ABOVE) Seniors on the 2024-2025 Ada High School football team with Coach Smith.
By Cort Reynolds
ADA __ The Ada High School football team rallied in the final two minutes to defeat Blanchard Valley Conference rival Leipsic 29-26 in an epic seesaw regular season finale on Senior Night, October 25, at War Memorial Stadium.
The lead changed hands seven times, including four occasions in the second half as Ada recaptured the lead for good in the final 90 seconds to win a thriller.
Trailing 26-21, Ada senior quarterback Levi Green completed a 56-yard touchdown pass to Kayleb Hickman with 1:27 left to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
The two-point conversion run by senior Kaine Fisher gave Ada a three-point edge, and they dodged a last-ditch rally by Leipsic to hold on and win.
The Bulldogs conclude their stellar regular season with an 8-2 overall record, a five-win improvement over last year. They concluded their first BVC season with a 6-2 league mark to finish in sole possession of third in the conference standings.
The Vikings fell to 6-4 overall and 5-3 in BVC play after the close loss, which knocked them out of third into a tie for fourth place in the league with McComb (7-3, 5-3 BVC).
Liberty-Benton (9-1) beat Van Buren 37-7 in their regular season finale, thus the Eagles won the league crown outright at 9-0. VB ended up 5-5 and 4-4 in the BVC.
“What a great football game,” said Bulldog fourth-year head coach Toby Smith. “We are very proud of our kids and how hard they have worked to get to this point.
“Leipsic is a very good team, and we made just enough plays to get the win,” he added.
Green had previously tied it 20-20 when he burst through a line scrum on a clutch fourth and two run to paydirt from 16 yards out with 10:56 remaining.
The extra point kick by sophomore Andrew Allen made it 21-20, Bulldogs.
But on the ensuing possession, Leipsic freshman quarterback Marc Kirkendall led the Vikings on an eight-play, 61-yard scoring drive.
Senior wideout Ty Lammers found the end zone on a seven-yard run to put Leipsic back on top 26-21 in the back-and-forth battle. Kirkendall’s two-point conversion pass fell incomplete to keep the lead at five.
That set up the winning Ada drive and last-minute preservation of the precarious lead.
The Bulldogs took the lead immediately when Hickman grabbed the opening kickoff and returned it 85 yards up the right side to the end zone. Allen’s extra point made it 7-0 just 12 seconds into the game.
Senior Liam Vieira recovered a Viking fumble two plays later to continue the momentum. But Ada wasn’t able to capitalize on the good field position.
On their third possession, the Vikings drove 65 yards to score. Kirkendall connected with the 6-3 Lammers on a seven-yard scoring strike with 40 seconds left in the opening stanza.
The freshman then completed a two-point conversion pass to put Leipsic in front, 8-7.
Ada responded with a 62-yard scoring march. Green authored runs of six and nine yards to help reach the Viking 43 before he was sacked for a loss of 10 by senior end Quinn Westhoven.
But a 13-yard pass to Gavin Oldfield, and eight-yard runs by Kaine Fisher and Green reached the Viking 11. Fisher then sped around left end 11 yards to paydirt to return the lead to the Bulldogs with 7:03 left in the first half.
The Allen PAT made it 14-8, Bulldogs.
Leipsic responded with a 62-yard scoring drive of its own. Kirkendall’s 44-yard aerial to Lammers ignited the march. A third and long slant to Lammers kept the chains moving.
Lammers later scored on a one-yard run off right tackle to tie it 14-14 at the 4:19 mark. The two-point conversion pass was no good to keep it tied.
The game went to halftime knotted up at 14-all.
Leipsic took the second half kickoff and crossed midfield on a penalty. The Vikes recovered their own fumble, but on the next play Blake Zoladz picked off a Kirkendall toss to give Ada the ball at their own 44.
The Bulldogs drove to the Leipsic 32, but a fourth and 10 pass was incomplete under Westhoven’s heavy rush.
The Vikings marched 68 yards to regain the lead. A 16-yard slant to Lammers, and a 20-yard aerial to Lammers on the sideline sparked the drive.
Ada sophomore Kolton Dysert came up with a five-yard tackle for loss. But on fourth and nine, Kirkendall faded backward and coolly lofted a pass over the middle. Marquis Williams ran under it, caught the ball at the five and ran in to complete a 14-yard TD pass.
But once again their two-point conversion pass failed as Zoladz batted it down in the backfield to keep the Ada deficit at 20-14 with just 31 seconds left in the third period.
The Bulldogs’ ability to convert four of four extra points, and Leipsic’s inability to convert them (1-4) helped spell the difference in the final outcome.
Ada then drove 51 yards in nine plays to retake the lead 21-20 with 10:56 remaining.
Leipsic drove 61 yards in eight plays to yank the lead back, 26-21. Ada then marched 60 yards in just three plays to effect the seventh and last lead change of the night at 29-21 with 87 ticks remaining.
After the Bulldogs stopped Leipsic on downs, they fumbled the ball back to the Vikings with just 26 seconds left. Leipsic was able to gain 25 yards to the Ada 41, but time expired before they could go any further.
“The players have earned this (week 11) home playoff game,” Smith noted.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 7 7 0 15 29
Leip 8 6 6 6 26
Notes and stats
The Ada offense totaled 243 yards on 51 plays (4.8 yards per play). Leipsic amassed 347 total yards on 61 snaps (5.7 avg.). The Bulldogs compiled 14 first downs, while the Vikings amassed 18.
Ten of the Ada chain-movers came on the ground, with four amassed aerially. Leipsic earned seven first downs on the ground, with 11 more coming by the pass on the strong arm of their freshman QB.
The Bulldogs netted 139 rushing yards and added 104 passing yards.
Green rushed 24 times for 92 yards and one TD. He lost one of his two fumbles. He also completed nine of 15 passes for 108 yards and one score with no interceptions. Green totaled 200 yards in offense.
Senior back Fisher carried the ball 10 times for 47 yards and one score.
Kayleb Hickman caught four aerials for 77 yards and one TD.
Oldfield made three receptions for 25 yards, and his fumble after one grab was alertly covered by Hickman. Zack Zimmerman added one catch for eight yards.
The promising Kirkendall completed 16 of 32 passes for 285 yards and one TD with two interceptions.
Lammers snagged seven receptions for 185 yards and one TD.
Aaron Hazelton was held to 30 yards on 15 carries, while Lammers added 21 ground yards on six runs with three TDs. The Ada defense limited Leipsic to just 62 net yards rushing on 29 carries (2.1 avg.).
Dysert made four solo stops and two assists, plus one big tackle for loss. Hickman had four solo tackles and two assists.
Zimmerman was in on six stops, including five assists. Dalton Amos made three solo tackles and three assists, with a tackle for loss. Zoladz added four assists, a pick and one pass break-up.
Ada committed one turnover, while Leipsic was guilty of three costly miscues.
The Bulldogs were penalized four times for 45 yards, while the Vikings were flagged just once for 10 yards. Leipsic had 20:37 of possession time, while Ada held the ball for 27:23.
The Bulldogs converted just two of nine tries on third down and were 2-4 on fourth. Leipsic was successful on six of 11 third down tries, and was 1-4 on fourth down.
The Bulldogs will host a first-round playoff game, probably a rematch with Leipsic. The top eight ranked teams in region 26 earn a home game in round one.
Despite the big win, the Bulldogs stayed sixth in the preliminary Div. VII, Region 26 computer rankings late Friday night.
USV (9-1) finished second in the region 26 rankings after beating North Baltimore Friday to win the NWCC title outright. The Rams have won nine in a row since losing at home to Ada in the season opener, 15-14.
Columbus Grove (10-0) stayed first in region 26 after thrashing previously unbeaten Bluffton 42-0 Friday in their NWC title showdown.
Gibsonburg (8-2) stayed third in the ratings. Sycamore Mohawk (8-2) finished fourth, with Edon (9-1) fifth. Tiffin Calvert (6-4) fell to seventh.
Bulldogs back in playoffs
Ada makes its first playoff appearance in seven years when they host an undetermined opponent next weekend, November 1 or 2.
It will be the first Bulldog home playoff contest since November 5, 2016. New Bremen drubbed Ada 58-21 that night behind all-state tailback Will Homan.
From 2005 through 2017, the Bulldogs went to the playoffs 12 times in 13 years, and went 13-13. They advanced to the state semifinals in 2007, and made the quarterfinals in 2008-09.
Ada will likely play a rematch in consecutive weeks vs. Leipsic (6-4) in the first round. The talented Vikings were 11th in the preliminary rankings late Friday night. County rival Hardin Northern is 10th at 6-4 after losing three of their final four games, while McComb is 12th at 7-3.
Pandora-Gilboa (7-3), which finished second in the BVC at 7-1, is ranked ninth and will likely play at LCC (7-3) in round one.
Ada has amassed a healthy 338-183 scoring margin through 10 games. They average 33.8 points a game and give up 18.3 ppg.
The Bulldogs are 4-1 at War Memorial Stadium, and are 4-1 on the road. Leipsic is 4-1 on the road, but went just 2-3 at home with losses to Liberty, P-G and Millbury Lake.
