By Cort Reynolds
ADA - A short-handed Ada football team will play its first road game this season when they visit former league rival Lima Central Catholic in week three this Saturday night.
"We have 12 guys out for a multitude of reasons, including injuries," first-year head coach Shawn Christopher noted. "The roster for Saturday is depleted, down from 38 players to 26."
The Thunderbirds (2-0) knocked off Delphos St. John's 20-10 in Lima last Friday night. LCC also won at Spencerville 34-19 in the season opener.
"LCC is a good team with speed, especially off the edges," said Christopher. "Scott (Palte) does a great job coaching and they will be tough to beat. I can see them making a playoff run into week 11 or 12.
"They have some good athletes."
After losing four key players to injury last week in a defeat to Arlington, Ada might get a boost from the disabled list with the return of a key sophomore receiver. Some other players will also be deployed in new positions.
"Hopefully we will get Zac Swaney (broken arm) back at receiver this week, depending on how he practices," Christopher. "Brandon Hull will have to play some defense; I was hoping to keep him on offense only to stay fresh, but he will have to play corner.
"I am excited to see what Cayden Murphy can do as a freshman starting at linebacker," he continued. "Ty Miller will get more reps on the defensive line, as will Bryce Paul. We have guys who will have to go the full 48 minutes.
"We need to have guys step up for us at new positions. We will have two brand new outside linebackers in Hall (normally a defensive lineman) and Murphy."
Ada is likely to resort to more of a ball control, running offense to shorten the game and limit LCC's offensive touches.
"We have been running the ball pretty well; I am hoping we can drain the clock and limit their possessions," Christopher explained. "Landon Blankenship is a tough kid who runs hard."
"LCC can be explosive - we want to keep them under six possessions per half," he continued. "Our defense has to force them to make lengthy drives. On offense we have to string together first downs to keep the clock moving and give ourselves a chance."
Last year the T-Birds rushed for 403 yards and threw just eight passes vs. the Bulldogs in a 41-21 win at Ada. This season they are still a run-oriented team with a new signal-caller.
Neven Stolly is a junior starter for the T-Birds at quarterback; Brendan Stolly was their senior QB last fall.
"They run a lot of jet sweeps and Stolly is a good ballhandler," said Christopher. "He throws a decent ball. If he gets time to throw, they can be dangerous with their speed. We want to get some pressure on Stolly."
Christopher noted that LCC boasts a top-notch wingback in sophomore Shaun Thomas. "He is a stud. We have to get to their running backs before they start going downhill. We have to get hats on the ball and play fundamentally sound defense."
LCC is likely to bring a lot of pressure against the elusive Hull, who as a sophomore will be making his third varsity start under center.
"Defensively, they use six guys in the box in a 4-2 or 3-3 alignment," said Christopher. "LCC will bring a lot of pressure and blitz up to 80 percent of time."
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Saturday at Lima Stadium. "It should be a good atmosphere and fun to play on Saturday night in Lima," said Christopher.
