Tigers bounce back with 22-0 shutout of Adrian
After six quarters of scoreless football in their first two games, the Springfield Tigers offense finally found their roar in a 22-0 win over Adrian at home Friday night.
The game had goose eggs on the scoreboard until the third quarter, when Springfield put up their first points of the season. Quarterback Brendon Buerkle found Jordan Toll for an 11 yard touchdown pass, putting the Tigers up 6-0.
Three minutes later, Buerkle found Toll again, this time from 34 yards out to put Springfield up 12-0. A two point conversion by Mason Leonard put the Tigers up 14-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, Springfield iced their cake with Buerkle’s third touchdown pass of the game, this one a 12 yarder to Tori Helget. Leonard added another two point conversion to put the final score at 22-0.
“A great team effort and the seniors did a great job leading the way,” said Springfield Coach Bob Fink. “I thought we did a nice job. We had two touchdowns called back so we didn’t have any points at the half. We did not give up, we kept playing and this was a team effort. The kids played with confidence and had spirit and it’s really going to help us getting this win going forward.”
Springfield outgained the Dragons 364 to 161, using a balanced attack that churned out 191 yards rushing and 173 passing.
Buerkle threw for 173 yards and three scores.
Toll had 67 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions, and Helget had five catches for 43 yards and a touchdown.
Kadin Johnson found his groove on the ground, running for 157 yards. Johnson’s night would have been even more impressive, but he had two touchdowns called back by penalties in the first half.
Caleb Hauger led the Tigers defense with nine tackles, and Adam Veerkamp and Jason Berberich had eight tackles apiece.
The Tiger defense had 12 tackles for loss, with Veerkamp and Johnson combining for six of them.
Penalties were a problem for Springfield, committing 12 that cost 113 yards and two touchdowns.
With a record of 1-1, the Tigers will head to New Ulm Cathedral for a road game this Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.