By Cort Reynolds
ADA - The injury-riddled Ada football team lost another shootout to visiting Paulding 70-40 in Northwest Conference action on a chilly night last Friday at War Memorial Stadium.
The teams combined for over 1,100 yards in offense and 110 points in the wild contest. Ada junior quarterback Brandon Hull accounted for six touchdowns and close to 400 yards in offense, but it was not enough to offset a career game by Panther senior running back Jacob Deisler.
Deisler totaled a whopping 362 rushing yards and five touchdowns as Paulding ran by Ada for 525 yards. Deisler surpassed the 1,100-yard mark on the season with his huge game.
The purple and gold dropped to 2-7 overall and 1-5 in NWC play with their fourth consecutive defeat. The Panthers improved to 4-5 overall and moved into a fourth-place tie with Crestview at 3-3 in the league with the win.
"Our kids battled; it was a very physical game," said Ada head coach Shawn Christopher. "I was very proud of the fight we showed and the competitiveness Brandon Hull has been bringing in a consistent way. He is a true warrior.
"It is hard to win when you only get one stop all night," he continued. "We just couldn't make any plays defensively."
Ada rolled up 451 yards but simply could not stop the Panther attack.
The Panthers drove 47 yards on seven straight runs to score on their first possession of the night at the 7:47 mark. The elusive Deisler rushed the ball five times on the march, capping it with a one-yard TD plunge.
A two-point pass on a fake PAT kick by Evan Edwards gave Paulding an early 8-0 lead.
Ada responded with a 66-yard scoring drive of its own. Four Hull runs netted 27 yards as he converted fourth and one with a six-yard gain.
Hull later scrambled and hit Daniel Mattson for a 25-yard TD reception in the right corner of the end zone with 5:37 to go in the opening period.
Hull's two-point run to the left pylon came up just short as he was flipped over while he stretched for the goal line.
Paulding took over at its own 35, and Deisler ripped off a 15-yard run. Fernando Garcia ran left for 18 more yards. A 14-yard scamper by Deisler helped set up a scoring run by Garcia that ended the 65-yard drive.
On third and one, Garcia bounced off a tackler and hit paydirt on a five-yard run at the 2:32 mark. The Edwards PAT kick advanced the lead to 15-6.
Ada appeared to be stopped on their next drive. But on fourth and seven, senior Ty Miller faked a punt and rambled 32 yards down the right sideline to move the chains.
Junior QB Hull then scrambled across the field for 34 more yards. On fourth and two at the Panther three, Hull battled and muscled his way into the end zone for a touchdown with 11:36 left in the half.
His two-point pass fell incomplete when the receiver slipped to keep the score at 15-12.
Panther Nolan Johanns recovered Ada's ensuing on-sides kickoff attempt to give the visitors possession at their own 48. Deisler sprinted 18 yards to Bulldog territory.
On the next play, Deisler burst off left tackle 34 yards to the end zone with 11 minutes left in the second period. Zac Swaney blocked the extra point kick to keep the margin at nine, 21-12.
Paulding was then successful on its own on-sides kickoff when they recovered at midfield. Garcia scurried 20 yards, followed by a 10-yard run from Jacob King. Deisler then ran for nine yards.
On second and one, Deisler swept around left end untouched into the end zone for an 11-yard TD with 9:42 left in the half. His scamper capped the 50-yard, four-play drive. Deisler also ran in the two-point try to extend the lead to 29-12.
The speedy Swaney returned the following kickoff 60 yards all the way to the Paulding 25. A spinning run by shifty Colby Curtis gained nine yards to the Panther 10.
Hull then rumbled 10 yards to paydirt, and his two-point pass to Swaney cut the deficit to 29-20 at the 8:31 mark.
On fourth and six from the Ada 36, Paulding attempted its first pass of the night. Peyton Beckman connected with his receiver Seth Dysinger but he was stopped inches short to turn it over on downs.
However, Ada was stopped and Miller's fourth down punt rolled dead at the Panther 33. On the very next play, Deisler ran left, cut back nicely and sped 67 yards to paydirt with 3:13 to go in the quarter.
Deisler also ran in the two-point conversion to advance the lead to 37-20.
The Bulldogs put together a good drive deep into Panther territory. Cayden Murphy sparked the march with a 32-yard reception from Hull along the left sideline. But an intentional grounding penalty thwarted the march and forced fourth and 22.
Hull was then hit and fumbled. Curtis picked up the loose pigskin after several players could not secure the ball, but he was tackled well short of the first down.
Paulding threatened in the final minute of the half. But time ran out as Deisler hauled in a 35-yard Beckman pass and was tackled at the Ada 20.
Johanns recovered his second on-sides kickoff to start the second half for Paulding at midfield. Three plays later, Deisler ran to the Ada 16.
Hull then made a big tackle for a three-yard loss on Deisler to being up fourth down and seven. Edwards booted a 29-yard field goal to double the Ada score, 40-20, with 8:15 left in period three.
Ada then drove across midfield, but Hull's pass was intercepted and returned deep into Bulldog territory by Dysinger. Deisler's 10-yard TD jaunt and the Edwards PAT boot extended the cushion to 47-20 with 6:24 to go.
Swaney hauled in a 12-yard TD reception to cap the ensuing Ada drive. Hull then passed the ball at the last moment to Murphy for a successful two-pointer that cut the margin to 47-28 at the 3:33 juncture.
King punctuated the next Paulding drive with a two-yard TD run at the 1:47 mark. Deisler's two-point run made it 55-28.
A long run by Curtis to the Panther nine set up the next Ada score on an eight-yard run by Hull. The two-point try failed as the Bulldogs inched within 55-34 with just 16 ticks left in the third period.
Early in the fourth quarter, Garcia broke several tackles on a bruising 41-yard TD run. The Edwards PAT kick put the Panthers on top 62-34 with 11:50 left to play.
Hull scrambled and passed to the shifty Curtis, who faked out a defender and scored on a six-yard catch-and-carry play. The two-point pass was caught but out of bounds to keep the score at 62-40 with 8:33 to go.
Paulding recovered an on-sides kick try and marched in to score again on a three-yard run by Carsen Perl with 6:03 left. Deisler converted the two-point run to make it 70-40.
Hull hurdled a Paulding defender and carried a tackler for a first down run on the next Ada drive. Curtis then moved the chains on an elusive scamper. Pass interference in the end zone gave the Bulldogs first and goal.
But Hull rolled out and was stopped as time expired on the running clock to keep the final margin at 30.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 6 14 14 6 40
Pau 15 22 18 15 70
Notes and stats
It was the third time Ada has allowed 70 points in a game this season, all in league play. Paulding rolled up 32 first downs while Ada moved the chains 29 times.
The Bulldogs ran 72 plays for 451 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per try. The Panthers averaged 10.4 yards on 56 plays.
Paulding rushed 53 times for 525 yards for a 10.4 yard average per run. Garcia netted 117 yards and two TDs on 10 carries to support Deisler's 362 on 34 runs.
Perl and King added 24 and 22 yards rushing, respectively.
The Bulldogs rushed for 228 yards on 35 tries (6.5). Hull passed for 223 yards on 21 of 37 accuracy, with three TD tosses and one interception.
Hull also rushed for 153 yards and three scores on 22 carries to account for 376 yards in offense. Curtis netted 40 yards on 11 rushes. Miller added 32 yards on one run.
Swaney added to his NWC-leading total of receptions (52) with eight catches for 73 yards and one TD.
Mattson snared five passes for 52 yards and a score. Curtis corraled six receptions for 62 yards, and Murphy caught two passes for 36 yards.
Deisler added one reception for 35 yards. Beckman completed all three of his aerials for 58 yards.
Hull now leads the NWC in passing yardage (1,937) and is fifth in rushing yardage (972).
The Bulldogs committed one turnover while the Panthers made no miscues. Ada possessed the ball for most of the game, 26:35 to 21:25.
The Bulldogs were 6-12 on third down and 3-4 on fourth down. Paulding converted three of five on third down, and one of three on fourth down. Both teams were flagged for five penalties.
Ada has been outscored by its opposition 487-282 this season, a 54.1 to 31.3 points per game average margin. Paulding has now beaten Ada two times in a row after losing to the Bulldogs in their previous 13 meetings from 2005-17.
With one home game left in the campaign, Ada is 0-4 at War Memorial Stadium.
