PHOTOS by Mark Andreasen / CLICK gallery to enlarge and view at your own pace

By Cort Reynolds

ADA__Behind a 35-point first-period outburst, the Ada High School football team hammered visiting Blanchard Valley Conference foe Elmwood 50-20 on a warm Military Appreciation Night Friday, Sept. 12 at War Memorial Stadium.

The Bulldogs improved to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the BVC with the decisive win. The Royals dropped to 0-4 and 0-2 in BVC action after the defeat.

“The kids handled the adversity of the game well,” said fifth-year Ada head coach Toby Smith. “That first quarter was the difference in the game. We were able to keep the pressure on.”

Ada tallied a whopping five first-period touchdowns, and was never seriously threatened.

The Bulldogs drove 60 yards in three plays to score on the game’s first possession. A 38-scoring pass got Ada on the board initially as they found paydirt on their first six drives.

The first of six extra point kicks by Andrew Allen put the hosts on top 7-0 at the 10:28 mark.

The Bulldog defense then forced a turnover on downs, and the purple and gold took over on the Royal 40. 

Athletic Ada senior wideout Gavin Oldfield cashed in on the good field position as he scored on a 25-yard reception to double the lead to 14-0.

The Royals answered with a 58-yard, seven-play scoring drive to get on the scoreboard. Marcus Mossbarger found the end zone on a nine-yard run, but the two-point pass was incomplete to keep Ada in front by eight points at 14-6.

Bulldog junior quarterback Blake Zoladz rushed for a 26-yard touchdown to punctuate the ensuing Ada scoring drive of three plays and 42 yards. The Allen PAT boot stretched the advantage to 21-6 midway through the lengthy opening stanza.

Ada then scored again on a five-play, 44-yard march. Zoladz punched it over the goal line on a five-yard run to make it 28-6 with 2:24 left in the first period.

On their next possession, Bulldog junior Kolton Dysert hit paydirt on a four-yard rush to bulge the cushion to 35-6. The run finished a 36-yard, five-play drive.

Elmwood drove 58 yards in seven plays to score a TD with 9:46 left in the half. Mossbarger caught an 18-yard scoring aerial from Gage Evans to cut the Ada lead to 23. The two-point run was successful by Michael Oliver to make it 35=14.

But relentless Ada answered with another scoring march, this one of 62 yards on four plays. Zoladz connected on an aerial with T.J. Griffith at the four, and he ran the rest of the way to complete a 24-yard TD play. 

The six-pointer helped advance the lead to 42-14 at intermission after a penalty-marred first half.

Elmwood scored on a 75-yard drive to open the second half. The march took 5:19 on eight plays. 

Mossbarger hit the end zone on a 17-yard scamper to finish the drive. But his two-point pass fell incomplete to keep the score at 42-20 with 6:41 left in the third period.

Ada scored on its only possession of the third quarter, covering 51 yards in nine plays. Zoladz capped the march with a three-yard TD scamper. Hickman ran in the two-point conversion to put Ada ahead by 30.

1 2 3 4 F

Ada 35 7 8 0 50

Elm 6 8 6 0 20

Notes and stats

Ada rolled up 358 yards in total offense on just 39 plays, and amassed 20 first downs. The Bulldogs averaged 9.2 yards per play. Ada ran for 132 yards and passed for 226 yards.

The Royals totaled 258 yards in offense on 40 snaps, an average of 6.5 per play.

The efficient and accurate Zoladz completed 11 of 12 passes for 159 yards and two scores. He also ran 12 times for 86 yards and three TDs. He amassed 245 yards in total offense.

Oldfield snagged four passes for 85 yards and one TD, with his longest reception covering 35 yards. 

Senior Zack Zimmerman hauled in three passes for 43 yards, with a long gain of 25.

Senior Kayleb Hickman caught two passes for 23 yards. T.J. Griffith hauled in two passes for 25 yards, including the 24-yard TD grab.

Dysert rushed eight times for 35 yards and one score. He also pulled in three receptions for 24 yards.

Allen stayed perfect over the past two seasons on extra point kicks by going 6-6.

Royal ace Mossbarger rushed 21 times for 144 yards and two TDs. He also caught three passes for 20 yards and one score.

Elmwood completed six of nine aerials for 112 yards and one TD. Luke Carr added three catches for 76 yards.

The Royals were penalized 12 times for 107 yards, while Ada was flagged nine times for 92 yards. 

The Bulldogs were 1-3 on third down, while Elmwood was just 1-6. The visitors fumbled four times, but did not lose any of them.

The lopsided win made the Bulldogs 2-0 vs. Elmwood as a BVC member. The 50-point output was Ada’s highest of the season, surpassing the 42 scored in a week two win at Waynesfield.

Ada was ranked ninth in the Div. VII, Region 26 computer ratings coming into Friday, and moved up to eighth in the preliminary ratings with the win.

Ada at Panthers week 5

In week five, Ada visits solid league foe McComb (2-2, 1-1 BVC). The Panthers won 56-0 at Arcadia (2-2, 1-1 BVC) Friday night. 

The Panthers lost to Liberty-Benton 52-9 in their league opener. They also beat Toledo Christian 41-7 in week two.

The Bulldogs beat McComb 35-20 last year in Ada. The Panthers are 12th in the preliminary Region 26 rankings after week four.