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Hickman tallies two pick 6 returns

By Cort Reynolds

ADA__The Ada High School football team pulled away with a 30-0 second half to pound winless visiting Riverdale 51-10 in a Blanchard Valley Conference game on Homecoming night Friday, October 3 at War Memorial Stadium.

The Bulldogs led 21-10 at halftime, then took control with a 21-0 third period to win going away.

Ada cashed in on three interception returns for touchdowns, as well as a blocked punt return for another defensive six-pointer. Along with a late safety, the Bulldog defense accounted for 26 points.

Ada improved to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the BVC after the blowout victory. The Falcons fell to 0-7 overall and 0-5 in BVC play following the defeat.

“We played much better in the second half,” said fifth-year Ada head coach Toby Smith. “The kids played more physical and aggressive. We will need to continue to play like we did the second half if we want to have success going forward.”

Ada missed a 39-yard field goal after their game-opening drive stalled at the Falcon 22.

Riverdale drew first blood on the ensuing 71-yard, six-play march. Grant Inbody connected with Kydin Reed at the five and he went the rest of the way to the end zone for a 10-yard scoring reception. 

The extra point was good to put the Falcons ahead 7-0 with 8:20 left in the first period.

The Bulldogs then drove 60 yards in three plays to tie it up. Junior quarterback Blake Zoladz hit senior Kayleb Hickman at the 34 and he took it the rest of the way for a 53-yard touchdown reception. The extra point tied it 7-7 at the 4:14 mark. 

On the next Falcon drive, Hickman intercepted an Inbody pass and returned it 35 yards to paydirt to put Ada ahead for good. The extra point by Andrew Allen put the hosts ahead 14-7 with just over four minutes left in the quarter.

The Bulldog defense forced a punt and the offense embarked on a 14-play, 73-yard scoring drive. Junior Kolton Dysert capped the long march with an eight-yard TD run to extend the lead to 20-7. Allen’s third PAT boot stretched the lead to 14 with 8:26 to go in the half.

Riverdale answered with a long 13-play drive of its own. Dysert came up with a big 10-yard sack to temporarily stall the march, but Inbody responded with a 12-yard run. However, the Bulldog defense stiffened to force fourth and 10 at their own 14.

Falcon Cameron Snook came on to kick a 31-yard field goal that was good to pull Riverdale to 21-10 with 1:50 left in the first half.

The Falcons received the second half kickoff and picked up two first downs. But Wes Mowery then intercepted an Inbody aerial and returned it 37 yards to the end zone for a pick six touchdown at the 10:26 mark.

The PAT kick extended the Ada lead to 28-10.

Hickman then intercepted Inbody again and returned the pick 26 yards to the end zone at the 8:46 mark. The Allen PAT ballooned the margin to 35-10.

Dysert sacked Inbody again on the next Falcon possession to force fourth and 12. Ada blocked the Snook punt, Tyler Stauffer picked up the loose pigskin and returned it 10 yards to paydirt for another big-play TD to enact the running clock.

Allen’s sixth extra point kick in as many tries made it 42-10 with 7:44 left in the third stanza.

The Ada defense then forced a turnover on downs at the 45 after a fourth down incompletion. A 35-yard reception by Zack Zimerman gave Ada first and goal at the eight.

After a sack, Zoladz found Hickman on an 11-yard TD toss with 11:12 left to play. The seventh straight extra point by Allen upped the score to 49-10.

Inbody was later sacked for a 10-yard loss in the end zone by Bryce Purdy for a safety to close the scoring with Ada on top by 41.

     SCOREBOARD
     1 2 3 4 F

Ada 14 7 21 9 51

Rdl 7 3 0 0 10

Notes and stats

Ada netted 232 yards in total offense on just 32 plays. The Bulldogs averaged 7.3 yards per play. Ada ran for 135 yards and passed for 97 total yards. 

The Bulldogs earned 12 first downs, eight on the ground and four aerially. The Falcons moved the chains nine times - one by rush, seven by air and one by penalty.

Riverdale netted just 169 yards in offense on 41 snaps, an average gain of 4.1 per play. The Falcons netted just 39 yards rushing and amassed 130 net yards passing.

Zoladz completed five of six passes for 106 yards and two scores with no interceptions. He also ran 11 times for 77 yards with a long rush of 13. The QB compiled 183 yards in total offense.

Dysert netted 57 yards rushing on 10 carries with one TD. His longest run covered 13 yards.

Senior Hickman snagged two passes for 64 yards and a pair of scores. Along with the two pick six returns, he scored four TDs.

Senior Zimmerman hauled down two receptions for 38 yards. 

Mowery had four solo tackles and a pick six. Dysert contributed two sacks.

Inbody completed 17 of 33 aerials for 158 yards and one TD with three costly interceptions. He also rushed four times for 21 yards.

Cale Young led the Falcons with eight catches for 74 yards. He also had an 18-yard run.

The Falcons were penalized seven times for 51 yards, while Ada was flagged five times for 56 yards. 

The Bulldogs were two of five on third down, while Riverdale was just one for seven. Ada went 1-1 on fourth down, while the visitors were 1-2.

The Falcons committed three costly turnovers for TDs, while Ada made no miscues. Riverdale had 28:37 in possession time, while Ada had the ball for 19:23.

Due to all the defensive scores, the Bulldogs scored on three of their mere five offensive possessions. 

Ada improved to 4-0 at home this season. The Bulldogs have outscored their opposition 155-55 at home.

Ada at Van Buren on October 11

After two home blowout wins, the competition toughens as Ada is back on the road at Van Buren (4-3, 3-2 BVC) for a pivotal week eight league game. 

The Black Knights stomped Arcadia 55-0 Friday to win their third consecutive BVC contest.

The Bulldogs are 1-2 in away games, while VB is 3-0 at home. The Knights lost three straight road games in weeks two through four, but have rebounded to even their league mark with three blowout victories. 

VB has outscored its opposition 138-14 during their three-game win streak. Against their three common opponents with Ada, the Knights lost to Arlington 28-10, beat McComb 35-14 and blanked Riverdale 48-0. 

The Bulldogs lost 34-14 at Arlington and fell 49-0 at McComb.

Leipsic and Liberty-Benton are tied atop the BVC at 5-0. Both powerhouse squads are 7-0 overall.

The Bulldogs are in a four-way tie for third place in the league standings with Arlington, Van Buren and Pandora-Gilboa.

Ada hosts solid Pandora-Gilboa (4-3, 3-2 BVC) in week nine, then visits Leipsic in week 10. P-G lost at home to L-B Friday, 42-9.