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

By Cort Reynolds

ADA__The Ada High School football team rode a big second quarter to soundly defeat visiting Arcadia 35-0 in a Blanchard Valley Conference contest at War Memorial Stadium on Friday, September 26.

The Bulldogs scored three consecutive touchdowns in the second period to break a scoreless tie and build a commanding 21-0 lead at halftime.

Ada improved to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the BVC after the decisive victory. Arcadia fell to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in BVC play following the defeat.

“The first complete win for us this season,” said fifth-year Ada head coach Toby Smith. “We still think we have not played our best game yet, so we will celebrate this win tonight and then work on getting better tomorrow.”

The teams traded punts on five of the game’s first six possessions. Ada then drove 51 yards in four plays over just 47 seconds to draw first blood.

A third down pass of 14 yards from junior quarterback Blake Zoladz to Wes Mowery kept the drive alive.

On the next play, senior receiver Gavin Oldfield grabbed a short pass from Zoladz and scampered 34 yards to paydirt to put the Bulldogs ahead for good. 

Junior Andrew Allen’s extra point kick made it 7-0 Ada with 10:39 left in the half.

On the ensuing kickoff, Zack Zimmerman recovered a muffed return to set up the next Ada score at the Arcadia 22. After a penalty, Oldfield hauled in a 21-yard reception.

One play later, the hosts tallied again on a six-yard touchdown run by junior back Kolton Dysert to completely seize the momentum. 

Allen’s point after boot doubled the lead to 14-0 with 10:37 to go in the second stanza.

The Bulldog defense stopped the Redskins on a third down pass breakup by Kayleb Hickman. After the punt, Ada put together a 64-yard drive on five plays to score again on their next possession. 

An 18-yard run by Dysert ignited the march.

Three plays later, Zoladz capped the march with a 26-yard TD run. Allen’s third straight PAT kick extended the margin to 21-0 midway through the second quarter.

On the next Arcadia drive, the visitors penetrated Ada territory to the 43. But senior ballhawk Hickman intercepted a long Redskin pass and returned it 40 yards to the 50.

Arcadia’s Carter Rank then picked a Bulldog aerial to end the half.

After recording a fourth down stop at their own 43, Ada put together a 57-yard scoring drive on six plays to stretch their lead midway through the third period. 

Dysert galloped 36 yards to the Redskin 21 to spark the drive. After a 10-yard sack, Zimmerman pulled in a 10-yard aerial. Hickman grabbed an 18-yard pass to the Arcadia three.

Dysert then hit paydirt on a three-yard run to punctuate the march and build the lead to 27-0.

Allen’s fourth consecutive PAT gave Ada an insurmountable 28-0 cushion heading to the final period.

Arcadia then put together its best drive to the Ada 10. But Zoladz came up with a nine-yard sack on third down. A fourth down pass fell incomplete to turn it over on downs.

The Bulldogs then fashioned a 10-play, 80-yard march to score their fifth TD late in the fourth stanza. 

Aiden Brown pulled in a 35-yard reception on third and 12 to key the drive. Zoladz then scampered for 11 yards. 

Zimmerman snared a 13-yard aerial at the Redskin 17, and Dysert ran for six yards. 

Zoladz then connected with T.J. Griffith on an 11-yard scoring aerial to tally the last Ada touchdown of the night. Allen’s extra point kick provided the final margin of 35.

1 2 3 4 F

Ada 0 21 7 7 35

Arc 0 0 0 0 0

Notes and stats
Ada netted 300 yards in total offense on just 38 plays. The Bulldogs averaged 7.9 yards per play. Balanced Ada ran for 147 yards and passed for 153 total yards. 

The Bulldogs earned 14 first downs, seven on the ground and seven through the air. The Redskins moved the chains 10 times.

Arcadia netted 143 yards in offense on 49 snaps, an average gain of just 2.9 per play. The Redskins rolled up 149 yards rushing but had minus six yards passing.

The stingy Bulldog defense recorded its first shutout of the season. 

Ada quarterback Zoladz completed 10 of 15 passes for 163 yards and two scores with no interceptions. 

He also ran 12 times for 68 yards with a long run of 26. He amassed 231 yards in total offense.

Dysert netted 72 yards rushing on nine runs with two TDs. His longest run covered 36 yards.

Oldfield yanked down five receptions for 60 yards and one TD. He also ran once for seven yards. Senior Hickman grabbed two passes for 20 yards. 

Brown hauled in one aerial for 35 yards. Senior Zimmerman snagged two passes for 23 yards. Mowery added one grab for 14 yards.

Griffith assisted on 10 stops with two solos, while Zimmerman made nine assisted tackles and three solo stops. Thad Smith authored two solo tackles and had six assists.

Zoladz also came up with two tackles for 13 yards in losses, including a big sack in the red zone.

Arcadia QB Nicholas Moes completed three of five passes for just three yards. He also rushed 14 times to gain 51 yards behind a long run of 32. But due to 22 yards in losses, he netted only 29 yards rushing.  

Redskin back Lamarion Tucker carried the ball 26 times for 108 yards.

The Redskins were penalized two times for 10 yards, while Ada was flagged five times for 31 yards. 

The Bulldogs were three of seven on third down, while Arcadia was just 1-10. Ada committed one turnover. Arcadia fumbled once and threw one pick for two turnovers. 

Winless Falcons at Ada next Fri.
Unbeaten this year in three games at home, Ada is back at War Memorial to host winless Riverdale (0-6, 0-4 BVC) in a week seven league Homecoming game. The Falcons lost Friday to BVC co-leader Leipsic, 40-0.

The Vikings and Liberty-Benton are tied atop the BVC at 4-0. Both teams are 6-0 overall.

Ada visits Leipsic in week 10, but does not play Liberty-Benton.