ADA __ The Ada High School football team jumped ahead on the very first play and went on to a 42-0 romp over visiting Buckeye Central in the home season opener on a hot Friday night, August 30.
Senior Kaine Fisher returned the opening kickoff 85 yards to paydirt to score the first of his three touchdowns. Ada was in complete control all the way and led 35-0 at the half.
The Bulldog defense recorded its first shutout since a 28-0 win over Delphos Jefferson in week seven last year.
Senior quarterback Levi Green ran for two touchdowns and passed for two more scores in a well-balanced effort.
The Bulldogs improved to 2-0 with the win, while BC fell to 0-2 after the defeat. Ada is off to its first 2-0 start since 2017, the last year they made the playoffs.
“The kids played hard,” said Ada head coach Toby Smith. “It is nice to see us clean up a bunch of mistakes from last week” (at USV).
BC won the opening toss but deferred possession to the third period, which backfired. Fisher took the kick, waited patiently for a seam to open and then sped through the opening to the end zone.
Andrew Allen’s extra point kick just 12 seconds into the game gave the hosts an early 7-0 lead.
The teams traded punts. The Bulldog defense forced a second straight three-and-out possession, and Ada took over on their own 27 with 6:46 left in the opening stanza.
Fisher ran for nine yards on two carries to set up third and one. Green then kept the ball off the right side, broke one tackle and out-sprinted the Buck defense 64 yards down the right sideline to the end zone.
Allen’s second PAT boot put the Bulldogs ahead 14-0 with 5:24 still left in the first period.
A tackle for a loss of three by Landon Simon and Cobe Harris thwarted the next BC drive. The Bucks got off a short punt, but it hit a Bulldog, and the visitors recovered the loose ball at the Ada 49.
But the Bulldog defense stiffened again. After a BC holding penalty, Kolton Dysert read a screen well and dropped the receiver for a loss of four yards. On third and 18, Buck QB Jack Phillips was called for intentional grounding to force another short punt.
Ada took over at the BC 43 and quickly cashed in three plays later. Green ignited the drive by weaving left for 21 yards. On second and 12, he found Zack Zimmerman open over the middle at the 10, and he rumbled in to score after the catch for a 22-yard TD reception.
Allen’s third extra point kick stretched the Bulldog margin to 21-0 with 1:39 still remaining in the first quarter.
The stingy Ada defense again held BC without a first down and forced a punt, with the Bulldogs taking over at their own 47. Fisher sparked the march with a 24-yard run to the left.
Green scrambled for six yards, with a facemask penalty tacked on as the period ended.
On second and goal from the nine, Green scampered into the end zone to cap the 53-yard, six-play drive. Allen’s PAT kick extended the lead to 28-0 11:55 before halftime.
The Bucks finally authored a good march on the ensuing possession. Starting from their own 20, they drove downfield behind two passes of 37 total yards from Jack Phillips to Alec Phillips.
An eight-yard keeper by Phillips later led to third and two from the Bulldog 16. But Phillips underthrew his receiver, and Kayleb Hickman intercepted around the two and returned it 27 yards to the 29.
Ada then drove 71 yards in seven plays to hit paydirt again. A screen left to Trevor McGue started the march with an eight-yard gain. On third and two, Green scurried 17 yards to move the chains.
Fisher ran for seven yards, then caught a six-yard aerial. After a penalty, Fisher grabbed a left-side screen from Green and ran 25 yards to the end zone at the 5:01 mark. Allen’s PAT kick put Ada comfortably ahead, 35-0.
BC went three-and-out again and Ada started the next possession at their own 34. Two passes to Gavin Oldfield gained 18 yards before a long aerial was picked off by the Bucks at their own 13.
BC put together a short drive, but time ran out in the half. The running clock was started in the third quarter.
The Bucks received the second half kickoff and drove from their 24 to the Ada 10. Runs of 21 and 18 yards by QB Phillips ignited the march. He also completed a fourth down pass of 20 yards to Bloomfield.
But then Brody Erickson came up with a five-yard tackle for loss to help force fourth and 16. A pass by Phillips into the far right corner of the end zone fell incomplete to turn it over on downs.
Ada took over on its own 15 and drove 85 yards in three plays to score its last TD. Fisher spun off a tackler near the line of scrimmage, then used good speed to out-run the defense 79 yards to the end zone with 31 seconds left in the third period.
Allen’s fifth PAT kick extended the margin to 42-0.
BC fashioned a drive just across midfield. But Hickman snared his second interception near the 30 and returned it 70 yards to paydirt, only to have the TD negated by a penalty.
“We had a great team effort all-around,” said Smith.
| 1 2 3 4 | Final | |
| ADA | 21 14 7 0 | 42 |
| B C | 0 0 0 0 | 0 |
Bulldogs host first BVC game on Friday.
Ada hosts Arlington in their first-ever contest as a member of the Blanchard Valley Conference in week three next Friday, September 6.
“We will watch the film and get to work on trying to get ready for Arlington,” said Smith.
Arlington is 2-0 after thrashing Riverdale on the road Friday, 31-7. The Red Devils have outscored their opposition 84-40 thus far.
The Red Devils beat visiting Hardin Northern 53-33 in a week one shootout.
