Leonardo
By BRIAN LESTER
- THE COURIER
ADA -- New life was injected into War Memorial Stadium in Ada late in the third quarter Friday night. Ada had rattled off two touchdowns to overcome a 14-point deficit and tie the score against Lima Central Catholic. Fans roared to their feet and it appeared the Bulldogs were on their way to winnng another Northwest Conference championship.
But with three minutes left in the game, the mood of the stadium had drastically changed. Fourth-ranked Ada trailed by 14 again, and this time, there would be no comeback. The Bulldogs’ dream of a third consecutive NWC title was shattered in a 35-21 loss to the Thunderbirds.
“We didn’t do a good enough job of stopping them,” Ada head coach Mike Fell said. “We managed to get back in the game, but the bottom line is they moved the ball right down the field and made the plays that win big games.”
Several Ada (9-1, 8-1 NWC) win streaks hit a wall in the loss. The Bulldogs had a 29-game regular season win streak come to a halt, along with a 23-game NWC win streak and 22-game home win streak.
LCC (10-0, 9-0 NWC) rolled up 339 yards in this pivotal showdown, with quarterback Tyler O’Connor doing most of the damage. He was 18 of 29 for 188 yards and threw two second-half touchdowns to Bubba Krieg to seal the deal.
Krieg caught a 7-yard TD pass with 1:34 left in the third, a drive that stole the momentum back from the Bulldogs after they had tied the game, and hit Krieg on a 5-yard pass with 2:50 left in the game to finish off the win.
“Ada came storming back but we responded and that was key,” LCC head coach Jerry Cooper said. “I thought we did a good job on our last two or three possessions. It feels good to win the conference. It’s a big accomplishment.”
The Bulldogs had scored at least 38 points in every game they played this season but their offense seemed out of sync against an aggressive LCC defense.
The Thunderbirds kept the pressure on quarterback Konnor Baker and did not allow the Bulldogs to make big plays late in the game. Ada punted once in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over twice on downs.
Ada finished with 304 yards. Baker was 19 of 32 for 279 yards.
“We tried to mix it up on them defensively,” Cooper said. “We played zone and man coverage and I thought it kept them off balance. We held a very good offensive team to 21 points. That is a good effort.”
The Bulldogs trailed 21-14 at halftime, which wasn’t bad considering they had turned the ball over twice on two interceptions by Baker.
Down 21-7 after LCC scored on the opening drive of the second half, Kellen Decker rose to the occasion.
The sophomore running back capped Ada’s first possession of the second half with a 5-yard TD run and caught a 57-yard pass from Baker with 3:10 left in the third to tie the game at 21-21.
Although the Bulldogs fell short of a win, Fell is confident his team will bounce back for the postseason next week. Ada entered the game ranked third in Division VI, Region 22 and could still host a playoff game. Playoff assignments will be finalized by the OSHAA on Sunday.
“Despite everything, we had our chances to win the game,” Fell said. “I’m proud of the way we fought back and I know our guys will be ready to play better next week. Our season isn’t over yet.”
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