PHOTOS by Mark Andreasen / CLICK to enlarge

By Cort Reynolds 

McGUFFEY__The visiting Ada High School football team shut out traditional arch-rival Upper Scioto Valley 30-0 in the season opener on Friday, August 21 in McGuffey.

Ada scored on its first three possessions and controlled the ball almost completely to spearhead the lopsided victory. The Bulldogs start off 1-0, while the undermanned Rams are 0-1.

USV, featuring just a 15-player roster, penetrated Ada territory to start the game. Ram quarterback Caiden Lowery returned the opening kickoff 30 yards to the 48.

After a big loss, Lowery completed a 38-yard pass to Mikey Stansberry to provide their biggest play of the game.

But a fourth-down pass intended for Beau Sanders fell incomplete as Ada stopped the Rams at the Bulldog 34. 

Ada then drove 66 yards in nine plays on their initial drive to take the early lead. Bulldog senior quarterback Blake Zoladz connected with senior running back Kolton Dysert at the 11, and he completed the methodical march with a nine-yard catch-and-carry touchdown play.

Andrew Allen kicked the extra point to put the purple and gold on top 7-0 at the 2:24 mark.

After stopping the next Ram possession, Ada took over in good field position. Jacob Szippl caught a 10-yard Zoladz pass to start the drive. Dysert then scampered 21 yards.

Two plays later, Dysert rumbled six yards to paydirt to cap the 45-yard scoring drive. Another Allen PAT made it 14-0 with 11:12 left in the first half.

After another defensive stop, the Bulldogs took possession at the 46. On fourth and six, Zoladz passed to Dysert for a 38-yard gain all the way to the USV four.

After a Ram offsides penalty, Zoladz carried the ball two yards to the end zone to extend the lead to 20-0. Allen’s third extra point made it 21-0 with 7:04 left in the second stanza, and it stayed that way into halftime.

The third scoring drive covered 46 yards in four plays. 

The Bulldogs drove to the Ram 11 on a six-minute march to open the second half. But the foray was thwarted when Dysert fumbled, and USV recovered at their own 10.

Ada then scored when a mishandled punt snap deep in Ram territory rolled out of the end zone to provide a 23-0 margin.

The Bulldogs got the ensuing free kick at their own 45 and cashed in on the short field once again. Three plays gained 13 yards.

Zoladz then hooked up with Aidin Brown on a 42-yard scoring aerial with 1:47 left in the third period to punctuate the 55-yard scoring drive. Allen’s fourth extra point finished the point parade at 30-0.

Bulldog Tyler Stauffer intercepted Lowery’s fourth-and-11 pass to stymie a Ram drive with 8:29 remaining. 

Ada then fumbled the ball back to USV three snaps later.

Bulldog Matt Walker recovered a Ram fumble at the 23 with 6:01 left to play.

STATS AND NOTES

Ada compiled 17 first downs to just six chain-movers by the Rams. The Bulldogs rushed for 179 yards and passed for 136 to total 315 yards on 44 plays (7.2 per snap).

USV was limited to 31 ground yards and 67 more through the air to net just 98 total yards on 34 plays (2.9 per play).

Zoladz completed an efficient 11 of 12 passes for 136 yards and two TDs. He also ran for 61 yards and a score on 13 rushes.

Dysert rushed 13 times for 78 yards and one TD. Robert Shanks netted 35 yards on two runs.

Brown caught four passes for 66 yards and one TD. Dysert snared three passes for 47 yards and one score. Thad Smith added a 13-yard reception.

Lowery completed eight of 15 passes for 80 yards with one pick-off. Beau Sanders rushed 11 times for 29 yards. He also caught three aerials for 20 yards.

Ram Stansberry made one catch for 38 yards.

Both teams committed two turnovers. Ada fumbled twice, while USV lost a fumble and threw one interception.

The Bulldogs lost 20 yards on two penalties, and Upper was flagged six times for 64 yards. Ada recorded three sacks and possessed the ball for 37:53 of time compared to just 10:10 by the Rams.

The Bulldogs were 4-8 on third down and 1-1 on fourth. USV was just 1-8 on third down, and 0-2 on fourth.

Ada plays at Arcadia (1-0) in the Blanchard Valley Conference opener in week two on Friday, August 28. The Redskins won 40-14 at Cory-Rawson in their opener Friday night. 

The Bulldogs hammered Arcadia 35-0 in week six last year at Ada.