By Cort Reynolds / Photographs by Mark Andreasen

ADA__The Ada High School football team defeated visiting Arlington in a 41-28 shootout to celebrate the home and Blanchard Valley Conference opener on a hot night Friday, September 4 at War Memorial Stadium.

Ada jumped out to leads of 15-0 and 22-6 at the half but had to stave off a rally by the potent Red Devils. Scrappy Arlington pulled within 29-28 in the fourth quarter. But Ada responded well by scoring two straight touchdowns to clinch the victory.

The Bulldogs improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in BVC play with the convincing win. The Red Devils fell to 0-3 and 0-1 in the BVC after the road loss.

“The kids played well enough to win,” said Ada head coach Toby Smith. “We have to take care of the football better. Too many mistakes.

“Glad we are having this conversation and we won, though,” he noted. “We kept fighting. Proud of our team. Arlington is a well-coached football team.”

The Bulldogs took the opening kickoff and scored first on a 49-yard, eight-play drive. After six runs and an incompletion, the Bulldogs faced third and goal from the two.

Kolton Dysert then found paydirt on a two-yard third-down run. After a penalty on the extra point kick, Ada senior Blake Zoladz ran in the two-point conversion from the one for an 8-0 lead at the 8:45 mark.

Zoladz intercepted an Alex Crawford pass to thwart the first Red Devil drive in the first period at the 41.

But Devil Forrest Yeater picked off a Zoladz aerial with 2:29 left in the first stanza to give Arlington the ball on their own 26.

The Bulldog defense stopped a run on third and one to force a punt. Ada took over at its own 32 and marched 68 yards to paydirt in 11 plays.

Aidin Brown hauled in a 28-yard pass from Zoladz to ignite the drive as the opening quarter ended. Zoladz scampered 10 yards to the Devil 35. 

T.J. Griffith caught a six-yard pass on third and five to move the chains. A 10-yard run advanced the hosts to the 14. On third and four, Zoladz rolled left and ran out of bounds after a six-yard pickup for first and goal.

Two plays later, Zoladz scored on a three-yard run off left tackle to cap the 4:49 march. Rhett Ulrey kicked the extra point to give Ada a 15-0 lead at the 7:25 mark.

Arlington took over at its own 41 and drove 59 yards to paydirt. Crawford tossed a 42-yard aerial to Karsen Cochenparger all the way to the Ada 17. Crawford’s keeper gained nine yards to the eight.

The Devil QB then ran around right end eight yards to the end zone with 6:01 left in the first half. Crawford’s two-point conversion run was stopped by Robert Shanks.

Shanks then picked up the ensuing squib kickoff and almost broke it to the end zone before being dragged down at the Devil 28. Ada capitalized on the good field position just two plays later when Griffith hauled in a 30-yard TD slant over the middle from Zoladz. 

Ulrey’s second PAT boot extended the lead to 22-6 with 5:09 left in the half.

Brown made a nice play to blow up a left side bubble screen on the next Devil drive for a loss. Arlington booted a low punt and Ada took over at midfield with 3:19 to go.

However, on second and 15 a long pass over the middle was picked off by Trevor Anderson at the Arlington 19. Crawford completed a long pass, but it was nullified by offsetting penalties to stymie the drive, and time expired in the half.

Arlington took the second-half kickoff and drove 75 yards in nine plays to score. On fourth and five from the Ada 28, Crawford found Trevor Anderson at the 23, and he rambled the rest of the way into the end zone for a 28-yard TD. 

A two-point conversion pass fell incomplete to keep the Bulldog lead 10 at the 6:47 mark of the third period, 22-12.

Ada fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Thomas Tippie recovered at the Bulldog 15. Crawford scurried 10 yards to the five. Tippie then ran it in from the five to pull within 22-18 with 5:55 to go in the third.

After a penalty on the extra point, Crawford completed a pass to Cuyler Rauch for a two-pointer to inch the Devils within 22-20.

Ada then answered with a key touchdown on a 69-yard, six-play scoring drive. Zoladz completed a 13-yard pass to Wes Mowery. The QB then rambled 16 yards to paydirt with 1:58 left in the third stanza.

Shanks booted the extra point to stretch the Ada lead to 29-20.

The Ada defense got a quick stop but on fourth and four at the 30, Eli Hurt picked off a Zoladz pass and returned it to the Devil 36. On the next play, Crawford sped 58 yards before being knocked out of bounds at the Ada six.

Two plays later, Crawford hit the end zone on a three-yard run with 8:24 left in the game. A two-point pass to Anderson got the Devils within a point at 29-28 in the back-and-forth battle.

The Bulldogs then came up with a big response, as they marched 61 yards in eight plays to score. Zoladz converted a third-and-one run, and two plays later Dysert scored from two yards out. 

The PAT kick missed to keep the score 35-28 with 4:24 left to play. The Ada defense rose up and stopped Crawford and the Devil offense, forcing a punt on fourth and 16.

Dysert scurried 27 yards to near midfield on first down to give Ada breathing room. On third and two, Zoladz ran 27 yards to paydirt for the clinching TD with 1:50 left. 

The extra point kick missed, keeping the margin at 13.

Arlington fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Ada recovered at the 35 to seal the outcome. The Bulldogs ran off the final 1:49 to preserve the hard-fought win.

“We are happy with the win and need to get back to work in order to go 1-0 this week,” said Smith. “That is always the goal. Enjoy it tonight and go 1-0 starting Saturday morning.”

Ada entertains Van Buren (3-0, 2-0 BVC) in a week four battle of unbeatens on Sept. 11. VB defeated Pandora-Gilboa Friday, 28-13.

Stats and notes

Ada rolled up 23 first downs, compared to 13 by Arlington. The Bulldogs amassed 364 yards on 53 plays (6.9 yards per play). The Red Devils were held to 260 yards on 37 snaps (7.0 per play).

Ada racked up 237 rushing yards, while Arlington netted just 67 on the ground. The Devils threw for 193 yards to 127 aerial yards by the Bulldogs.

Arlington was flagged nine times for 73 yards, and Ada was penalized five times for 30 yards. The Bulldogs committed three turnovers compared to one by the Devils.

Ada possessed the ball 25:27, while Arlington had the pigskin for 22:33. The Bulldogs were 7-10 on third down, and 0-1 on fourth. Arlington went 2-9 on third down and 1-2 on fourth.

Zoladz completed 10 of 4 aerials for 115 yards with one TD and three interceptions. He also rushed for a career-high 146 yards and three TDs on 20 carries to total 261 yards in offense.

Dysert rushed 14 times for 90 yards and two TDs. He also caught six passes for 35 yards, and completed two of three aerials for 12 yards.

Griffith snared three aerials for 44 yards and one TD. Wes Mowery had two receptions for 20 yards. Brown added one grab for 28 yards.

Crawford completed 14 of 20 passes for 193 yards and one TD with one interception. He also rushed 14 times for 49 yards and two scores.

Cuyler Rausch completed five passes for 22 yards. Cochenparger hauled in three aerials for 62 yards. Yeater grabbed three passes for 28 yards. Amderson caught a 28-yard TD strike.

Zoladz authored seven solo stops and made one pickoff. Brown made two tackles for loss.