By RICK SPRUNGER
MONROE — It was a tough night for the Bluffton Tigers at Adams Central Friday night.
Adams Central scored three touchdowns in a dizzying span of just 30 seconds in the first quarter to open up a shockingly quick 28-0 lead and went on to coast to a 56-8 win.
The Jets, ranked No. 2 in Class A for a reason, improved to 8-0 on the season. Bluffton fell to 4-4.
“Things just snowballed on us in the first quarter,” said Bluffton coach Brent Kunkel when it was over. “We shanked a punt and gave them a short field, and then there was the pick-six, and then there was the fumble at the 1.”
The decisive flurry came midway through the first quarter with Adams Central already on top, 6-0.
A nine-yard punt set the Jets up at the Bluffton 35, and Adams Central quarterback Ryan Black got all of it in one play, a 35-yard scoring strike to Trevor Currie.
That made it 14-0, but the Jets were just getting warmed up.
A botched kickoff return left the Tigers at their own 5 to start their next series.
Black promptly picked off a Braxton Betancourt pass at the nine on Bluffton’s first play and took it the distance, just clipping the pylon as he was pushed out of bounds.
Bluffton started from the 19 on its next series, but Betancourt was sacked way back at his own five and lost control of the football as he went down.
Adams Central’s Zac Wurm fell on it at the 1, and Black snuck it in on the next play.
Just like that, it was 28-0.
But Kunkel had some pleasant things to say about his team despite the one-sided loss.
“Defensively, I thought we played really well,” said the Tiger boss. “That first touchdown they scored, we made them earn it,” he added, referring to Adams Central’s 67-yard, 10-play drive on its first possession that opened the scoring.
One of those plays was a brilliant 38-yard scamper by Black on a keeper, meaning that the Jets needed nine plays to get the remaining 29 yards.
“Take away those two defensive plays they made, and we held them to 28 points in the first half,” he said.“And we made them punt twice.”
“I’ll take that.”
Adams Central coach Michael Mosser agreed with Kunkel’s assessment of the Bluffton defense.
“We had a hard time getting into an offensive rhythm,” said Mosser later. “They did a good job of packing the middle, and it took us a while to adjust to it.”
Adams Central added two more touchdowns in the second quarter, one on a marathon and the other on a sprint.
The Jets drove 97 yards in a 13-play clock-gulping drive that included a 35-yard run by Gavin Cook and a 31-yard pass from Black to Ryan Tester before Cook went the last five yards for the score. The other touchdown came in two quick lightning bolts.
Taking over at his own 36, Black needed just two plays to find the end zone, hitting Jack Hamilton for 45 yards and Currie for 19.
That made the score 42-0 at halftime and guaranteed a running clock for the entire second half.
The Jets added two more scores in the last two periods.
But Bluffton fans at least got one thing to cheer about when Carson Affolder fielded the second of those two kickoffs at the 22 and dashed 78 yards down the left sideline for Bluffton’s only score of the night.
Hunter Wenger ran in the two-point conversion standing up to account for the final score of 56-8.
“They [Adams Central] are the program we want to be,” said Kunkel, “They do things the right way. We’ve closed the gap a little bit from last year, and I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
Bluffton will close regular season play next Friday night at home against Lakeland.
ADAMS CENTRAL 56,
BLUFFTON 8
At Adams Central
Score By Quarters
Bluffton 0 0 0 8 – 8
Adams Central 28 14 7 7 – 56
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
AC-Ryan Black 4 run (kick failed), 6:36.
AC-Trevor Currie 35 pass from Black (Jack Hamilton run), 5:32.
AC-Black 9 interception return (Currie kick), 5:19.
AC-Black 1 run (Currie kick), 5:02.
Second Quarter
AC-Gavin Cook 5 run (Kaylen Sprunger kick), 7:41.
AC-Currie 19 pass from Black (Sprunger kick), 5:56.
Third Quarter
AC-Keegan Bluhm 3 run (Sprunger kick), 3:02.
Fourth Quarter
AC-Max Hamilton 13 run (Sprunger kick), 8:21.
BL-Carson Affolder 78 kickoff return (Hunter Wenger run), 7:20.
Team Statistics
BLU AC
First Downs 5 17
Rushes-Yards 16-12 45-260
Passing Yards 63 138
Passing (C-A-I) 8-25-4 5-10-0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 3-0
Penalties-Yards 3-30 5-40
Punts-Average 4-27.0 3-39.0
Time of Possession 17:55 30:55
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Bluffton-Khamel Moore 10-23, Braxton Betancourt 5-(-8), Kaden Simpson 1-(-3). Adams Central-Keegan Bluhm 18-77, Ryan Black 9-70, Ryan Tester 6-34, Gavin Cook 4-40, Matt Heiser 3-6, Aaron Hirschy 2-28, Max Hamilton 1-13, Hayden Bluhm 1-(-7).
Passing: Bluffton-Braxton Betancourt 7-23-3 67, Declan Grieser 1-2-1 (-4). Adams Central-Ryan Black 5-10-0 138.
Receiving: Bluffton-Brody Lewis 4-46, Hunter Wenger 2-7, A.J. Streveler 1-14, Marshall Gerber 1-(-4). Adams Central-Trevor Currie 2-54, Jack Hamilton 2-53, Ryan Tester 1-31.
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