By Dusty Donley
Stingy defense and a monster game from Ada Senior Blake Ansley propelled the underdog Bulldogs to a 19-7 upset home victory over state ranked Columbus Grove on Friday.
Ansley hauled in eight grabs for 209 yards, scoring on plays of 50 and 80 yards, helping Ada to improve their record to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Northwest Conference.
Neither team found the end zone until late in the second quarter as multiple turnovers plagued both offenses early in the game.
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Grove would finally break the scoreless tie with just under five minutes to play in the half as CG halfback Eric Warnecke took a pitch and sliced and diced his way to a 17-yard score. Jared Arnold's point after kick was good, giving Columbus Grove the 7-0 lead.
Not to be outdone, Ada quarterback Trent Joliff and his Bulldog offense would respond on their next possession. The Junior gunslinger, filling in for the injured Seth Conley, would lead his team on a 78-yard scoring drive, capped by a 34-yard touchdown strike to Cole East. Aaron Everhart's extra point attempt was blocked, leaving the score 7-6 in favor of Columbus Grove.
Reid Stechshulte and the Grove offense would respond with a nice drive of their own, but a timely fumble recovery by Ada defender Mason Klingler gave the ball back to the home team with a measly 10-seconds left in the half.
A Joliff to Ansley 21-yard toss moved Ada to the Columbus Grove 4-yard line, but an Ansley halfback pass fell incomplete as time expired, leaving Grove with the 7-6 halftime lead.
Building on their second quarter momentum, Ansley and the Ada offense would waste no time getting things going in the second half. On their first possession of the third, Ansley would take a short Joliff pass, break several tackles and rip-off a 50-yard touchdown score. Joliff's two-point conversion attempt was no good, leaving Ada with a 12-7 lead with just under 10-minutes to play in the third quarter.
Exceptional defense led to multiple turnovers, as both team's offenses struggled for the majority of the third. Ada defender Chase Sumner recovered a Grove fumble and several possessions later, CG defender Eric Warnecke picked off Joliff and returned the ball to the Ada 5-yard line. Three straight runs advanced Grove to the one, but a massive fourth down goal-line stand stuffed Stechshulte's quarterback keeper, turning the ball over on downs.
Energized by the defensive stop, Ansley and the Ada offense would capitalize, as the Senior workhorse took the short Joliff pass, broke an initial tackle and sped down the sidelines for an 80-yard score. Everhart's point after kick was good, giving Ada the 19-7 lead with just over 2-minutes to play in the third quarter.
Turnovers once again plagued Columbus Grove over the remainder of the game, as the swarming Ada defense forced two Reid Stechshulte interceptions en-route to the hard fought 19-7 upset victory. The loss was Grove's first, dropping their record to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the NWC.
Ada out-gained Columbus Grove in total yards, 344 to 280. Grove turned the ball over 8 times to Ada's 4.
In his first career start, Ada quarterback Trent Joliff went 15 of 25 for 225 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
Blake Ansley led the receivers with 8 receptions for 209 yards and 2 scores. Cole East pulled down 3 grabs for 46 yards and a score.
Ada goes on the road to take on the Crestview Knights this Friday night. Crestview (2-4, 0-2) is coming off a 61-25 drubbing from unbeaten powerhouse Spencerville.
