By Cort Reynolds
MT. BLANCHARD __ The visiting Ada High School football team decisively defeated Blanchard Valley Conference rival Riverdale 35-7 Friday night, October 4, to earn their fourth consecutive victory.
Ada scored 22 points in the first period to seize control and never was seriously threatened.
The Bulldogs improved to 6-1 overall with the convincing victory. Ada is tied with Leipsic and Pandora-Gilboa for second place in the BVC at 4-1.
Ada plays both of those tough teams in their final two regular season games.
The Falcons fell to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the BVC with the loss.
“The kids played well and executed well,” said Ada fourth-year head coach Toby Smith. “The defense played good assignment football, and our offense was clicking.
”We still have a ton of room for improvement,” he added.
Ada drove 75 yards in seven plays to score on their first possession. Senior quarterback Levi Green capped the drive by scoring on a 30-yard touchdown run.
The extra point kick by sophomore Andrew Allen put the visitors ahead, 7-0.
The Bulldogs marched 77 yards in just four plays to score on their next drive.
Green connected with Kayleb Hickman at the 32, and the junior galloped down the sideline to complete a 65-yard catch-and-carry TD pass. Allen’s second PAT kick made the lead 14-0 with 4:36 left in the first stanza.
After the Bulldog defense stuffed Riverdale for a second straight time, Ada drove to score on its third straight possession. This march took three plays and covered 60 yards.
Ada senior running back Kaine Fisher ran the ball to paydirt on a jet sweep from eight yards out to put the Bulldogs ahead 20-0 with seven ticks left in the opening stanza. Green scored on a two-point conversion fake and run to the end zone to make it 22-0.
An interception stopped the next Ada drive, but the Falcons fumbled the ball back. Neither team scored the rest of the half as the Bulldogs maintained a 22-point lead at intermission.
Ada scored on its second drive of the third period. Riverdale turned the ball over on downs at the Bulldog 13, and Ada drove 87 yards in four plays to basically put the game out of reach.
Fisher scored again on a 51-yard TD run with 2:35 left in the third period. A two-point conversion pass was picked off by Riverdale in the end zone to keep the margin at 28-0.
Riverdale marched 64 yards in seven plays to tally their lone TD and avoid a shutout. Falcon back Kydin Reed scored on a 33-yard run early in the fourth quarter. The extra point kick cut the Ada lead to 28-7.
The Bulldogs responded with a 48-yard, two-play scoring possession to score their fifth and final TD. Fisher netted his third six-point run of the game from 30 yards out.
Allen’s third PAT try in as many attempts was good to provide the final margin of 28 points.
“We will enjoy this win and get back after it, and attempt to go 1-0 next week,” said Smith.
The decisive win avenged a 40-27 week two Ada loss at the Falcons last year, when the foes were non-league combatants.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 22 0 6 7 35
Rdl 0 0 0 7 7
Notes and stats
The Ada offense compiled 381 yards on 37 plays (10.3 yards per play). Riverdale amassed 167 total yards on 49 snaps (3.4 avg.). The Bulldogs racked up 18 first downs, compared to just nine by the Falcons.
Thirteen of the Ada chain-movers came on the ground, with two more through the air and three via penalty. Four of the Riverdale first downs were on the ground, with three coming by the pass and two by flag.
The Bulldogs netted 251 rushing yards on 28 runs (9.0 avg.) and 130 yards aerially. The Falcons netted 132 rushing yards on 34 carries (3.9 avg.), and added just 35 passing yards.
Green rushed 13 times for 118 yards and one TD, his 10th. He also completed five of 10 passes for 132 yards and one score. In all, he accounted for 250 total yards in offense.
Senior back Fisher carried the ball nine times for 121 yards and three scores to give him 12 TDs on the year. He also caught one pass for nine yards.
Kayleb Hickman grabbed four aerials for 123 yards and one TD. He hauled in a 65-yard TD reception, and made another long catch. Hickman added two kickoff returns for 51 yards, with a long return of 38.
Gavin Oldfield added one rush for 10 yards.
Reed netted 62 yards and one TD on 10 carries for Riverdale, with a lost fumble. Grant Inbody completed five of 12 passes for 41 yards.
Brody Erickson made six solo tackles and had two assists to top the defense. He had two sacks.
Zimmerman was in on seven stops, with six assists and one solo tackle. Landon Simon made four solo tackles and had one assist. Dalton Amos made three solo stops and assisted on four.
Blake Zoladz made five assists and one solo tackle. Liam Vieira recovered a Falcon fumble and made three solo tackles. Amos, Trevor McGue and Cobe Harris each made one tackle for a loss.
Ada committed one turnover on a pick, while Riverdale was guilty of one miscue via fumble.
The Bulldogs were penalized seven times for 62 yards, while the hosts were flagged six times for 61 yards. The Falcons enjoyed 26:29 of possession time, while Ada had the ball for 21:31.
The Bulldogs converted one of six times on third down and were 0-0 on fourth. Riverdale was successful on just three of 14 third down tries, and was 0-1 on fourth down.
With their fourth straight win, the Bulldogs remain in excellent playoff position, and they are also in serious BVC title contention, only a game out of first place.
Ada has compiled an impressive 249-105 scoring margin through seven games. They average 35.6 points a game and give up 15.0 ppg.
Struggling Riverdale has now scored just 74 points (10.6 ppg) and allowed 223 (31.9 ppg) through seven games.
League co-leaders Liberty-Benton and Pandora-Gilboa met Friday, with host L-B winning 38-21 to sit alone atop the BVC at 5-0.
P-G dropped to 4-1 with the defeat, tied with Ada and Leipsic for second place in the league standings. The Vikings rallied to edge McComb 30-27 Friday.
The Bulldogs were fifth in the preliminary Div. 7, Region 26 post-week seven computer rankings. USV (6-1) remained fourth after a 30-0 win at Dayton Christian despite losing to Ada at home in the season opener, 15-14.
Columbus Grove (7-0) is ranked first in region 26. Edon (7-0), coached by former Ada mentor Bob Olwin, moved up to second. Gibsonburg (5-2) fell to third.
Bulldogs entertain VB on Homecoming
Ada hosts Van Buren on Homecoming in another key Blanchard Valley Conference contest in week eight Friday, October 11.
The Black Knights are 4-3 overall and 3-2 in BVC play after beating winless Arcadia Friday, 29-8. VB has outscored its opposition 159-88 through seven games.
The Bulldogs are 2-1 at War Memorial Stadium. The Knights are 2-1 on the road. Among common opponents, VB whipped Riverdale 48-0 in week five at home. The Knights also beat Arlington 21-14 in week four.
Ada then visits Pandora-Gilboa (4-3, 4-1 BVC) in a key week nine battle.
