By Cort Reynolds
Ada High School welcomes arch-rival Allen East to War Memorial Stadium on Friday, October 20, to climax the season in a battle of football teams with identical 3-6 overall records.
It looks to be the last Northwest Conference game for Ada (1-5 NWC) after 60 years in the league, fittingly against their biggest gridiron rival.
In the 21st century the Bulldogs lead the heated series 14-9, highlighted by a 13-game win streak from 2005-17.
But the Mustangs (2-4 NWC) have taken the last five meetings in a row, all in decisive fashion, including 52-7 last year in Harrod. AE also captured four of the five matchups from 2000-04.
“We are focusing on us,” said Bulldog head coach Toby Smith when asked about the Mustangs. “We are attempting to try to do our job as often as possible so that we can see success on the field.
“Until we get better at our jobs, our success will be very difficult to achieve,” he added.
The rivalry results have been close over the years. AE has won nine NWC grid titles, six outright. Ada won eight NWC crowns, six outright. The foes are fourth and fifth in all-time NWC win pct., with the Mustangs coming in at just under 54 percent and the Bulldogs just under 52 percent.
Both teams had periods of dominance in the series, with the rivalry peaking in the 1970s when the rivals battled for the top of the league regularly.
The Bulldogs won three consecutive NWC titles in 1971-72-73, going 24-1 in that span. Their only loss came at AE in a 21-18 thriller, arguably the peak moment of the rivalry.
That somewhat controversial last-minute win allowed the Mustangs to share the 1972 crown with Ada and Spencerville, after the Bulldogs defeated the Bearcats.
AE finished second four times in the decade of the 1970s, while Ada was league runner-up twice.
The Bulldogs rose again to win the 1979 title by three games over second-place AE and Bluffton. The Mustangs then won four NWC crowns from 1980-95.
Ada’s 15-year championship dry spell was halted in 1994. A 14-year drought ended when a dominating Bulldog squad went undefeated in back-to-back seasons in 2008-09.
The Mustangs went 24 years without a league crown until sharing the 2019 title with Spencerville and Grove. Last year (7-0 NWC) marked their first outright league championship since 1995.
Ada native Bill Goodwin coached AE to great success over the first 34 seasons of the school’s history after consolidation, adding more intrigue to the rivalry.
Since he retired in the late 1990s the Bulldogs have enjoyed the better of the series, with the Mustangs going through several coaches until current head man Joel Billings took over and turned the Mustang fortunes around.
Defending NWC champion AE has slumped to a disappointing 2023 season, starting off 1-5. The Mustangs then won two in a row before falling to rival Bluffton in week nine at Harrod, 42-0.
An Ada win would tie the Mustangs for fifth in the final NWC standings. A Bulldog loss would likely drop them to eighth in the league.
The only two Ada seniors are expected to miss the Mustang encounter. Bulldog running back Jalee Bolden (week 8 vs. Spencerville) and senior lineman Owen Arnett (last week vs. Grove) suffered injuries and are unlikely to play in their final game.
Shifty junior Kaine Fisher, the team’s leading receiver, filled in capably for Bolden at running back in week nine vs. Grove.
Ada is playing for pride, while AE ranks 10th in the relatively weak 23-team Div. VI, Region 24 computer ratings and has already clinched a playoff spot. Only seven of the 23 teams in that region have a winning record.
The Bulldogs are 20th in the Div. VII, Region 26 ratings. Eighteen of the 33 teams in region 26 are above .500, including three undefeated clubs and two 8-1 squads. Four more schools are 7-2.
The first Mustang win came over Arlington (28-3) in week two. After a four-game losing skid, they then beat Spencerville (49-7) and won at Delphos Jefferson (41-0) in consecutive weeks.
Ada is 1-3 at home, while AE is 1-3 on the road. The three Bulldog home defeats came at the hands of the top three teams in the NWC.
