PREP FOOTBALL: Dragons roaring to state

ST. PETER -- Before the year started, Adrian head football coach Randy Strand talked to his team about goals.

One of Adrian's was to make it to the section final.

With a 14-0 victory against Murray County Central in the Section 3A final, the Dragons cleared that goal.

Now, they are on to the next challenge.

That will come Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Class A state football tournament. The Dragons (9-2) will face St. Bernard's (7-3) at 10:30 a.m. at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.

"Our goal was to get into the section final and then after that anything can happen," Strand said. "That's where we start every season with the first day of two-a-days, talking about where we want to be when it's all said and done. We wanted to get the section, and we felt if we got to the section we had as good of chance as anyone. You still have to play pretty good football and we just happen to be doing that right now."

The Dragons are returning to state after a one-year hiatus and are making their fourth overall appearance.

"It's something our seniors work for," Strand said. "Hopefully things work out, but they don't always. We're fortunate that we are one of the eight teams still in it. Obviously it's one of our goals when we start the year, but for it to work out is a pretty good feeling."

Seniors Adam Diekmann and Brett Nowotny have played large roles for the Dragons the past three years.

Nowotny is in his third year as the starting quarterback and had a hand in both Adrian touchdowns in its victory against MCC.

"He's experienced; he's been starting since he was a sophomore," Strand said. "He's gotten better and we didn't use him as much early in the year as a runner, but now he kind of adds another dimension for us. Hopefully he can keep those things going."

Diekmann is the second-leading rusher on the team with 636 yards. Brock Bullerman leads Adrian with more than 1,000 yards rushing.

"We were kind of missing Adam early in the year, but we knew we had to get him more touches, so we switched a few things with some of our formations," Strand said. "Brock has been just a little fireplug for us. He's not a real big back, but he has some open speed. He's been doing some good things, too."

St. Bernard's will bring a balanced attack to Saturday's game.

"If you try to take one thing away, they are going to hurt you doing another thing," Strand said. "So, hopefully we're up to that task defensively."

Quarterback Dan Hartman has thrown for nearly 1,400 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Shane Taylor (668 yards) and Logan Ferrozzo (354 yards) are the two main running threats for the Bulldogs.

"They have about four or five real complete athletes," Strand said. "They have some speed and they have some size. They are very capable runners even though they can get out and run some patterns. They have a sophomore quarterback, but he throws a very good ball. They are obviously a very good football team. They play in a bigger conference with some AA and AAA schools. In order for them to go through that and have the record that they do, they are a pretty good football team. Whatever team is left playing, there's a pretty good chance you're going to see a good football team."

After a loss to Minneota -- which is also in the state playoffs -- to start the season, the Dragon's only setback came in a 14-6 overtime loss to Dawson-Boyd in Week 7.

"I think our defense has really made some strides over the season," Strand said. "We took our lumps, but we learned from those. If you can do things like that and get better, losses are all right then."

Adrian outgains its opponents by an average of 200 yards per game, and its defensive toughness is something Strand is counting on for Saturday.

"We went back to playing football the way we play football -- everybody do their assignment, everybody do their responsibilities," Strand said. "We want to be aware of where those kids are, but we kind of got rid of the idea that we're just going to be sure we follow these guys around. We're just going to go up there and strap it up and say, 'All right. It's man on man and may the best team win.'"