By Cort Reynolds
COLUMBUS GROVE--The Ada High School football team fought hard but lost to Columbus Grove 38-12 in a Northwest Conference contest Friday night, October 7, at Clymer Stadium.
The purple and gold trailed just 17-6 at halftime.
"It was a great first half by the (Ada) 'Dogs," said Ada second-year head coach Toby Smith. "We had a couple of short fields that we had to get stops on, and we did.
"After halftime we needed to come out and establish a drive to keep our momentum going, and we didn't," he continued. "The kids kept fighting. We need to play four quarters."
Ada fell to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in the NWC with the defeat.
Meanwhile, CG improved to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in league play with their third straight win. The victory, coupled with Bluffton's 30-14 loss to first-place Allen East, pulled Grove into a second-place tie with the Pirates in the league standings.
CG visits Bluffton in the regular season finale.
Grove's Landon Best scored on a five-yard run to open the scoring with 4:28 left in the first period. Shep Halker's point after kick made it 7-0.
Halker then converted a 23-yard field goal five seconds into the second quarter to provide a 10-0 lead.
Two minutes later, Best completed a 47-yard TD pass to Trenton Barraza. The extra point kick put the hosts ahead 17-0 with 9:55 to go in the half.
Ada sophomore quarterback Levi Green found paydirt on a two-yard run with just 32 seconds to go in the half. The PAT kick missed to keep the Ada deficit at 11 by halftime.
Barraza found the end zone on a three-yard TD run at the 7:33 mark of the third period to extend the Grove lead to 24-6.
A.J. Schafer then scored on a four-yard run with 10:05 remaining in the game. The Halker PAT advanced the CG lead to 31-6.
Best then connected with Halker on a 13-yard TD pass with 5:39 left to play. Halker also booted the PAT for a 38-6 lead.
On the final play of the game, big-play Green scampered 85 yards to paydirt. The extra point missed to keep the final margin at 26.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 0 6 0 6 12
CG 7 10 7 14 38
Notes and stats
Ada netted 208 yards in total offense on 43 plays for an average gain of 4.8 yards per play. CG totaled 358 yards, also on 43 snaps (8.3 avg.).
The Ada Bulldogs ran the ball 32 times for 130 yards (4.1 average). Grove carried the pigskin 31 times for 139 yards (4.5 avg.).
Green completed seven of 11 passes for 78 yards. Green rushed 23 times for 145 yards and two TDs.
Rowan West caught two passes for 64 yards. Spencer Wall grabbed three aerials for eight yards.
Best completed an efficient nine of 11 aerials for 219 yards and two TDs.
Barraza rushed for 91 yards on 15 carries. He also snared two receptions for 58 yards and one TD.
Schafer added 29 yards rushing, while Halker netted 28 yards on the ground. Halker also grabbed four passes for 132 yards and one score.
Ada was limited to seven first downs. Five came on the ground. one through the air and one by penalty.
Grove compiled 17 first downs, with 10 coming on the ground ansix through the air, plus one via penalty.
Both teams committed one turnover, with Ada fumbling the ball and picking off one pass. Each team was penalized three times for 25 yards in the contest.
Ada made it on two of 12 third down tries, and went 1-2 on fourth down. CG converted two of six third down attempts and was 1-1 on fourth down.
Levi Sousley punted four times for an average of 39.5 yards per boot.
Ada won in time of possession, 27:36 to 20:24.
Ada entertains Crestview in home finale
Next Friday, Ada entertains Crestview in its sixth and final home game of the 2022 season.
Crestview is 4-4 and 1-4 in the NWC after getting past Spencerville 21-7 on the road in week eight. A 14-0 second half gave the Knights their first league win
The Knights started out 3-0 in non-league play, but then lost four in a row before beating the Bearcats. Crestview's three non-conference foes have a combined record of 6-18.
The three Ada non-league foes have amassed a combined mark of 20-4.
The Knights lost 17-14 to Bluffton and 21-7 to Delphos Jefferson 21-7. They also fell to Grove 31-6 and beat the Bearcats as the fourth common opponent with Ada.
The Bulldogs lost 31-7 at Bluffton and 48-21 at home to DJ. Ada also beat Spencerville, 33-28.
Ada is 2-3 at home, while Crestview is 2-1 on the road.
