By Cort Reynolds
The Ada High School football team battled hard but came up short against unbeaten Leipsic in a 55-24 shootout Friday night, September 15, at War Memorial Stadium in an entertaining Northwest Conference matchup featuring several big offensive plays.
The Bulldogs hung tough early and had visions of a possible upset after seizing a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter. But the Vikings responded with two long touchdown drives to regain control and take a 21-10 lead into the halftime break.
Spunky Ada fought back with two third-period touchdowns, but speedy Leipsic answered with three long scoring drives of its own in a seesaw third quarter.
The Bulldogs ran out of gas in the fourth quarter as the weather cooled considerably, but Ada stayed close for 36 minutes. After Ada scrapped back within 28-24, the speedy Vikings reeled off 27 unanswered points to pull away and win.
The big-play offense of Leipsic rolled up 370 yards rushing and 584 total yards. Their last four touchdowns averaged 52 yards per scoring play.
The Vikings improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the NWC with the hard-fought win.
Ada fell to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the NWC after the defeat.
The Vikings drove 62 yards on 10 plays to take the initial lead on their second possession. A nice fourth and eight seam pass by Tyler Lammers to Quin Schroeder gained 24 yards to the Ada nine.
On second and goal from the seven, shifty senior Trent Siefker took a pitch to the left side and weaved untouched to the end zone with 5:33 left in the first period.
The point after kick was good to put the visitors ahead 7-0 and cap the 2:16 march.
Ada came right back with a good drive of its own. Kaine Fisher hauled in a 13-yard aerial from Levi Green, with a 15-yard penalty tacked on to ignite the march.
Kayleb Hickman then grabbed a well-thrown long ball from Green down the left side for a 46-yard gain all the way to the Leipsic five.
The drive stalled and Logan Jolliff drilled a 32-yard field goal at the 3:12 mark to cut the deficit to 7-3.
The Bulldog defense stopped the Vikings and Ada took over at its own 33. Hickman converted third and nine with a 13-yard reception as the first period neared its conclusion.
Green later burst up the middle, broke a couple tackles and scampered 20 yards to the Viking 24. A screen left to Gavin Oldfield gained nine yards. Green converted on third and one by grinding out a tough yard.
Green then ran left, broke a tackle and scurried 14 yards to paydirt to put Ada on top with 9:29 left to play. Jolliff’s PAT kick made it 10-7 and capped the 67-yard, four-minute drive.
Leipsic answered with a 63-yard scoring march to regain the lead. Schroeder bounced outside to the left and ripped off a 24-yard gain. Estevan Carrillo then scored on a five-yard TD run at the six-minute mark.
The two-point conversion try failed, keeping the lead 13-10.
A 19-yard pass to the elusive Fisher sparked the ensuing Ada possession. But a big tackle for a loss of seven yards stymied the drive and forced a punt.
Leipsic then drove 85 yards to score again. A 22-yard pass to Schroeder ignited the drive. Lammers then lofted a long 37-yard aerial down the right sideline to Siefker.
Schroeder was tackled for loss by Bolden but on fourth and five, Lammers delivered a clutch fourth down and five seed. Falling backward as he was being hit by Slade Gossman, the 6-2 junior led a wide-open Schroeder perfectly down the left side for a 21-yard TD.
The Lammers two-point conversion pass to Schroeder stretched the lead to 21-10 with 1:05 left in the half. The long drive took just 92 seconds.
Fisher returned the second half kickoff just past midfield as Ada came out fired up after intermission. Bolden then rumbled 38 yards down the left side to earn first and goal at the Viking 10.
On second down, Green ran 10 yards to paydirt to cap the 48-yard, three-play drive. Jolliff’s PAT kick pulled Ada within 21-17 just 52 seconds into the third period.
Leipsic took over on its own 27. The Vikings recovered their own fumbled pitchout to avoid disaster at their own 19. Schroeder caught a 12-yard pass to bring up third and six. An incompletion forced a punt that rolled dead at the Ada 35.
Green kept the ball and sprinted down the left sideline, eluded a tackle and was pulled down at the 12 after a big 53-yard run. Bolden netted seven yards to the five.
After a three-yard loss, Ada faced third and six. Green gained three yards to bring up a key fourth and three play at the Viking five. The Bulldogs called timeout at the 7:55 mark to discuss strategy.
Green kept the ball and ran right for about three yards to the two. After an official timeout to measure, he was ruled just short of a first down by inches to turn it over on downs.
Starting from their own two, the Vikings dug themselves out of trouble when 6-3 wideout Jayce Brecht made a spectacular leaping grab of a Lammers pass for a 34-yard gain despite good coverage.
The big play continued the momentum swing, followed by a seven-yard run.
A reverse to Brecht picked up 21 yards, as only an Ian House tackle on the right sideline prevented a touchdown at the 22. On second and five, Schroeder grabbed a screen pass to the left, weaved left around a good Brecht block and found the left corner of the end zone to cap the 98-yard scoring drive.
The PAT kick was good to put the Vikings back on top 28-17 with 5:57 still left in the third quarter.
A good return by the elusive Fisher gave Ada possession at their own 46. Green authored a shifty 19-yard run to the Viking 35.
A crossing pass to Fisher gained 31 yards to the Leipsic four. On first and goal, Bolden scored from four yards out at the 4:58 mark to punctuate the 54-yard drive.The Jolliff point after kick inched Ada within 28-24.
A touchback kickoff gave Leipsic possession at the 20. A nine-yard run started the drive, followed by a Carrillo 29-yard burst.
Siefker took a pitch to the left and weaved his way 39 yards into the end zone to build the lead back to 11 after the Schroeder extra point. The 80-yard drive took just three plays and 1:48.
Yet another good kickoff return by Fisher reached the 43, with a facemask flag tacked on. But a long-gain aerial from Green to Fisher was negated by a Bulldog holding penalty.
On third and 11, Schroeder then made a fine one-handed interception near the 30 and returned it to the 46 with 49 seconds left in the third stanza.
Siefker then ripped off a 54-yard TD run off the left side to put Leipsic in command 41-24 with 38 ticks left in the long, 34-point period.
The Bulldogs took over at their own 32, and Bolden ran for five yards as the quarter expired.
Ada was forced to punt and the Vikings got possession at their own 32. On third and three, Lammers rambled 25 yards to move the chains.
Brecht then pulled down a 36-yard TD aerial from Lammers to finish the 68-yard, five-play scoring drive. The extra point extended the lead to 48-24 with 9:30 remaining.
On third and short on the ensuing Bulldog possession, Green was tackled for a key seven-yard loss to force a Puerto 47-yard punt.
The Viking speed showed again when Siefker bolted 78 yards around left end all the way to score with 6:46 remaining. The PAT kick extended the lead to 55-24.
The Bulldogs put together one last drive, but it stalled out in Viking territory.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 3 7 14 0 24
Leip 7 14 20 14 55
Notes and stats
The Ada class of 1980 was honored at the game to help commemorate the 1979 Bulldog NWC title team that went 9-1 and lost only at St. Henry in the opener.
Leipsic compiled 19 first downs, while Ada moved the chains 15 times.
The Bulldogs compiled 362 yards in total offense on 50 plays, compared to 584 yards on 50 plays by the Vikings.
Leipsic averaged 11.7 yards per play, while the Bulldogs averaged a healthy 7.2 yards per snap.
Green completed eight of 16 passes for 145 yards, with one interception. He also rushed for 121 yards on 19 carries with two TDs.
Bolden rushed for 96 yards and one TD on 15 carries (6.4 avg.).
Fisher snagged five aerials for 77 yards. He added 95 yards on five kickoff returns. Hickman snared two big receptions for 69 yards.
The Bulldogs netted 217 ground yards on 34 rushes. Leipsic racked up 370 yards rushing on 32 carries (11.6 per run).
Siefker led the balanced Viking rushing attack with 119 yards and four TDs on just six carries. Carrillo netted 78 yards on 10 runs with one score. The versatile Schroeder totaled 36 yards on eight rushes, while Brecht gained 35 yards on one run.
Brecht caught three passes for 79 yards and one TD. Schroeder hauled in six aerials for 71 yards and two scores.
Accurate Leipsic QB Lammers completed nine of 12 passes for 185 yards and three TDs with no interceptions. Backup Tommy Offenbacher completed two of six aerials for 26 yards.
The Bulldogs committed seven penalties for 50 yards, while the Vikes were flagged three times for 31 yards.
Ada converted four of 13 third down tries, while the visitors were successful on just one of 10 third-down attempts. In a key difference, Leipsic was 2-2 on fourth down, while the Bulldogs went zero for six on fourth.
The Bulldogs narrowly won in time of possession, 22:51 to 21:10. Ada committed two turnovers, while Leipsic made no miscues.
Bulldogs Hickman and Bolden each made five tackles. Zack Zimmerman added four stops.
Ada hosts unbeaten rival Bluffton in week 6
By Cort Reynolds
ADA – It doesn’t get any easier when Ada welcomes another unbeaten to town in traditional rival Bluffton for a Northwest Conference week six battle next Friday at War Memorial Stadium.
Ada is 1-1 at home this season, while Bluffton is 2-0 on the road.
The Pirates improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the NWC with a 56-0 blowout win over Spencerville in week five Friday.
The Pirates have outscored their opponents 231-28 this season. The Bulldogs have been outscored by their foes, 190-125.
Ada lost at Bluffton 31-7 last year, but the game was more competitive than the final score indicates.
The Bulldogs hung close through the first half but a big-play Bluffton offense, a few questionable penalties and a Pirate goal line stand as time expired in the second period swung momentum their way.
In the unofficial Div. VII, Region 26 computer rankings, while Ada dropped three spots to 17th. Leipsic climbed to third place in region 26.
Bluffton is ranked first in Div. VI, Region 22.
