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ADRIAN – At times, high school rankings in Oregon are, at best, difficult to decipher and tough to explain. This was not the case on Friday, October 1 in Adrian. The Powder Valley football team came into town ranked as the number one 1A team in the state. Host Adrian was ranked second. Both teams were undefeated and at the end of the game, one team would have a first loss of the season and one team would take over the top ranking in the state.
The answer to which team deserves the top ranking is now quite clear as Adrian downed the Badgers, 38-0.
Turnovers plagued Powder Valley from the beginning of the game with Adrian capitalizing early. On the Badger’s first possession, a fumble recovering promptly handed the Lopes the ball with a short field. Adrian senior quarterback Conley Martin quickly gave Adrian the lead with a 4-yard run through the middle of the Badger defense. With 9 minutes, 21 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Antelopes led 6-0.
Photo Gallery: Powder Valley v Adrian – John Braese
Adrian was not finished with scoring before the first quarter came to an end. At the 6:40 mark, it was Martin to Gavin Bayes for a 20-yard pass to place the Lopes up 14-0.
Adrian upped the score to 22-0 for the half again off a Badger fumble. Martin again had an easy time of it, pushing the ball in from the two-yard line after an Adrian recovery of a Powder Valley fumble and subsequent march down the field.
Adrian junior Jace Martin joined the scoring in the third quarter, taking the pitch from Conley Martin and pushing the run over the goal line at the 6:45 mark in the third quarter.
Quarterback Conley Martin hooked up with senior Riley Griffin for a pass play for the final score of the game.
“We executed well tonight and I am really happy for our seniors,” said Adrian head coach Bill Wortman. “Our defense played well against a team known for putting up points.”
Conley Martin ran for 108 yards on the offensive side of the ball and defensively, ended his night with 16 tackles.
Jace Martin ran for 114 yards to combine with 9 tackles and one interception.
“You can’t turn the ball over as many times as we did against a team like Adrian,” said Powder Valley head coach Josh Cobb. “We look forward to meeting them again.”
The win by Adrian flip flopped the rankings as the Antelopes now sit atop the state with Powder Valley falling to the second slot. Waldport, the remaining 1A team without a loss on record, is ranked third.
Footnote: Numerous times during the game, it was announced a Martin made a tackle on a Martin. In total, six players took the field Friday night with the last name of Martin. For Adrian, Conley and Jace are brothers. For Powder Valley, four players have the same last Martin name, including Hunter, Cole, Clay and Tucker.
