Photo by Sue Mattson. Ada junior Phillip Coulson runs upfield after making one of his nine catches in the 30-16 Bulldog win over rival USV Friday in the
season opener.
By Cort Reynolds
ADA - The Ada football team will host its second straight non-league foe Friday when they welcome Arlington to War Memorial Stadium in week two.
The Red Devils beat Riverdale 40-7 in their opener last Friday. Arlington led 14-7 at halftime and 21-7 late in the third quarter before blowing the Falcons away late.
"Arlington has a really good receiver (Ivan Berry) who gave us trouble last year," said first-year Bulldog head coach Shawn Christopher. Berry caught 11 passes for 164 yards vs. Ada last fall.
The Devils also feature a confident senior returning starter at quarterback in Jacob Russell. He threw for 405 yards last year vs. Ada with three touchdowns and three interceptions before suffering a late injury.
The Bulldogs won 34-20 last September 1 at Arlington, holding the hosts to just five yards rushing.
"Arlington only runs a few things on offense, but they do them very well," said Christopher. "They always play extremely hard, so you can't let up for a second. They just come at you and try to blow you off the ball, so we have to stay fundamentally sound and play hard for 48 minutes.
"They have a very athletic, hard-nosed fullback (senior Evan O'Rear)." Junior Carter Essinger is the Devil tailback.
"Defensively, they are very aggressive and run a lot of exotic blitzes we have to prepare for," Christopher noted.
"They bring a lot of edge blitzes from their outside linebackers and safeties," he continued. "Brandon (Hull) will have to step up in the pocket and keep his eyes downfield. And our receivers have to make themselves available and find holes in their zones."
Hull passed and ran for 249 yards with three TDs in his first varsity start in week one, a 30-16 win over rival USV.
"It is a pretty even matchup," said Christopher. "If we don't capitalize on our opportunities, it will be a very tough game. We need to stay balanced offensively."
Ada has captured two of the last three meetings between the schools.
"They have things going in the right direction over there," summed up Christopher. "Coach McGrain does a great job. I am excited to keep getting better and look forward to building on the things we did well vs. USV, as well as get in better shape and correct the errors we made."
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
