By Cort Reynolds

ARLINGTON __The visiting Ada football team was outscored 21-7 in the second half and lost 34-14 to Arlington in the Blanchard Valley Conference opener on Friday, September 5.

The Bulldogs fell to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the BVC with the road defeat. Meanwhile, the Red Devils improved to 3-0 and 1-0 in league play after the home win.

The Bulldogs fell behind early and never caught up. Red Devil quarterback Josh Heacock tossed five touchdown passes to pace the victors.

Arlington tallied touchdowns on their first two possessions, and scored six-pointers on four of their first five drives to put the game out of reach.

“Our kids played hard,” said Ada head coach Toby Smith. “The team we played is a very experienced team, and we gave them a good fight. We have to have better technique on both sides of the ball if we want to be able to beat a team that has that many seniors playing.”

The Red Devils drove 68 yards to score on an eight-play drive with 7:58 left in the first period to draw first blood. 

Ayden Cavinee pulled in a 13-yard TD reception from Heacock to open the scoring. Joseph Leisure kicked the extra point to provide a 7-0 lead.

After an Ada punt, the Devils took over at their 23 and marched 77 yards in 13 plays over 6:07 to score again. Tall Calvin Willow grabbed a screen pass from Heacock and rambled 16 yards to paydirt to make it 13-0 after the extra point missed.

Ada drove to score on its third possession to get back into contention. The Bulldogs marched 75 yards in 11 plays to hit paydirt. Junior quarterback Blake Zoladz scored on a five-yard TD run to cap a 5:58 drive.

Andrew Allen’s extra point kick cut the deficit to 13-7 with 3:20 left in the first half. The margin stayed at six to intermission.

On the first drive of the third period, Arlington marched 61 yards in seven plays to take control.

Elijah Frysinger scored on a five-yard TD aerial from Heacock to cap the three-minute drive. The two-point conversion pass failed, keeping the score at 19-7.

Ada turned the ball over on downs at the Red Devil 38 after their next possession stalled. The hosts maneuvered 62 yards on five plays to find the end zone again. Frysinger pulled in a 10-yard scoring strike from Heacock to cap the drive.

Heacock connected with Willow on the two-point conversion pass to make it 27-7. The teams then traded interceptions as Ada ballhawk Kayleb Hickman picked off Heacock. 

On their next possession, Arlington drove 55 yards in eight plays to tally its fifth and last touchdown. Cavinee found paydirt on a 23-yard reception from Heacock. 

The Leisure PAT kick extended the lead to 34-7.

Ada scored its second and last TD with 3:41 left in the fourth period as the Bulldogs marched 42 yards to the end zone. Zoladz covered the last nine yards on his second TD run to climax the drive. 

Allen’s PAT kick cut the final deficit to 20 points.

Notes and stats

Arlington amassed 23 first downs, while Ada compiled 10.

The Bulldogs were out-gained by the Red Devils in total yardage, 348-162. Ada netted 100 passing yards and 62 on the ground. The Bulldogs were four of nine on third down, and 0-3 on fourth down. 

Arlington went three for eight on third down, and 2-2 on fourth.

The Devils racked up 242 ground yards, and they netted 106 more through the air.

Zoladz completed nine of 19 passes for 100 yards with one interception. He also rushed 12 times for 29 yards and both Ada TDs. The junior signal-caller amassed 129 yards in total offense.

Hickman carried the ball 10 times for 33 net yards. He also caught one pass for 17 yards.

Oldfield snared a team-high six passes for 54 yards. He also returned two kickoffs for 54 yards. T.J. Griffith added a 29-yard reception.

Hickman contributed four solo tackles and five assisted stops to add to his interception.  

Allen punted twice for an average of 34 yards per boot, and drilled both of his PAT tries. 

Heacock completed 10 of 19 passes for 106 yards and five TDs with one pick-off. He also ran the ball 15 times for 83 yards to account for 189 yards in total offense.

Cavinee rushed the ball 15 times for a game-high 138 yards. He also caught two TD aerials for 36 yards. 

Willow grabbed three receptions for 29 yards and a TD. Frysinger added two scoring catches for 23 yards.

Both teams committed one turnover.  

Ada was penalized three times for 36 yards, while Arlington was flagged five times for 35 yards. The Bulldogs earned 19:45 in possession time compared to 28:15 by the Devils.

Ada dropped to eighth in the preliminary Div. VII, Region 26 computer rankings after the loss.

Bulldogs host Royals next Friday

Ada returns home in week four to host Blanchard Valley Conference foe Elmwood (0-3) on Military Night Friday, Sept. 12. 

The Royals (0-1 BVC) lost 30-14 to visiting league foe Leipsic in their BVC opener Friday. It will be Elmwood’s first road game after having three home contests to start the season. They lost to Lakota 40-13 in the opener, and to Huron 48-12 in week two.

Ada hammered Elmwood 43-14 in their first-ever meeting last Sept. 13 in Bloomdale.