By Cort Reynolds; additional photos below
The Ada High School football team, playing at home at War Memorial Park Stadium, made strides and competed well but lost 38-20 to Arlington in a non-league football contest on a pleasant Friday night, August 26.
"We are going in the right direction," said Bulldog second-year head coach Toby Smith. "The issue is we have to stop stubbing our toes on things we can control.
"But we scored 20 points against a good team who is going to win seven games," he offered.
"We had moments where we found our way. Yet until we recognize we are beating our selves, we will not beat anyone," he added.
Arlington drove 42 yards in 10 plays to score on their second possession, and never trailed despite Ada threatening in the second half to close the gap.
Red Devil junior back Caden Russell capped the march with a one-yard touchdown run off right tackle. After an off-sides penalty on Ada, Luke Fenstermaker ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead with 3:38 left in the opening period.
The Bulldogs earned their first down on the ensuing possession, but had to punt. Jake Vermillion fielded the punt at the 23 and scampered 76 yards down the right sideline with one nice cutback before being pulled down at the one.
Quarterback Jared Griggs then found paydirt on a one-yard plunge on the first play of the second stanza. Fenstermaker again ran in a short two-point conversion run to extend the lead to 16-0.
Ada authored a 68-yard scoring march on their next possession. Jalee Bolden ignited the drive with strong runs and broken tackles. His 19-yard rush moved the ball past midfield.
On third and six, Bolden converted a nine-yard run. On third and nine, sophomore Levi Green found Jayden Bankston with an 11-yard touchdown strike in the left side of the end zone for the first Bulldog points of the season.
Bolden carried the ball on six of the 11 plays in the drive. Wyatt Green's point after kick cut the deficit to 16-7 with 7:27 left in the half.
The Bulldog defense stuffed Arlington's next drive, and the inspired Bulldogs carried the momentum into their next drive.
Ada drove to the Red Devil 28 before a costly fumble on a bad snap turned the ball over on a Landon Courtney recovery at the Red Devil 37.
The turnover switched the momentum of the contest.
Griggs then carried the ball five straight times for 62 total yards. His last carry advanced the visitors to the Ada one.
Russell then found the end zone on a one-yard run off right tackle. The extra point boot made it 23-7 with 1:18 left before intermission. The 63-yard drive took six plays and 79 seconds.
Ada's last possession of the half came up short when a long Green pass was nearly caught near the Arlington five.
The Bulldogs took the second half kickoff and roared 65 yards to paydirt in seven plays. A 16-yard pass from Green to Bankston ignited the march.
On third and three senior back Casen Jones broke a few tackles up the middle, burst into the clear and outran the defense 29 yards to the end zone.
The extra point kick was blocked, but Ada had cut the deficit to 23-13 with 9:15 left in the third period.
Arlington started on its own 39. A last-second pitch to Russell narrowly avoided a tackle for loss, and he scurried 10 yards to midfield.
A risky left-handed pitchout by Griggs was recovered by Kaine Fisher on the Ada 45 at the 7:15 mark.
Green then sped around left end untouched for a big gain of 27 yards to the Devil 24. On third and six, a low snap led to a loss of five on a Green keeper.
On fourth and 11, Green's pass to the sideline fell incomplete.
Arlington took over on its own 25 at the 4:34 juncture. On the very next play, Russell scampered 60 yards down the right side all the way to the Ada 15.
A 10-yard run by Russell reached the five. On third and goal from the six, Griggs connected with Luke Metzger on a six-yard TD strike with 2:16 left in the quarter.
Fenstermaker ran left for his third two-point conversion to provide a 31-13 lead. The 75-yard march took five plays and took 2:18.
After a three-and-out possession, Ada downed its punt at their own 44. Arlington converted first down on a penalty, followed by a nine-yard run from Griggs.
A good last-second pitch by Griggs to Russell resulted in a 20-yard run to the two.
On first and goal, Russell plunged into the end one off right tackle for a two-yard score to cap the 56-yard drive. The extra point by Hartman with 9:07 left made it 38-13.
On third and five in Ada's next possession, the quick Green scampered six yards near the left sideline. A Green keeper up the middle gained four to set up third and six.
After a loss of three, Wyatt Green punted out of bounds at the Devil 24.
Ada put together a nice drive on its last possession. A 21-yard pass from Green to Julian Grose reached the Devil 12 with 31 seconds left.
Green rolled right and hit Levi Sousley for a 10-yard TD aerial with 13 seconds left. The Wyatt Green PAT kick made the final margin 18 points.
"We are still doing things that losing teams do; we have to fix that," Smith summed up. "Winning teams don't turn the ball over, penalize themselves or punt down the middle of the field when they are not supposed to."
1 2 3 4 F
Arl 8 15 8 7 38
Ada 0 7 6 7 20
Ada (0-2) hosts county rival Hardin Northern (0-2) in week three next Friday. The Polar Bears lost a shootout to Riverdale 35-34 in week two. Ada beat HN last year to post their lone win of the 2021 campaign.
"We have a good opportunity to keep getting better," said Smith.
