By Cort Reynolds

ARCADIA__The visiting Ada High School football team defeated Arcadia 38-28 in a Blanchard Valley Conference shootout opener Friday, August 28.

The Bulldogs improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the BVC with their second straight road win. Arcadia fell to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in BVC play after the home loss.

“It was a good win for the team,” said Ada head coach Toby Smith. “We need to clean a bunch of things up if we want to keep winning. The kids played hard. Now we have to play hard with more discipline.”

The contest featured a back-and-forth battle between two potent offenses piloted by fine quarterbacks.

Ada senior QB Blake Zoladz authored a sack, followed by a Tyler Stauffer interception to thwart the first Redskin drive. The Bulldogs capitalized on the short field after his return by driving 33 yards to score and take the lead.

Senior back Kolton Dysert capped the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run. Andrew Allen’s first of five successful extra point kicks put Ada on top 7-0 with 7:53 left in the opening stanza.

An 18-yard Redskin pass moved them across midfield late in the first period. But a sack by T.J. Griffith and Matt Walker stalled the march. 

Arcadia finally scored after recovering a muffed punt at the Bulldog 31, recovered by Aiden Allshouse. Trip Brubaker connected with Nick Moes on a 24-yard TD completion to tie it 7-7 after the PAT kick with 4:22 left in the first stanza.

Ada regained the lead for good on the ensuing drive. Zoladz quickly connected on a pass to Wes Mowery at the Redskin 40, and he ran it the rest of the way to paydirt for a 59-yard, catch-and-carry TD. With 3:09 still left in the second stanza, it was 14-7 Bulldogs. After a quick defensive stop, Ada got the ball back at midfield with over two minutes left.

An 11-yard aerial to Brown ignited the two-minute drill. Zoladz hit Thad Smith for a 26-yard pass to the Arcadia five.

A five-yard scoring jaunt by Dysert in the final minute extended the Ada lead to 21-7.

Arcadia took possession near midfield on the ensuing possession. Five plays later, Brubaker hit Liam Brockschmidt for a four-yard TD strike, and he booted the extra point to inch Arcadia within 21-14.

Four quick Zoladz passes got Ada into field goal range as time ran down. Senior Allen then kicked a 40-yard field goal to extend the lead to 24-14 at halftime.

A Redskin drive to start the second half stalled shy of midfield, and they punted. Arcadia forced a quick punt and then embarked on a 61-yard scoring march in just four plays. 

Brubaker sparked the drive with a 32-yard run and a 16-yard completion. Brubaker then cut the deficit to 24-21 when he scampered into the end zone from 12 yards out and kicked the extra point with 7:24 left in the third period.

Zoladz answered his counterpart by leading a nine-play, 70-yard scoring march. He authored runs of 10 and 11 yards, then hit Dysert for 14 more. Dysert kept the momentum going as he scampered 20 yards to the 11.

Zoladz then found paydirt on a six-yard run to restore the lead to 10 at 31-21 with 2:15 left in the third stanza.

Yet Brubaker came back and spearheaded an 86-yard, nine-play scoring drive. He punctuated the march by speeding 48 yards to the end zone. His long TD run and PAT cut the Ada lead to 31-28 with 10:57 left in the seesaw battle.

The Bulldogs started at the Redskin 47 after a short kickoff and Stauffer return. On fourth and three, Zoladz completed a clutch pass to Wes Mowery for nine yards to move the chains and keep the ball from Brubaker and the Redskin offense.

Then on third and nine, the Ada QB struck again with a 30-yard scoring aerial to Brown. The PAT kick gave Ada a little breathing room at 38-28 with 5:15 to play, and made it a two-possession game again with time running short.

Walker sacked Brubaker for an eight-yard loss near midfield on the next Redskin drive. On fourth and 18, a Brubaker pass was incomplete to give Ada possession at the 44.

After a Bulldog punt, Griffith helped stymie the last Arcadia drive with a sack at the 47. A long incompletion on the next play ended the hard-fought game. 

Notes and stats

Ada compiled 19 first downs to 18 chain-movers by the Redskins. The Bulldogs threw for 208 yards and rushed for 158 to amass 364 total yards on 53 plays (6.9 per play).

Arcadia rushed for 161 yards and passed for 165 yards to amass 326 yards on 59 snaps (5.5 per play).

Zoladz completed 13 of 19 passes for 206 yards and two TDs. He also rushed 17 times for 75 yards with one TD.

Dysert carried the ball 14 times for 82 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught three receptions for 25 yards. 

Brown snared five aerials for 62 yards and one score. Mowery hauled in three passes for 93 yards and a 59-yard TD. Smith added a 26-yard reception. Allen scored eight key points kicking.

Zoladz also made four solo tackles, four assists and a sack. Griffth made two sacks and a tackle for loss. Walker was in on a pair of sacks. Mowery and Brown made four solo stops apiece. Stauffer made an interception.

Brubaker completed 20 of 34 passes for 210 yards and a pair of TDs. He also rushed 11 times for 149 yards and two more scores. He accounted for 359 yards in total offense and four TDs.

Brockschmidt caught six passes for 64 yards and one TD. Price snagged five aerials for 26 yards. Moes hauled in three passes for 60 yards and a TD. 

Ada committed just one penalty for five yards. Arcadia was flagged five times for 40 yards. The Bulldogs were one of eight on third down and 2-2 on fourth down. The Redskins were 3-12 on third down and 1-3 on fourth.

Ada possessed the ball for 27:44, while Arcadia had the ball for 20:16. The Redskins committed the game’s only turnover.

Unbeaten Ada is ranked eighth in the preliminary week three Div. VI, Region 22 ratings.

The Bulldogs play their home opener on Friday, Sept. 4 vs. Arlington (0-2, 0-1 BVC). The Red Devils trailed by 26 at halftime in week two Friday and lost at Van Buren, 55-12. VB (2-0, 1-0 BVC) is ranked sixth in region 22.

Arlington also lost 29-8 to Elgin in their opener.