of the season. They marched 73 yards on 13 plays and took 6:51 off of the clock and took a 3-0 lead when Sr. K Jack Pryde (Royal Oak, Mich./Royal Oak) booted a 26-yard field goal. Unfortunately, that would be the only drive that would produce points on the afternoon.

The highlight of Alma's opening drive was a fake punt that saw Jr. WR Garrett Cook (Genesee, Mich./Genesee) hit So. RB Tyler Bennett (New Lothrop, Mich./New Lothrop) on a 25-yard pass that kept the possession alive.

Alma's defense forced punts on Adrian's first two drives of the game, but subsequently, the Scots' offense also punted twice and Jr. QB Jarrett Leister (St. Louis, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) was intercepted on another drive, keeping the score 3-0. Adrian drove to the Alma 26-yard line on their third possession were stymied by the Scots' defense on a fourth down play early in the second quarter.

After another Alma punt, the Bulldogs drove 23 yards on 10 plays and evened the score at 3-3 on a 32-yard field goal by Dustin Salliotte. Following a Scots punt on their next drive, Adrian took 5:06 off of the clock and drove 59 yards on 10 plays, taking a 10-3 lead on a one-yard touchdown plunge by RB Kyle Smock with 33 seconds left in the half. Adrian took that seven point lead into halftime.

The only scoring of the third quarter came when Salliotte kicked a 25-yard field goal that culminated a 70-yard, 10-play drive that gave the Bulldogs the 13-3 advantage. The teams exchanged punts on their next possessions and then Adrian increased their lead to 20-3 when QB Taylor Copacia connected with WR Justin Hemm on a 37-yard touchdown pass.

After another stalled Alma drive, Adrian concluded the day's scoring by marching 52 yards on 11 plays and took the final 27-3 lead when Copacia hit WR Mitch Gabriele on six-yard scoring strike with just 2:26 left in the game. After one final Scots possession, the Bulldogs took a knee and walked off the field with the league victory.

Offensively, Adrian outgained the Scots by a margin of 327 to 116 and had 17 first downs to Alma's six. Leister finished with five competions on 19 attempts for 35 yards, while Jr. QB Robert Feeman (Clawson, Mich./Clawson) was two of seven for 10 yards. So. TE Riley Fisher (Vermontville, Mich./Maple Valley) was the team's leading receiver with two catches for 28 yards.

On defense, the Scots were led by Fr. LB Terry Calagon (Jackson, Mich./East Jackson), who finished with nine total tackles, including two for loss and one quarterback sack. Four players were next with seven tackles, including Jr. LB Clayton Every (Manchester, Mich./Manchester), who had one for a loss of two yards. Jr. DL Frank Furnari (DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt) had six tackles and a sack, while So. LB Sam Young (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) added two tackles for loss in in his six stops.

Alma continues MIAA action next Saturday afternoon when they travel to Holland to take on Hope College. The game is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m.