By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Coming off a wild 70-50 shootout loss to Bluffton, Ada will try to shore up its defense when they visit struggling Delphos Jefferson in week five.
The Wildcats and Ada boast identical 1-3 overall and 0-1 NWC records. After trailing just 13-6 at halftime vs. Crestview last Friday, DJ was outscored 35-0 in the second half to lose its league opener by a 48-6 count.
The Knights rolled up 302 in the second half as they pulled away behind a 28-point outburst in the third period.
Jefferson was held to just 17 second-half yards and a mere 115 total yards overall. Crestview rushed for 458 of their 486 yards against Delphos.
The lone DJ win of 2019 so far came by a narrow margin in week three over a 1-3 Perry squad, 38-36. Jefferson lost to Shawnee 35-6 in their opener, and to Versailles 48-0 in week two.
Still, the Wildcats could be a dangerous team at home. Ada gave up 475 rushing yards in week four to Bluffton, and has been very vulnerable to a solid run game. Pirate fullback Tucker Neff set a school single-game record with 313 rush yards on 34 carries vs. the Bulldogs.
"Delphos is a team that seems hungry to me to get back to their tradition of success," said Ada head coach Shawn Christopher.
"They are led by running back J.T. Taviano. He runs very hard, and we will have to get guys swarming to him before he gets going. Taviano has breakaway speed.
"They are simple defensively, but play hard," he continued. We will need to be able to use our athleticism to make big plays."
Led by elusive junior quarterback Brandon Hull, the explosive Bulldog offense has put up 95 combined points in its last two games. But the defense has allowed 84 points.
The 120-point, 193-minute marathon loss to Bluffton is believed to be the highest-scoring game ever played at War Memorial Stadium.
The Wildcats are 1-1 at home and 0-2 on the road. Ada is 0-2 at home and 1-1 in away games. Jefferson ranks 23rd in the 27-team Region 23, Div. VI computer ratings, while the Bulldogs are 19th.
Ada crushed DJ at War Memorial Stadium last season, 38-6. The Bulldogs also edged Jefferson 35-33 in 2017 at Delphos. The reeling Wildcats (1-9, 0-7 NWC in 2018) have lost 14 of their last 16 games dating back to the end of 2017.
The once-dominant Jefferson football program has been in flux, with four different head coaches taking turns at the helm over the last four seasons.
Ben Rahrig is the first-year Wildcat head coach this fall, having replaced Luke Taviano. Taviano lasted just one season, with his lone win in 2018 coming over Stryker.
Brandon Behnfeldt went 6-4 in his only season as the Wildcat head coach in 2017, following the highly-successful tenure of Chris Sommers.
Sommers (28-7 at DJ, 20-1 NWC) led Jefferson to three outright NWC titles in three seasons from 2014-16 before leaving to take over rival Spencerville.
The Wildcats have not been to the playoffs since Sommers left in 2016. In two seasons with the Bearcats, his teams have won one outright crown and one shared NWC title, going 13-1 in league play and 17-6 overall.
"This is a huge week for us to get back on track, and it will start with fundamentals in practice - and working to get better together," said Christopher.
Kickoff is Friday at 7 p.m. in Delphos.
