Injury-plagued Ada battled well but dug too big of an early deficit and lost 47-21 at Delphos Jefferson in a Northwest Conference bout Saturday night, September 25, at Stadium Park.
DJ raced to a 34-0 lead on the strength of several big plays and Bulldog turnovers. But inexperienced yet spunky Ada refused to fold, outscoring the Wildcats 21-13 over the final 25 minutes.
The Bulldogs fell to 1-5 and 0-3 in the NWC with the defeat.
Jefferson improved to 3-3 and 1-2 in league play with the win.
"We are young and made a lot of mistakes," said first-year Ada head coach Toby Smith. "We are getting better, but we have to quit giving up huge plays."
Ada played without starting senior quarterback Kadin Phipps (left shoulder) and senior wideout Cayden Murphy (hand), among others. But other young Bulldogs stepped up and played well.
The purple and gold committed four costly turnovers in the first half. The Bulldogs drove into DJ territory on their first four possessions but came up empty each time as turnovers stymied them.
DJ took over on its own five for their first possession. Ada almost tackled Wildcat quarterback Colin Bailey for a safety. Then from the one-foot line, Bailey hit Andrew Miller at the 15 and he sprinted it in over the final 85 yards to paydirt for a record-tying 99-yard, catch and carry touchdown.
The point after kick with 7:08 left in the opening stanza gave the hosts a 7-0 lead.
The Bulldogs drove deep into Wildcat territory on their second drive. But after freshman quarterback Levi Green completed a pass to Seth Nevers, he was hit hard and fumbled to DJ at the Wildcat five.
Bailey quickly scampered 27 yards to the 32. On the next play, Trent Teaman bolted 68 yards to the end zone with a Bailey aerial. The extra point kick missed to keep the margin 13-0 with 3:50 left in the first quarter.
Ada converted a fourth and one try by drawing DJ offsides near midfield. But on the next play, Ada fumbled after being swarmed on a screen pass and the hosts recovered at the Bulldog 36.
Bailey moved the chains on a fourth and one run. He then rolled out and hit Miller on a four-yard TD strike to extend the lead to 20-0 with 10:35 left in the half.
On the next Ada drive, Miller intercepted a Green pass and returned it 48 yards to paydirt. The extra point advanced their lead to 27-0 with 7:56 still to go in the half.
Wildcat Braylon Scalf intercepted the next Ada pass on a deflection to give DJ good field position at the Bulldog 32.
After a pass interference penalty, Bailey scurried in to score on a seven-yard run at the 5:05 mark. The PAT kick put the hosts ahead 34-0.
Showing resilience, Ada took over at its own 20 and put together an 80-yard scoring march to end the half on a strong note. Junior back Casen Jones ignited the drive with two punishing 14-yard runs.
Jones then authored runs of 11, 11 and 12 yards. Green scrambled seven yards to the DJ one as the final seconds of the half ticked down.
Jones then broke several tackles on a determined run and made it into the end zone as time expired to get Ada on the scoreboard. Max Puerto converted the extra point to make it 34-7 at halftime.
Ada recovered an on-sides kickoff to start half two at their own 46. Jones again put together some solid runs to spark a scoring march. Green then scampered for a key first down.
On first and goal, the athletic Green scored on a nine-yard run with 7:35 to go in the third period. Puerto's PAT boot sliced the deficit to 34-14.
DJ recovered the next on-sides kickoff try near midfield. Bailey quickly connected with Miller on a 44-yard TD aerial to rebuild the lead to 40-14 with 6:27 left in the third.
At that point, Bailey had completed all four of his passes for four touchdowns and over 200 yards.
After an Ada punt, Bailey found the end zone again on a 65-yard run. Scalf's extra point kick made it 47-14 with 4:37 left in the third quarter.
Green led a late fourth quarter Bulldog drive to cap the scoring. The march culminated when he hooked up with fellow freshman Kaine Fisher on a 29-yard TD aerial with 90 seconds remaining.
Puerto's third PAT boot made the final score 47-21.
"We are obviously proud of how the kids did not quit and competed to the end," said Smith. "But we are not into moral victories. We have a long way to go."
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 0 7 7 7 21
DJ 13 21 13 0 47
Notes and stats
Freshman Green, filling in well for the injured Phipps, ran 17 times for 56 yards and a TD. He also completed 13 of 19 passes for 116 yards and one TD with two interceptions.
Jones rushed for a career-high 145 yards on 27 carries with one TD.
Fisher snagged a career-best 10 receptions for 86 yards and one score.
Bailey rushed 11 times for 135 yards and two TDs. He was perfectly efficient throwing the ball, completing all four of his aerials for scores and 215 yards.
Miller pulled down three of those passes for three TDs and 147 yards. Teaman had the other catch for a 68-yard score.
Bulldogs to visit Bearcats in week 7
Ada visits league foe Spencerville Friday, October 1.
The Bearcats (2-4, 1-2 NWC) lost 21-14 at Allen East this past Friday, but are better than ther record indicates.
The Bearcats have scored 118 points and allowed 130 in six games. Ada has tallied 103 points and given up 236.
Ada is rated 19th in the Div. VII, Region 26 computer rankings. Spencerville is 16th.
