By Cort Reynolds
PANDORA – The visiting Ada High School football team lost its second-place battle at Blanchard Valley Conference rival Pandora-Gilboa 34-14 Friday night, October 18.
P-G seized control by scoring 20 unanswered points on its three second-half possessions to pull away from a 14-14 tie and win.
The Bulldogs fell to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in BVC play with the loss that snapped a five-game win streak. The loss ended any Ada chance of sharing the league title in their first BVC season.
P-G broke a second-place tie with Ada after the win, which kept the Rockets a game behind Liberty-Benton (7-0).
The Rockets improved to 6-3 overall and 6-1 in BVC play after the big victory.
L-B (8-1) whipped winless Arcadia in week nine and hosts Van Buren (5-4) in the regular season finale, so the Eagles are heavy favorites to win the league crown outright at 8-0 with a win.
Chase Meyer put the Rockets on the scoreboard first with a 10-yard rushing touchdown midway through the opening stanza. His run capped an 11-play march that covered 57 yards and took a whopping 10:42 off the clock. The extra point kick made it 7-0, P-G.
When Ada finally got the ball with 1:16 left in the opening stanza, they had to punt and the Rockets took possession at their own 27. P-G punted the ball back and Ada took over on its own 20. The first period ended with the Rockets ahead by seven.
The Bulldog drive stalled and they had to punt again, pinning the Rockets back on their own six-yard line. Yet the Ada defense forced a third straight Rocket punt.
The Bulldogs then put together a 67-yard, five-play scoring drive on their fourth possession late in the second period.
Ada senior quarterback Levi Green completed a 42-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Oldfield late in the second period. Oldfield grabbed the toss at the 10 and went the rest of the way to paydirt.
The extra point kick by sophomore Andrew Allen tied it, 7-7.
P-G responded by taking the lead right back before intermission. After a long return of the ensuing kickoff to the Bulldog 39, they scored on one play.
Quarterback Ben Burkholder completed a short pass to Meyer, who rambled the final 34 yards to hit paydirt on a 42-yard catch and carry score for a 13-7 lead as the half expired.
The extra point boot by Paul Fischer made it 14-7 at the half.
Ada took the second half kickoff and marched 60 yards in nine plays to paydirt and a tie.
The Bulldogs tied it 14-14 on Green’s 28-yard rushing TD at the 6:44 mark of the third period after the second Allen PAT kick.
Pandora responded with a 64-yard, four-play scoring drive.
Andrew Miller put P-G back on top 21-14 via an eight-yard TD run with five minutes left in the third period.
P-G then intercepted a Green aerial to take over at their own 34. They marched 66 yards in six plays to double their lead.
Miller scored again on a five-yard run to paydirt with 10:15 remaining that gave the Rockets a 28-14 margin.
The Bulldogs drove 49 yards to P-G territory. But the Rocket defense stopped Ada on fourth down at the Pandora 45 with eight minutes left to all but clinch the outcome.
P-G then drove 55 yards in 10 plays to score with over a minute left.
Miller tallied his third TD run of the second half on a 16-yard scamper to provide the final margin of 20 points. The extra point kick missed with just 1:16 left to play.
Pandora scored touchdowns on their final four possessions.
Ada’s five-game win streak was its longest since 2012, when they started the season 9-0 before losing to LCC in the regular season finale.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 0 7 7 0 14
P-G 7 7 7 13 34
Notes and stats
The Ada offense was held to 248 yards on 49 plays (5.1 yards per play). P-G amassed 349 total yards on 48 snaps (7.3 avg.). The Bulldogs compiled 13 first downs, while the Rockets racked up 18.
Eight of the Ada chain-movers came on the ground, with four amassed aerially and one via penalty. P-G earned 14 first downs on the ground, with two coming by the pass and two more via flags.
The Bulldogs netted 155 rushing yards and added 93 passing yards. Ada averaged 5.3 yards per carry on 29 rushing attempts. The Rockets rolled up 300 rushing yards on 43 runs (7.0 avg.), and threw for just 40 passing yards.
Green rushed 19 times for 121 yards and one TD. He also completed nine of 20 passes for 97 yards and one score with one interception. He totaled 218 yards in offense.
Senior back Fisher was limited to 34 yards on 10 carries yards and no scores. He caught one aerial for 12 yards.
Oldfield hauled in five receptions for 59 yards and one TD. Kayleb Hickman snared three aerials for 26 yards.
Miller racked up 166 yards on 25 carries with three TDs.
Burkholder completed two of a mere four passes for 49 yards and one TD. He rushed 16 times for 122 yards, with a long run of 47.
Meyer added 10 yards and one rushing TD. He also caught two passes for 49 yards and one score.
P-G found the end zone on five of its eight possessions, including the last four in a row.
Fisher topped the defense with four solo stops and three assists. Zack Zimmerman had three solo tackles and four assists. Landon Simon contributed four solos and two assists. Brody Erickson added three solos, including two for losses, and two assists.
Green, Liam Vieira and Dalton Amos all made three solo stops.
Ada committed one turnover, while P-G was guilty of no miscues.
The Bulldogs were penalized nine times for 65 yards, while the Rockets were flagged five times for 53 yards. P-G had 23:56 of possession time, while Ada held the ball for 24:04.
Allen punted three times for a 35.7 average.
The Bulldogs converted three of 11 tries on third down and were 2-5 on fourth. P-G was successful on six of 12 third down tries, and was 2-2 on fourth down.
It was the first meeting between the two teams since Ada beat P-G in the second round of the playoffs on November 8, 2008 at Bath. The Bulldogs won that second round contest, 42-14.
The Bulldogs are still in position to host a first-round playoff game despite the loss. The top eight ranked teams in region 26 get a home game in round one.
Liberty-Benton (8-1, 7-0 BVC) clinched at least a tie for the BVC title with a 42-0 pounding of Arcadia Friday. L-B’s only loss came at Columbus Grove in week two, 42-14. Ada does not play the first-place Eagles this season.
Only P-G can catch them with a win vs. Riverdale and an unlikely L-B loss at home to Van Buren (5-4, 4-3 BVC).
The Bulldogs fell from fifth to sixth in the preliminary Div. 7, Region 26 computer rankings, and are one of 14 teams in the region to have clinched a playoff spot.
USV (8-1) remains second in the rankings after beating county rival Hardin Northern 38-10 Friday in their NWCC first-place showdown. The NWCC-leading Rams have won eight in a row since losing to Ada at home in the season opener, 15-14.
Columbus Grove (9-0) stayed first in region 26 after staving off LCC 28-20 Friday. Edon (9-0), coached by former Ada mentor Bob Olwin, is fourth. Due to a better strength of schedule, Gibsonburg (7-2) stays ahead of Edon at third in the ratings. Tiffin Calvert (7-2) jumped Ada into fifth.
Bulldogs host Vikings in season finale
Ada hosts Blanchard Valley Conference foe Leipsic in the league and regular season finale Friday, October 25.
The teams come into the game tied for third in the league standings.
The Vikings improved to 6-3 overall and 5-2 in BVC play after winning 20-14 at Arlington Friday.
Leipsic has outscored its opposition 217-163 through nine games. They average 24.1 points a game and allow 18.1 ppg. The Vikings are rated 14th in the Div. VII, Region 26 computer rankings.
Ada has amassed a 309-157 scoring margin through nine games. They average 34.3 points a game and give up 17.4 ppg.
The Bulldogs are 3-1 at War Memorial Stadium, while the Vikings are 4-0 on the road.
The Bulldogs will play in the postseason for the first time since 2017 in week 11. Ada went 7-4 that year and lost to Liberty-Benton 49-18 in the first round.
