By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Coming off of its fist win, the Ada football team kicks off Northwest Conference play Friday with a key game at home vs. local rival Bluffton.
The Pirates are 2-1 after defeating winless Defiance Ayersville 35-14 in week three.
Bluffton (1-0 on road, 1-1 home) beat visiting Cory-Rawson 42-26 in its opener, but then lost to Pandora-Gilboa 27-9 in their first meeting since 1965.
The Pirates of head coach Jeff Richards boast an old-school, ground-oriented offensive attack.
"Bluffton is very methodical," said Ada head coach Shawn Christopher. "They run the veer option, and they have learned to run it very well. Their offensive line gets to the second level well. They run the ball well."
Sophomore quarterback Nate Schaadt does not go to the air much, but has dangerous weapons when he does. The second-year starter is also a very capable runner.
Schaadt threw just four passes at Ayersville, completing two. But both went for long touchdowns of 38 yards (to Baylor Garmatter) and 80 yards to big-play maker Tyson Shutler, 6-0 junior.
Senior 220-pound workhorse fullback Tucker Neff rushed for 181 yards last week vs. the Pilots. "The fullback Neff is a nice player," said Christopher.
"But Shutler is a good runner with speed and game-breaking ability. He definitely has the speed to break the big runs, so we have to try and contain him. They do not throw the ball much."
Garmatter also ran for 84 yards and Schaadt added 42 yards on the ground vs. Ayersville, where 329 of their 447 total yards came via the ground.
The game was tied 14-14 after one quarter at Ayersville. But the Pirates shut the host Pilots out over the final three periods and scored one TD in each of the remaining stanzas to pull away and win convincingly.
"Defensively, Bluffton will bring pressure and try to get the ball out of Brandon Hull's hands," warned Christopher. "They are a pressure-based defense, and they will bring five every time. So we have to work on protecting the quarterback.
"Bluffton has an athletic defensive line so we will have to shore up our protection," he added.
Junior defensive lineman Bryan Basinger led the Pirates with a sack and four tackles for loss at Ayersville.
The Pirates beat the Bulldogs 43-14 in week nine last year, yet Ada has taken 10 of the last 12 meetings. Bluffton rolled up 433 yards rushing at home in 2018 vs. Ada as they ran to a 28-0 halftime lead.
Schaadt rushed for three TDs and 123 yards while Neff netted 102 yards on the ground. Shutler added 72 yards rushing.
Replacement QB Phil Coulson rushed for 114 yards with one TD, and threw for 88 yards last year at Bluffton.
The Bulldogs won 42-17 two years ago at War Memorial Stadium. In 2016, Ada won easily at Bluffton by a 38-14 count. Bluffton ended an eight-game losing streak to the Bulldogs with a 27-21 win in 2015 at Ada.
"When it comes down to it I look at it in this sense - if we do what we need to do and play a good game, that is all we can control," said Christopher. "I think we can come out on top if and when we concentrate on what we are doing, and what we can do well."
Bluffton ranks 12th in Region 23 of Div. VI, just ahead of Ada (1-2, 0-1 home), who is tied for 15th.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium.
