By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Ada will try to rebound from a disappointing loss in their home opener to LCC when they kick off Northwest Conference play at four-time defending league champion Delphos Jefferson Friday.
Ada (2-1) can get a leg up on its quest for a first NWC title since 2013 with a win at the Wildcats. But they will have to play much better than they did in the 41-21 loss to LCC.
After a mostly close first half, the dangerous Jeff-Cats (2-1) hammered Paint Valley 54-20 last Saturday afternoon. Jefferson previously lost to Shawnee 27-6 at home in their opener, then edged past Versailles 14-7 in week two.
"Jefferson plays pretty consistent defense but they are not as explosive on offense as they have been," said Ada fifth-year head coach Bob Olwin (29-18). "They have a couple good fullbacks, but no one as good as (graduated) Hunter Binkley."
Binkley was the NWC Offensive Player of the Year in 2016, and led DJ to one-sided wins over Ada the past two seasons by a combined score of 95-7. The Bulldogs will be out to avenge those defeats and re-assert themselves as one of the NWC favorites this week.
"They play pretty physical, and have five to six guys back on both sides of the ball," said Olwin of Jefferson. "They have a couple fast receivers with a tall quarterback. They run the wing T and put (Brenen) Auer in the slot to one side.
"Auer can hurt you," he continued. "They throw the ball to (6-5 Davion) Tyson and Auer, and Kole McKee is also a fast receiver."
Ada shared the NWC title with DJ in 2013. The Bulldogs beat the Wildcats 25-20 and then 27-22 in the playoffs that fall, both times in Delphos. Since then Jefferson has won their last three meetings handily (10-0, 51-7 and 44-0 last year).
Despite their recent success, the Wildcats experienced an off-season head coaching change. Chris Sommers, who guided DJ to three straight outright NWC titles from 2014-16, left this past January to take over the reins at arch-rival Spencerville.
Wildcat assistant and Napoleon native Brandon Behnfeldt was moved up to replace Sommers at the Jefferson helm in February.
The Wildcats (region 24) and Ada (region 22) are both rated 11th in the latest Div. VI computer rankings.
The loser Friday will put itself behind the eight ball in the hunt for an NWC title and also hurt their playoff chances, adding extra significance to the annually intense contest.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday. "It is a big game, the league opener," said Olwin. "Delphos will come out and play hard. We will have to earn it."
