Ada fought hard in their Friday, October 22, home game but lost 49-6 to backyard rival Allen East in the Northwest Conference and regular season finale at War Memorial Stadium.
A fired-up Bulldog squad hung close into the second half.
Trailing 21-6 in the third period, Ada was stopped on fourth and one at their own 41 on a big play. AE scored two plays later and went on to pull away and outscore the purple and gold 28-0 after intermission.
The Bulldogs fell to 1-9 and finished 0-7 in the NWC with the defeat.
AE improved to 7-3 and 5-2 in the NWC with the win, good for third place.
"I thought we played a great first half, but we made too many mistakes in the second half to overcome," said first-year Ada head coach Toby Smith.
"Allen East is a really good football team, and they will win at least two football games in the playoffs," he predicted.
"But I am proud of our seniors and the effort they put forth. The year was very difficult for them, and I am proud of them fighting the good fight the whole way through."
AE took the opening kickoff and drove 61 yards to score. Carter Young scampered 21 yards to paydirt just 73 seconds into the fray to make it 6-0. The point after kick missed.
Ada put together two rushing first downs on its first drive yet had to punt. Mustang Chase Miller hauled in a 20-yard pass from Blake Hersberger, but the Bulldog defense stiffened and forced a punt that pinned the hosts back on their own 12.
AE blocked the Ada punt out of the end zone to take an 8-0 lead with just over two minutes left in the opening stanza.
The Mustangs took over at the Bulldog 44 after the ensuing kickoff. On third and one, Young broke a tackle and scurried 23 yards down the right side to the end zone on the last play of the first period.
The extra point kick by Aiden Robey advanced the visitor lead to 15-0.
Ada freshman Kaine Fisher returned the kickoff 37 yards to the Bulldog 42. The Bulldogs then commenced on a 58-yard drive to score their only touchdown.
Max Puerto hauled in a 12-yard reception from Kadin Phipps to move the chains. Casen Jones netted 21 yards on another catch to the Mustang 11.
Phipps ran for five yards on third and five to give Ada first and goal at the AE one.
On the next play Phipps plunged into the end zone from a yard out to score with 7:24 left in the first half to cap a nine-play, 5:27 march.
Puerto's extra point try was wide right to keep the deficit at 15-6.
AE answered with a 55-yard scoring drive of its own. Hershberger ripped off a 12-yard run to key the drive. He then scored on a three-yard TD run, but the extra point was blocked to make it 21-6 at the 5:30 mark.
Neither team threatened to score the rest of the half.
On the second Ada possession of the third quarter, the game turned. Jones made a diving catch for an eight-yard gain. But on fourth and one, Phipps was stopped short on a run into the line to turn it over on downs.
Hershberger immediately completed a 39-yard pass to a wide-open Keaton Lehman, who made a nice over-the-shoulder catch near the sideline.
Jack Hoel then walked into the end zone off left tackle for a one-yard TD run at the 7:20 juncture to put AE comfortably on top, 28-6.
"The momentum swung there," agreed Smith. "We have to find ways to sustain offense."
The speedy Fisher returned the kickoff to the 31, but the AE defense forced a quick three-and-out series. On the next play, Jack Hoel burst off right tackle and stiff-armed a tackler near the 10 en route to a 57-yard TD run.
Yet another good Fisher kickoff return set Ada up on its own 39. Phipps authored an 11-yard run but the drive sputtered. Grant Preston's punt was downed at the AE five.
The Bulldog defense forced a quick punt and the Bulldogs took over at the AE 36.
Julian Grose snared a nine-yard pass from Phipps to convert third and five. But on the first play of the fourth period, Joe Hoel intercepted a pass and returned it to the 41 to stymie the Ada threat.
Ada senior Jermery Cameron tackled Hershberger for a 10-yard loss, but a 25-yard screen pass to Jack Hoel dug AE out of a hole.
Young then rumbled 44 yards around right end to score with 11:11 remaining. The PAT kick advanced the lead to 42-6.
AE's next drive started at midfield. The quick Hershberger netted 21 yards on a keeper. Two plays later, he scrambled right and connected with Lehman on an eight-yard laser toss with 5:03 left to play. Robey's boot made it 49-6.
Ada senior Cayden Murphy hauled in a 26-yard aerial on Ada's last drive. Fisher caught a nine-yard sideline pass, and Phipps ran for nine more to keep the chains moving.
But the final drive died at the AE 36 as time and the season expired on the running clock.
"We played well, flew around and played with energy. We just have to maintain that level," said Smith.
"We are a full year ahead of where we were last year; the JV kids got in a full schedule with a year of reps and experience," he added.
"I feel good about where the program is from where we started," Smith summed up. "The seniors laid a good foundation. Now we just have to build off of that in the off-season."
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 0 6 0 0 6
AE 15 6 14 14 49
Notes and stats
At halftime, close to 30 members of the 1971 Ada undefeated NWC championship team were recognized as part of a 50th anniversary reunion. Head coach Gary Ricker and assistant Tom Dearth, as well as team managers, were also on hand.
A special commemorative program cover was produced for the game with the names of the players, coaches and managers. A team dinner was held at the park before the game as well.
The 1971 Ada team won the school's first NWC title and outscored its opponents 255-54 on the season.
Ada finished 0-4 at home, while AE improved to 3-3 on the road this season.
The Bulldogs beat the Mustangs 13 times in a row from 2005-2017. But AE has now won the last four meetings by a combined total of 191-28.
