By John RittenhouseThe 2005 football season came to an end for Adrian during the championship game of the Section 3A Playoffs Friday in Springfield.Taking on the state’s No. 1-ranked team, the Springfield Tigers, the Dragons knew they needed to play mistake-free ball for four quarters to register an upset.It didn’t pan out for the Dragons.AHS turned the ball over three times and made some mental mistakes on defense during the contest. Springfield took advantage of the miscues to record a 24-0 victory over the Dragons."We didn’t do much offensively, and they were able to run against our defense," said AHS coach Randy Strand, who led the Dragons to a 7-4 record this fall."We held them in check for a while on defense, but we lost our discipline at times with some players not following their assignments. Offensively, we didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we did have to score."Springfield ran for 289 yards in the game, and they put together a pair of extended drives that yielded three points in the early stages of the contest.The Tigers started their first offensive possession of the game on their 38-yard line and moved the ball to the AHS 13, where they missed a 34-yard field goal attempt at the 8:08 mark of the first quarter. Springfield’s second possession developed into an eight-play drive that ended with Mason Fredin booting a 30-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead at the 3:55 mark of the first period.Adrian had two golden opportunities to take the lead in the second quarter, but the Dragons couldn’t put the ball in the end zone.The Dragons moved the ball from their own 42 to Springfield’s 18 early in the second quarter, but the threat was squelched when Tiger Zac Sturm intercepted a pass in the end zone. The Dragons got the ball back when Alex Suedkamp recovered a fumble on the Springfield 18 one play later. Adrian, however, gave the ball back to the Tigers when it was flagged for an offensive pass interference penalty four plays later.After the penalty, Springfield moved the ball 68 yards in 12 plays with Sturm scoring on a two-yard run to make it a 9-0 difference with 4:20 remaining in the first half.The Tigers scored 15 points with their first two offensive possessions of the second half to ice the game.It looked like the Dragons, who were playing as the kicking team, caught a break when an AHS player nabbed the ball out of the air during the kickoff to start the second half. The officials, however, ruled the ball belonged to Springfield because no kicking-team player can catch the ball before it touches the ground or an opposing player first.The Tigers then moved the ball 53 yards in 12 plays with Sturm scoring on a 13-yard run with 6:51 remaining in the third period. When Sturm carried in the two-point conversion, Springfield sported a 17-0 lead.Adrian tried to extend its first possession of the second half by trying to run for a first down out of punt formation, but the run was stopped short of a first down. Springfield took over on its own 44 and moved the ball 56 yards in 12 plays with Josh Nachreiner scoring on a three-yard run with 11:18 left to play. When Fredin added the extra point, the scoring was complete.Team statisticsAdrian: 73 rushing yards, 112 passing yards, 185 total yards, five penalties for 52 yards, 10 first downs, three turnovers.Springfield: 289 rushing yards, 21 passing yards, 310 total yards, six penalties for 70 yards, 19 first downs, one turnover.Individual statisticsRushing: Billy Anderson 11-33, Jory Haken 6-8, Cody Kontz 5-27, Clint Metz 2-5.Passing: Cody Reverts 4-17 for 82 yards, Kontz 2-5 for 30 yards.Receiving: Tyler Wagner 2-40, Anderson 2-49, Ryan Lonneman 1-9, Nate Enkelkes 1-14.Defense: Glen Kruger 16 tackles, Will Lutmer 13 tackles and one sack, Suedkamp one fumble recovery, Metz 13 tackles.