By Cort Reynolds

CRIDERSVILLE__Initially trailing by 6, the visiting Ada High School football team responded with 42 unanswered points to shellack Perry 42-6 in a non-league game on Friday, Sept. 18.

The Bulldogs rallied with two scores in the second stanza to grab a 14-6 halftime lead over the Commodores.

Ada then scored 14 points in each of the third and fourth periods to win decisively. The balanced Bulldog offense hit paydirt on its last six possessions in a row.

Ada improved to 4-1 with the road win, while Perry fell to 2-3 after the home defeat.

“Great team win, I am very pleased for the kids,” said Ada head coach Toby Smith. “The kids didn’t panic, and just kept their heads down and kept working. Then we were able to make some adjustments at halftime that worked well.”

Ada drove 60 yards on 14 plays but missed a field goal on its first drive with 5:09 left. Perry responded with an 80-yard scoring march on just three plays to seize the early lead.

Commodore back Kylen Bullock scurried 69 yards to paydirt to put Perry ahead 6-0. The two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.

Ada responded with a 10-play, 65-yard drive to take the lead for good. A 23-yard pass to senior back Kolton Dysert ignited the march.

Dysert ran for a four-yard TD to tie it, and Andrew Allen’s point-after kick put Ada ahead for good, 7-6, with 9:48 left in the first half. 

The next Bulldog march covered 87 yards in nine plays. Runs of 17 and 15 yards by Dysert sparked the drive. Dysert eventually found the end zone on an 18-yard scoring scamper. Allen’s second PAT made it 14-6 with 51 seconds to go before halftime.

In the first Ada drive of the third period, Dysert ripped off runs of 10 and 14 yards to set up the next score.

Dysert finished it off by scoring on a six-yard run to cap a six-play march as Ada pulled ahead 21-6 with 6:53 to go in the third quarter. 

A 40-yard pass from senior quarterback Blake Zoladz to Thad Smith keyed the next possession, a five-play drive covering 62 yards. The march culminated in a four-yard TD run by Zoladz. Allen’s kick put Ada comfortably ahead 28-6 at the 1:44 mark of the third period.

The purple and gold defense then stopped Perry on fourth and 11 when a pass fell incomplete.

The Bulldogs took over at their 37 and marched 63 yards on five plays to score again on the next possession. A Zoladz 11-yard scamper and a Perry late hit penalty sparked the drive.

Zoladz punctuated the march with a nine-yard scoring run as the visitors increased their lead to 35-6 with 7:41 remaining to play.

Zak Hefner intercepted a Perry pass to stop the next Commodore drive and give Ada saccharine field position.

The Bulldogs went 26 yards on seven plays to score their last touchdown. Dysert ran for 13 yards, then tallied on a four-yard TD jaunt. The sixth Allen PAT provided the final margin of 36.

STATS AND NOTES

The Bulldogs compiled 23 first downs compared to just eight by Perry. The Bulldogs rolled up 245 rushing yards, and they added 144 aerially for a total of 389 on 56 plays (6.9 yards per play).

The Commodores were limited to 155 yards in offense, 130 of which came on the ground, on 36 snaps (4.3 per play).

Ada controlled possession for 30:53 of time, compared to just 17:07 by Perry. The Bulldogs were three for nine on third down and four of five on fourth. Perry was 4-10 on third, and 1-2 on fourth.

The Commodores committed one turnover on a pick-off, while Ada made no miscues.

Dysert ran for career-bests of 157 yards and four TDs on 21 carries. He also snared five receptions for 50 yards.

Zoladz netted 73 yards rushing and tallied two TDs on 12 carries. He completed an efficient 14 of 19 aerials for 149 yards.

Aidin Brown pulled in seven receptions for 48 yards. Smith added two grabs for 51 yards.

Bullock ran for 90 yards and the lone Perry TD on 10 carries. Colten Scott netted 32 yards on 10 runs. Scott was only able to complete three of 14 aerials for 25 yards against the stingy Ada defense.

Bulldog Robert Shanks made four solo tackles. Hefner intercepted a Commodore pass.

UP NEXT

Ada (2-1 BVC) returns home to face league leader Leipsic (5-0, 4-0 BVC) in a crucial Blanchard Valley Conference contest on Senior Night Friday, Sept. 25. The Vikings blanked visiting Pandora-Gilboa 39-0 Friday.

The Bulldogs are 11^th in the preliminary Region 22, Div. VI computer rankings. Unbeaten Leipsic is third in the Div. VII, Region 26 rankings.

The Vikings beat Ada 47-14 in week 10 last year. In 2024, Leipsic lost a 29-26 thriller at Ada in week 10. The very next week in the first playoff round, the Vikings came back to town and eliminated the Bulldogs, 30-22.