By Cort Reynolds

McCOMB__The visiting Ada High School football team fell behind early and lost 49-0 to McComb in a Blanchard Valley Conference contest on Friday, September 19.

The Panthers raced to a 28-0 halftime lead and scored 14 points in each of the first three quarters.

Ada fell to 3-2 overall and 1-2 in the BVC after the defeat. McComb improved to 3-2 and 2-1 in BVC play following the victory.

“We struggled to match their physical play,” said fifth-year Ada head coach Toby Smith. “We will work on being more aggressive going forward.”

Ada drove into Panther territory to start the game off in promising fashion, but the Bulldog offense stalled and they had to punt.

McComb then methodically drove 85 yards on 10 plays over nearly four minutes to score and take the lead. The Panthers tallied on a three-yard TD run by dual threat quarterback Grady Schroeder with 4:04 left in the first period to break out on top, 7-0.

Three plays later the Bulldogs fumbled, and it was recovered by the Panthers at the Bulldog 29. Five plays later, the hosts capitalized on a three-yard TD run by back Gracin Romero with 92 ticks left in the first stanza to double their lead to 14-0.

Ada was forced to punt after its third series, and the Panthers marched 65 yards over four plays for another touchdown in just 76 seconds. Romero eventually found the end zone on a seven-yard run to cap the quick scoring drive.

The third PAT kick by Luke Kern extended the Panther lead to 21-0 with 11:54 left in the half.

Ada drove inside the Panther 10-yard line after a 59-yard screen pass from Blake Zoladz to Wesley Mowery. But on fourth down, another costly Ada fumble was recovered by McComb at the 10 to thwart the best Bulldog march of the night.

The Panthers later put together an 80-yard, eight-play drive to paydirt that took just under three minutes. Schroeder connected with Kern on a 27-yard TD pass with just 43 seconds left in the half to extend the margin to 28-0.

McComb took the second-half kickoff and marched 68 yards in 10 plays to score again. Schroeder rambled 21 yards to paydirt to score a TD that capped a four-minute drive and made it 35-0 at the 6:57 mark.

Kern then picked off a Zoladz pass and returned it 37 yards to the end zone to provide a 42-0 cushion with 3:48 left in the third stanza.

Schroeder tacked on one more TD on a 24-yard run with 5:43 remaining to play. The 61-yard drive took six plays and 2:37 of clock time. Kern’s seventh PAT kick added the final score.

1 2 3 4 F

Ada 0 0 0 0 0 

McC 14 14 14 7 49

Notes and stats
Ada was held to a season-low 156 yards in total offense on just 32 plays. The Bulldogs averaged 4.9 yards per play. Ada ran for 60 yards and passed for 96 yards.

The Bulldogs were limited to four first downs, while the Panthers moved the chains 23 times.

The Panthers totaled 422 yards in offense on 51 snaps, an average gain of 8.3 per play. McComb rolled up 325 yards rushing on 41 carries for a 7.9 avg. per run.

Ada junior quarterback Blake Zoladz completed seven of 12 passes for 99 yards and no scores with one interception. He also ran 13 times for 53 yards with a long run of 21. He amassed 152 yards in total offense.

Mowery had one catch for 59 yards. Gavin Oldfield snared two passes for 14 yards. Senior Kayleb Hickman had one reception for 18 yards. Hickman also netted 70 yards on four kickoff returns. 

Junior Kolton Dysert added 50 yards in kickoff returns. Jacob Szippl contributed a sack for a loss of 11.

Senior Zack Zimmerman made eight solo tackles and had two assists. Thad Smith added five solo stops.

Andrew Allen punted five times for an average of 33.4 yards per kick.

McComb QB Schroeder completed eight of nine aerials for 97 yards and one TD. He also rushed 21 times for 183 yards and three TDs. In all he accounted for 288 yards and four scores.

Romero ran the ball 15 times for 122 yards and a pair of TDs.

Kern caught five passes for 80 yards and one TD. He also was successful on seven of seven PAT kicks.

The Panthers were penalized three times for 30 yards, while Ada was flagged five times for 45 yards. 

The Bulldogs were just one for seven on third down, while McComb was six for nine. Ada committed three costly turnovers on two fumbles and one interception. McComb made turnovers. 

Redskins in Ada Sept. 26
Ada (2-0 home) returns to War Memorial Stadium to host Arcadia (2-3, 1-2 BVC) in a week six league bout Sept. 26. The Redskins lost at unbeaten Leipsic on Friday, 43-22.

Leipsic and Liberty-Benton are tied atop the BVC at 3-0. Both teams are 5-0 overall.

Ada then hosts winless Riverdale (0-5, 0-3 BVC) in week seven as well.