By Cort Reynolds
COLUMBUS GROVE - Host Columbus Grove rode a potent quick-strike offense to a 52-18 win over Ada in their annual Northwest Conference Bulldog battle Friday night at Clymer Stadium.
CG (2-0, 2-0 NWC East) cruised to a 49-6 halftime lead to pave the way for the one-sided victory. Meanwhile, Ada fell to 0-2 overall and 0-2 in the NWC East with the loss.
"Grove dominated up front on both sides of the ball," said Ada third-year head coach Shawn Christopher. "They are a very good football team, and I see them as one of the best in the area.
"We put ourselves in bad positions early with penalties that stalled drives for us, and they dominated field position all night," he added.
CG rolled up 35 first-period points on five touchdowns, and was never headed. The hosts took the opening kickoff and quickly scored on a 20-yard pass from Blake Reynolds to Gabe Clement.
Bo Birnesser ran for a 13-yard TD moments later. After the defense held Ada, Colin Metzger then returned a short punt 35 yards to paydirt for the third CG score with 4:48 left in the first stanza.
After another Grove stop on defense, Metzger returned the next punt 43 yards to the end zone to make it 28-0 at the 2:28 juncture.
Reynolds then scored on a 15-yard run with 40 seconds to go in the first period and extend the lead to 35-0. Rece Verhoff's fifth straight point after kick in as many tries capped the 35-point period.
Reynolds connected with Brenton Renner on a 17-yard TD strike with 7:56 left in the half to balloon the cushion to 42-0.
Senior quarterback Brandon Hull got Ada on the scoreboard via a seven-yard TD run with 5:57 left in the first half. The point after kick was no good to keep the margin at 42-6.
Metzger scored on a two-yard run in response to build the margin to 49-6 by intermission.
Verhoff booted a 31-yard field goal with 2:57 left in the third quarter to extend the margin to 52-6.
The elusive Hull scored on a 64-yard scamper with 6:42 remaining to account for Ada's second TD. The two-point conversion failed to keep the score at 52-12.
Brandon Hull completed a 10-yard scoring strike to junior back Keagan Hull with 2:55 left to finish the scoring. The two-point run came up short to keep the final margin at 34.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 0 6 0 12 18
CG 35 14 3 0 52
Notes and stats
Ada ran 41 plays and compiled 296 net yards (7.3 avg.). Grove racked up 17 first downs to 11 for the purple and gold.
Scoring quickly and on two punt returns, CG ran just 45 plays and compiled 293 yards in total offense (6.5 average). Grove rushed 32 times for for 198 yards (6.8 avg.).
Ada ran 24 times for 197 yards (8.2 avg.).
In limited action, Reynolds completed six of eight passes for 88 yards with two TDs, and he also ran for 43 yards. Metzger rushed for 79 yards on 16 carries. Ryan Bogart netted 53 yards on six rushes.
Metzger returned three punts for 111 yards and two game-breaking TDs.
Hull completed 11 of 17 passes for 101 yards with one TD and one interception. He also rushed for a game-high 191 yards on 19 carries with one TD. Hul accounted for 292 yards in total offense.
Keagan Hull caught five passes for 70 yards and one TD.
Cayden Murphy pulled down three aerials for seven yards.
Colton Biederman made one reception for 19 yards, and Cam Bober contributed two short catches.
Ada committed one turnover. Meanwhile, CG fumbled the ball away twice. Ada was penalized six times for 55 yards, and CG was flagged five times for 50 yards.
The purple and gold were 3-10 on third down conversions, and 0-1 on fourth down. CG was 3-9 on third down and 0-0 on fourth.
Ada has been outscored 93-32 so far this season in two games. In the first half of both games, the margin has been a combined 90-6.
Ada hosts Bluffton in week 3
In their first home game of the season September 11, Ada entertains fellow winless local rival Bluffton for a key week three encounter.
The Pirates (0-2, 0-2 NWC East) lost 41-7 at Grove in its opener, and fell 46-22 at home to Allen East in week two despite leading 14-0 early on. Ada lost at AE in their opener, 41-14.
"Bluffton is a huge game for us this week as we finish the round robin and get ready for the NWC tournament," said Christopher. "It's crucial to get off to a good start and play a clean game, and not hurt ourselves with penalties or turnovers," he added.
Bluffton has been outscored 87-29 in its two games. They do possess dangerous offensive weapons in speedy senior back/receiver Tyson Shutler, junior third-year starting quarterback Nate Schaadt and 6-4 wideout Jackson Wilson.
It will be the last divisional game in NWC East pool play before the first-ever conference tournament starts in week four Sept. 18. The pool play records will determine tourney seeding against the NWC West teams.
Crestview whipped Paulding 38-14 as each team went to 1-1, while Spencerville (2-0) stomped winless arch-rival Delphos Jefferson 41-8 in the week two NWC West games.
