ABOVE) Photos of 2024 Ada High School Homecoming at War Memorial Stadium; The 2024 Homecoming Queen and King are Lexi Poling and Brody Erickson.
By Cort Reynolds
ADA __ The Ada High School football team won its fifth straight game with a convincing 46-18 triumph over visiting Blanchard Valley Conference foe Van Buren to celebrate Homecoming Friday night, October 11.
The Bulldogs improved to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in BVC play with the victory.
Ada is tied with Pandora-Gilboa for second place in the BVC, a game behind Liberty-Benton (6-0). L-B drilled Leipsic 38-0 Friday to drop the Vikings to 4-2.
The Bulldogs play at P-G next week, and host a 5-3 Leipsic squad in the regular season finale.
VB dropped to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the BVC after the loss at Ada.
“We are very pleased with how our kids handled themselves,” said Bulldog fourth-year head coach Toby Smith. It was a chippy game marred by 19 penalties, mostly against a frustrated VB squad.
The Black Knights were flagged for over 150 yards.
“We played hard and made some plays when we needed to,” Smith noted. “Our offense and defense played well, and we made a couple of plays on special teams.”
Ada senior quarterback Levi Green got the hosts on the board early. On the second play from scrimmage, he faked a handoff and sprinted 72 yards untouched to paydirt on a keeper.
The extra point kick by sophomore Andrew Allen put the Bulldogs ahead, 7-0 just 24 seconds into the fray.
After a quick stop by the defense, the Bulldogs marched inside the Black Knight 30 after an 18-yard run by the speedy Green. But Ada turned it over on downs after a fourth and 10 pass came up three yards short.
VB responded with a good drive inside the Bulldog 30, but a holding penalty negated a good run and eventually forced a fourth and nine punt.
The Bulldogs took over on their own 21 and marched 79 yards in 10 plays to score. Green converted third and seven with a 14-yard scramble. Later on third and four, the clutch QB ran right and dove into the front corner of the end zone from 22 yards out for his second TD.
Allen’s second PAT kick increased the lead to 14-0 with 6:55 left in the first half.
Another holding penalty and an unsportsmanlike flag helped pin VB deep in its own territory on the ensuing possession. On second and 32, the Knights fumbled, and Dalton Amos pounced on the loose pigskin at the VB eight.
Three plays later senior back Kaine Fisher capped the short drive with a four-yard TD run that extended the margin to 21-0 with 4:44 left in the second stanza.
VB then scored on a 76-yard drive to get back in the game. Senior quarterback Grady Mason completed a 52-yard TD bomb to Alex Homan to cut the deficit to 21-6 at the 1:12 juncture.
The extra point kick sailed wide right to keep the Ada lead at 15.
A 24-yard run by Fisher kick-started the next Bulldog possession. But Ada had to punt, and Allen’s 36-yard boot rolled dead at the 20. VB dangerously tried to pass from inside its 10 after a holding penalty, but ultimately ended up running out the clock to intermission.
The Knights took the second half kickoff and marched 73 yards to paydirt behind good Mason passing. Aerials of 17 and nine yards moved VB past midfield. A long pass down the sideline was on target for a score, but it was dropped.
Homan later made a fine leaping grab along the right sideline at the Ada four to complete a 28-yard reception. Mason then plunged into the end zone from a yard out to slice the lead to 21-12 with 6:08 left in the third period.
Mason’s two-point pass try failed after they consumed 5:47 on the long march.
Ada’s next drive was ignited by an excellent 45-yard leaping grab from athletic Gavin Oldfield. A facemask penalty was tacked onto the catch for a 60-yard gain to the Knight 10 as the visitors continued to hurt themselves with major penalties.
But consecutive false start flags forced Ada to settle for a field goal, and Allen drilled it from 32 yards at the 3:35 mark to put the Bulldogs in front, 24-12.
Mason returned the ensuing kickoff to the 45. But Kayleb Hickman intercepted his third and 18 pass and returned it to the VB 45. Yet another Knight flag added onto the end of the play cost them 15 more yards to the 30.
A late sideline hit on Green gave Ada 15 more yards to the VB 15. Fisher then spun off two tacklers and sprinted left into the end zone from 14 yards out with 1:38 remaining in the third quarter.
Allen’s PAT boot gave Ada some temporary breathing room, up 31-12.
The Knights responded with a 75-yard scoring drive that bridged the final two periods. Homan’s 38-yard reception started the march. He later made a nice catch and run to the Ada 2.
Mason then punched it into the end zone from two yards out to cut the Ada lead to 31-18 with 11:27 left to play. However, another two-point conversion pass came up short to keep the lead at 13.
Ada then drove 62 yards to score and all but seal the outcome. Green’s 39-yard scamper up the middle to paydirt made it 37-18 with exactly nine minutes left.
Oldfield completed a two-point pass to Trevor McGue in the right corner of the end zone to balloon the lead to 39-18.
Ada then surprised VB with an on-sides kickoff that Liam Vieira recovered at the Knight 34. Green immediately scurried 23 yards against the stunned VB defense.
Three plays later, Oldfield recovered a Bulldog fumble in the end zone to stretch the margin to 45-18 with 7:07 left to play. Allen’s sixth PAT try in as many attempts was good to make the final margin 28 points.
Ada’s big edge in the kicking game was key as they failed to convert a single point after try, while Bulldog place-kicker Allen scored nine points on perfect accuracy.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 7 14 10 15 46
VB 0 6 6 6 18
Notes and stats
The Ada offense rolled up 445 yards on 53 plays (8.4 yards per play). VB amassed 270 total yards on 48 snaps (5.6 avg.). The Bulldogs compiled 24 first downs, compared to 15 by the Black Knights.
Seventeen of the Ada chain-movers came on the ground, with three more through the air and four via big penalties. Just four VB first downs were earned on the ground, with 10 coming by the pass and one by flag.
The Bulldogs netted 378 rushing yards and added 67 aerial yards. Ada averaged 8.4 yards per carry on 45 rushing attempts. The Knights netted just 38 rushing yards and threw for 232 passing yards.
Green rushed 22 times for 249 yards and three scores to give him 13 TDs this fall. He also completed seven of eight passes for 67 yards. In all, he accounted for 318 total yards in offense.
Senior back Fisher carried the ball 15 times for 101 yards and two scores to give him 14 TDs on the year. He also caught three passes for eight yards.
Oldfield hauled in three grabs for 59 yards.
Knight QB Mason completed 16 of 31 passes for 232 yards and one TD with one interception.
Homan snared nine aerials for 168 yards and a TD. Josiah Chapin rushed five times for 26 yards. The Ada defense held VB to just 2.4 yards a carry.
Vieira made four solo tackles and added two assists to his on-sides recovery. Amos made two solo stops and had three assists, plus a fumble recovery.
Ian House authored three solo stops and one assist. Zack Zimmerman was in on three tackles. Fisher, Zimmerman, Amos, Blake Zoladz and Brody Erickson each had one tackle for loss.
Ada committed no turnovers, while VB was guilty of two miscues on a fumble and pick.
The Bulldogs were penalized seven times for 51 yards, while the Knights were flagged a whopping 12 times for 151 costly yards. The Knights had just 15:27 of possession time, while Ada held the ball for 32:33.
The Bulldogs converted seven of 11 tries on third down and were 2-2 on fourth. VB was successful on five of nine third down tries, and was 0-0 on fourth down.
With their fifth straight win, the Bulldogs remain in excellent position to host a first-round playoff game. They are also in serious BVC title contention in their first year as league members, only a game out of first place.
Liberty-Benton (7-1) remained atop the BVC at 6-0 after bombing Leipsic 38-0 on the road Friday. L-B’s only loss came at Columbus Grove in week two, 42-14. Ada does not play the first-place Eagles this season.
The Bulldogs are fifth in the preliminary Div. 7, Region 26 computer rankings. USV (7-1) has won seven in a row and moved up a spot to third in the rankings despite losing to Ada at home in the season opener, 15-14.
Powerhouse Columbus Grove (8-0) remains ranked first in region 26. Edon (8-0), coached by former Ada mentor Bob Olwin, fell from second to fourth. Due to a better strength of schedule, Gibsonburg (6-2) jumped over them into second in the early ratings returns late Friday night.
Bulldogs visit Rockets Fri.
Ada visits tough Pandora-Gilboa in another key league contest between teams tied for second in the Blanchard Valley Conference Friday, October 18 in week nine.
The Rockets are 5-3 overall and 5-1 in BVC play after whipping winless Arcadia 55-13 on Thursday.
P-G has outscored its opposition 228-188 through eight games. They average 28.5 points a game and allow 24.5 ppg. The Rockets are rated 11th in the Div. VII, Region 26 computer rankings.
Ada has compiled an impressive 295-123 scoring margin through seven games. They average 36.9 points a game and give up 15.4 ppg.
The Bulldogs are 4-0 away from War Memorial Stadium, while P-G is 2-1 at home. Their home defeat came to unbeaten Bluffton in week two, 42-0. They also fell to another undefeated NWC team at Columbus Grove 35-7 in the opener.
Among common opponents the Rockets beat Arlington 49-28 in week five at home, while Ada lost to the Red Devils 44-43 in week three. Ada beat VB 46-18.
P-G blanked Elmwood 34-0 while Ada beat the Royals, 43-14. The Rockets also won at Van Buren 41-14 in their BVC opener Sept. 6.
Ada then hosts fourth-place Leipsic (5-3, 4-2 BVC) in the regular season finale Oct. 25. P-G also nipped the Vikings 21-18 in week four.
