Bulldogs hope to take step with experienced group

ADA– Despite losing three of its top skill players from a season ago, Ada looks primed to take a step in the right direction in the Blanchard Valley Conference.The Bulldogs will play without All-League selections Gavin Oldfield (550 receiving yards), Kayleb Hickman (250 receiving yards, 450 kick return yards, league-leading six interceptions and 47 total tackles as a DB), and Zack Zimmerman (200 receiving yards, league-leading 115 tackles), but they return a variety of players at several key positions. Head coach Toby Smith is confident that the group's synergy will lend itself to a smoother season on the field. "We've got an experienced group," Smith said. "So, we're doing very little things, very technical things. We're trying to focus on making sure we're going to the right places more often than not and trying to find ways to become more aggressive when we get there. Offensively, defensively, on special teams, all the same things. Just trying to consistently improve our technique.""This is the sixth year of the program," Smith continued. "These guys have done the exact same offense for six years. So, the terminology is in their heads already."That offense begins with senior signal-caller Blake Zoladz. Zoladz was named the starter last season, where he put up 1300 passing yards on a 65% completion rate, and ran for 500 more yards, accounting for 24 total touchdowns. Sharing the backfield with Zoladz will once again be senior running back Kolton Dysert. Dysert, who has dealt with injury issues for the past two seasons, is fully healthy and preparing for a strong year. Dysert accumulated 400 rushing yards and five touchdowns a year ago on just 88 carries, averaging over four yards a carry. "I think you're gonna find that Kolton is gonna have a big year, because he came off injury," Smith said. "Kolton's been injured for two years, had a surgery in the offseason which made him miss basketball. His explosiveness is now back, and we're excited to see what he's capable of doing.""Our running game has improved a lot, we're gonna be able to run the ball a lot more efficiently this year," Dysert said.A good running back can only be so successful if they can't get past the line of scrimmage. Luckily for Dysert and the Bulldogs, they've got a group of experienced linemen. "If you want to find our strongest area, as far as returners go, we had four or five back on the O-line, three or four back on the D-line," Smith said. "We've got a good group of kids that are trying to do things right. It doesn't mean we're going to be successful, but we feel pretty comfortable."Ada's veteran offensive line consists of junior offensive guards Landon Green and Elijah Craig, senior tackles Grady Curtis and Layne Simon, junior tackle Brier Hannah, and junior center Xavier Smith."It not only allows us to run the ball and get to the second level more, but it also opens up the pass game for us," Dysert added.Speaking of the passing game, the Bulldogs have a handful of players looking to replace their trio of impactful graduates. Seniors T.J. Griffith, Wes Mowery, Tyler Stauffer, Jacob Szippl, and junior Aiden Brown are all in the mix to be catching passes from Zoladz. The Bulldogs are coming off of a .500 season at 5-5 with just a 3-5 record in conference games and will be looking to take the next step as they enter Year 3 as a member of the BVC. Ada opens its season with a non-conference road contest on August 21, traveling to McGuffey to take on the Rams. 2025Upper Scioto Valley (W) 28-6Waynesfield-Goshen (W) 42-19Arlington (L) 14-34Elmwood (W) 50-20McComb (L) 0-49Arcadia (W) 35-0Riverdale (W) 51-10Van Buren (L) 3-42Pandora-Gilboa (L) 6-41Leipsic (L) 14-47 10-year 2025 5-5 2024 8-32023 3-72022 3-72021 1-92020 0-32019 2-82018 2-82017 7-42016 7-4 Schedule 2026 SCHEDULEDate Opponent Home/AwayAug. 21 Upper Scioto Valley A 28 Arcadia* ASept. 4 Arlington* H 11 Van Buren* H 18 Lima Perry A 25 Leipsic* HOct. 2 Elmwood* A 9 McComb* H 16 Riverdale* A 23 Pandora-Gilboa* A*Blanchard Valley Conference games ADA BULLDOGS 2026 ROSTER1 Matthew Walker WR/LB 6-3 170 122 Robert Shanks WR/LB 5-11 165 103 Brady Diehl WR/DB 5-11 155 114 Jacob Szippl WR/LB 5-9 155 125 Aiden Brown WR/DB 5-9 150 116 Kolton Dysert RB/LB 5-8 145 127 Thad Smith QB/LB 5-9 150 118 Blake Zoladz QB/LB 6-1 180 129 Gaige Snyder WR/LB 6-0 155 1110 T.J. Griffith WR/LB 6-1 200 1211 Vincent Miserendino RB/LB 5-10 155 1113 Wes Mowery WR/DB 5-10 160 1215 Tyler Stauffer WR/DB 6-4 150 1218 Zane Buxton QB/DB 5-9 130 1020 Aiden Johnson WR/DB 5-8 140 1022 Zakery Heffner RB/LB 5-8 155 924 Jason Johnson RB/DB 5-7 140 927 Ryan West RB/DB 6-0 150 1030 Andrew Allen K/P 5-8 150 1233 Collin Brown WR/DL 6-5 190 1034 Grant Smith WR/DB 5-9 145 936 Wyatt McCoy WR/DB 5-9 130 943 Liam Keller WR/DB 5-11 135 944 Will Daft WR/DB 6-2 140 950 Eliah Banks OL/DL 5-8 160 951 Waylon Clemons OL/DL 5-9 190 952 Tyler Lambdin OL/DL 5-10 200 1053 Grady Curtis OL/DL 6-3 245 1254 Landon Green OL/DL 5-9 195 1155 Xavier Smith OL/DL 5-11 195 1157 Elijah Craig OL/LB 5-11 180 1162 Jeremy Plaza OL/DL 5-9 140 966 Ethan Carl OL/DL 5-10 180 1170 Bryce Purdy OL/DL 6-0 190 1172 Maverick Shaw OL/DL 6-2 220 1174 Brier Hannah OL/DL 6-2 290 1175 Layne Simon OL/DL 6-3 190 1287 Rhett Ulrey K/P 5-10 155 11