By Grant Pepper

With Ada’s 42-17 win over Bluffton on Friday, the Bulldogs stayed in contention for the playoffs. They rose to seventh in the unofficial Division 6 Region 22 rankings (the top eight make it in), and now have a 72 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to high school football analyst Drew Pasteur’s acclaimed Ohio Fantastic 50 projections.

Ada will need to win on Friday against Allen East in their regular season finale, however, and they will also need some help. Here is who Bulldog fans should be rooting for on Friday night to help their team make it into the playoffs:

●      Seneca East (7-1) to beat Carey (7-2). Seneca East is currently fourth in region, Carey is fifth. Seneca East is favored by 2.

●      West Unity Hilltop (8-1) to beat Gibsonburg (8-1). Gibsonburg is ranked sixth in region. Gibsonburg is favored by 11.

●      Plymouth (4-5) to beat Ashland Crestview (6-3). Ashland Crestview is ranked eighth in region. Ashland Crestview is favored by 15.

●      Fairview is ranked ninth but plays Antwerp (1-8) tonight, so chances to get in are slim (2%).

●      Smithville (6-3) to beat Hillsdale (6-3). Hillsdale is ranked tenth in region. Hillsdale is favored by 2.

Ada will also be cheering on conference rival Delphos Jefferson (6-3) as they take on Spencerville (7-2), and Arlington (4-5) as they take on Leipsic (7-2). If Jefferson and Arlington win, that boosts Ada’s ‘strength of schedule,’ because Ada already beat both of those teams earlier this season.

Regardless of what happens in those games, Pasteur predicts that Ada will have an 85 percent chance of making the playoffs if they win on Friday. And if they get in, they will likely be the 8-seed and play top-seeded Findlay Liberty-Benton. There is also a decent chance that they could be bumped up to the 7-seed, which would likely put them against 2-seed Bucyrus Wynford.

But first, the Bulldogs will need to control what they can control -- and that’s beating Allen East on Friday night.

Want to listen to Friday night’s must-win game against the Mustangs? Tune into wonb.net for the hometown radio call. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. from War Memorial Field, with Sportsbeat 94.9 FM’s pregame coverage starting at 6:30 p.m.

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