By Cort Reynolds
Ada rallied during a strong second half to defeat visiting Spencerville 33-28 in a hard-fought Northwest Conference contest on a chilly Friday night, September 30, at War Memorial Park Stadium.
The Bulldogs outscored the Bearcats 12-0 in the second half, and the defense came up with a key stop deep in its own territory early in the fourth period to preserve the win.
Ada improved to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the NWC with the big victory. It was their first league triumph since beating Delphos Jefferson in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Bearcats fell to 1-6 overall and 0-4 in league play with a defeat that extended their losing skid to five games.
Shifty Ada sophomore quarterback Levi Green ran for a score, returned a kickoff for a touchdown and accounted for 369 yards in total offense to pace the victors.
"I think we put ourselves in position to be successful, and we made enough plays to win," said Bulldog second-year head coach Toby Smith.
"They were more one-dimensional, and so we made some halftime adjustments," he added as the defense held the Bearcats scoreless after intermission.
Spencerville led 28-21 after an eventful first half.
Ada drove 69 yards on its first drive to the Bearcat 11. A 28-yard field goal try by Wyatt Green was straight, but fell just short.
But three plays later Bulldog Lester Amos recovered a fumble at the Bearcat 28. Runs by Levi Green and Casen Jones advanced the ball inside the 10.
On third and goal from the one, Jones plunged into the end zone at the 47-second mark to put Ada in front. Wyatt Green's point after kick made it 7-0.
Nate Coulter returned the kickoff to midfield to start the Spencerville possession.
Coulter moved the chains on a third and nine screen. Then on third and 14, he caught a 179-yarder over the middle from Josh Henline.
Coulter then snared a seven-yard TD aerial from Henline in the right corner of the end zone with 9:19 left in the half. The extra point kick tied it, 7-7.
Ada answered immediately when Green executed a good fake handoff and out-sprinted the surprised Bearcat defense 67 yards down the left sideline to paydirt just 25 seconds later.
The Green PAT put Ada ahead, 14-7.
Coulter again returned the ensuing kickoff deep to give the Bearcats good field position at the Ada 44.
Coulter hauled in a tipped pass for a 10-yard gain. Henline then dropped back and eluded a big rush to complete a middle screen to the open Coulter who slipped a tackle and sped 31 yards to the end zone to cap a four-play, 44-yard drive.
The PAT kick tied it 14-14.
The Bulldogs came back with a 54-yard drive to the Bearcat 17. A 30-yard slant pass from Green to Trevor McGue sparked the march. But it stalled and on fourth and six, a pass fell incomplete to turn it over on downs.
The Bearcats took over at their own 17 and marched 83 yards to grab their first lead. Carter Layman made a nice 22-yard cutback run to ignite the drive.
Two plays later, Dylan Short got behind the Ada secondary and hauled in a 57-yard TD reception from Henline with 1:50 left in the half.
The extra point put the Bearcats ahead 21-14.
Levi Green received the ensuing kickoff and veered across the field to the right sideline. He then sped to the 15, made a nice cutback and finished off the weaving 90-yard TD return with 92 seconds to go before intermission.
"That was a huge play to swing the momentum," said Smith.
But Spencerville responded by driving downfield in the final seconds to regain the lead.
Coulter launched a 44-yard double pass from Henline to Short with 17 seconds left in the half to give the visitors the lead 28-21 just before intermission.
The Bearcats scored TDs on all four of their second period possessions.
Spencerville started half two with the ball, but was stopped quickly. The punt snap sailed well over Henline's head, and he was tackled back at the four by Julian Grose.
On fourth and inches, Jones punched it into the end zone off right tackle with 8:18 left in the third period. But the PAT kick missed to keep the visitors ahead 28-27.
Layman returned the ensuing kickoff out to the 47. On third and nine, Henline scrambled for 10 yards but holding negated the play. On third and 19, Henline's pass to Coulter was caught well short of the marker.
Henline's punt out of the shotgun was downed at the Bulldog 23 with 6:25 left in the third period. Green quickly scurried 22 yards down the left sideline.
Green then faked a pitchout and stutter-stepped for eight yards. A holding penalty nullified his next good cutback run. On fourth and three at the 35, Green kept the ball and gained three yards to keep the chains moving.
On fourth down and seven, Green launched a perfect spiral over the middle to Jayden Bankston, who hauled in the 29-yard TD pass near the goal line. He held onto the ball as he went down despite getting hit by two defenders with 43 ticks left.
The missed extra point kept the Ada lead at 33-28. The 77-yard Bulldog drive ate up 5:42.
Henline weaved his way 22 yards to the Ada 37. A left side screen to Short netted 23 yards. Henline ran four yards on a delayed keeper as the 12-0 Ada third quarter ended.
On third and six from the 10, a pass to Coulter fell incomplete in the corner of the end zone. On fourth, Henline's middle screen to Coulter was thrown well low, and Ada took over at its own 10 with 11:52 remaining.
On third and two, Jones converted with a nine-yard run to give Ada needed breathing room. On third and four from the 33, Ada Green connected with Spencer Wall for a clutch six-yard conversion.
On third and one, Green executed a three-yard sneak to again move the chains. Then on third and 10, Green's rollout pass was incomplete so Ada punted short out of bounds at the Bearcat 34 with 4:55 left to play.
On fourth and three at the 39 Coulter was wrapped up well short, and Ada took possession at the Bearcat 39 with 3:22 to go.
The Bulldogs faced third and five at the 34 with 1:48 remaining. Jones hammered five yards to get the clutch first down by inches.
Ada ran the clock down to six ticks left to play on fourth and three at the 21.
Green then fielded a low snap and lobbed a pass purposely high into the end zone to run it down to one second.
On the final play, Henline's long bomb was fittingly intercepted by the ubiquitous Green at the 30 to end the contest.
"We are proud of the kids and the execution we made to stop [Spencerville] in the second half," said Smith. "It was another step in the right direction for the program, but we know we still have a long way to go if we want to compete every single week."
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 7 14 12 0 33
Svl 0 28 0 0 28
Notes and stats
Ada netted 377 yards in total offense on 66 plays for an average of 5.7 yards per play. Spencerville totaled 318 yards on just 40 snaps (8.0 avg.).
The Bulldogs ran the ball 55 times for a season-high 301 yards (5.5 average). The Wildcats carried the pigskin just 10 times for 49 yards (4.9 avg.).
Green completed six of 11 aerials for 76 yards with one TD. He rushed 28 times for a career-best 186 yards. Green also racked up 107 yards on two kickoff returns, with one big score.
Jones rushed 27 times for 115 yards and two TDs.
Henline completed 22 of 28 passes for 225 yards and three TDs. He also rushed for 26 yards. Coulter completed one pass for 44 yards and a score.
Layman ran for 29 yards and caught six balls for 16 yards.
Coulter snagged nine aerials for 94 yards and two TDs. Short hauled in seven passes for 148 yards and two scores. Coulter also had two kickoff returns for 69 yards.
Ada compiled 21 first downs, 17 of which came on the ground, while four were accomplished aerially.
The Bearcats compiled 14 first downs, with just two coming on the ground and 11 through the air, plus one via penalty.
The Bulldogs committed no turnovers, while the Bearcats made one costly turnover. Ada was penalized just two times for 20 yards, and the visitors were flagged three times for 25 yards in the contest.
Ada made it on seven of 15 third down tries, many in key situations to keep the clock running. The Bulldogs went four for six on fourth down.
Spencerville converted four of nine third downs and were 0-2 on fourth down.
Ada held a wide edge in time of possession 34:26 to 13:17 as they wore down the Bearcat defense with a punishing run game.
All 28 of the Bearcat points came in the second quarter as Ada shut them out in the first, third and fourth periods.
Ada in annual Bulldog battle at Grove on October 7
Next Friday, Ada goes on the road to face tough Columbus Grove.
CG is 5-2 and 3-1 in the NWC after a 31-6 win at Crestview Friday. Grove is ranked sixth in Div. VI, Region 22.
Ada is 0-2 on the road, while Grove is 4-0 at home.
CG's two losses came 7-0 at Allen East and 24-13 at Liberty-Benton. They also beat Pandora-Gilboa 34-23, Patrick Henry 7-0, Delphos Jefferson 38-6 and Leipsic 23-0.
