Leipsic rallies, knocks off Bulldogs

ADA– After losing 29-26 just a week ago in the same stadium to the same team, Leipsic was on a mission. It took a change in scheme, but the Vikings were able to turn the tables in their second meeting with Ada. In a 30-22 playoff-opening victory on the road, Leipsic was able to establish a run game early, as well as often, to come from behind and defeat the Bulldogs. "The reality of it is, we had the ball three times, we turned it over inside the 10, but they never did stop us," Vikings coach Joe Kirkendall said. "We knew we had some stuff in the tank. We've gotta find a way to make two-point conversions, that's on me. This game wouldn't be where it is. Our guys up front offensively really came and played."The Vikings have been a pass-heavy team all season, relying on freshman quarterback Marc Kirkendall and a flurry of talented receivers. In Friday's game, however, the Vikings were able to open the field up even more, as running back Colin Niese erupted. The sophomore finished with 93 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, and caught a touchdown pass for 43 yards. "Colin Niese did a phenomenal job," coach Kirkendall said. "(He was) hitting things downhill as an aggressive runner.""It feels real good," Niese said. "I think our offensive line turned a corner up front. They blocked tremendously. It was just different, I don't know. Week's past, we were getting stonewalled up front. This week, we just broke through.""It just feels great," Niese continued. "A lot of schools around Northwest Ohio like to run the ball, they're run-heavy. All the teams are looking to pack in for the run. With a quarterback like this and the wide receiver group that we've got, it spreads you way out and you feel great running the ball. You know if you make one man miss, it's green."The Vikings were down 14-12 after the first half, and scored 18 straight points to rally back for the victory. First, senior Ty Lammers ran in an eight-yard score to complete a lengthy opening drive. Then, on the ensuing kickoff, senior Tommy Offenbacher recovered a fumbled return to give Leipsic possession once more. On the next play. Kirkendall found Niese for the 43-yard connection. The teams then traded possessions back and forth on opposing turnovers, before the Vikings once again made it to the endzone. Just six seconds into the fourth, Kirkendall spotted Jayce Brecht downfield and hit him for a 28-yard touchdown toss. The Vikings' QB finished the game with just five incompletions on 19 attempts, throwing for 211 yards and two total touchdowns. "We did a great job early with protection, but if you can run the ball you slow down the rush," coach Kirkendall said. "That creates tighter guys. Our receivers did a great job at getting themselves open. The moment was not too big for him, even though he's a freshman. Knowing he's gotta be clean, and he's gonna make his plays and he trusts his guys. They did a great job."Bulldogs quarterback Levi Green had a standout game, but Ada struggled to get much offense going without him. Green had 14 carries for 111 yards, and also threw for 138 yards and two touchdown passes. Green threw a screen pass to junior receiver Kayleb Hickman, who ran it 62 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. He also completed a 43-yard throw to Hickman in the fourth to put the Bulldogs within a score of Leipsic. Hickman caught it on the left side of the field, and was wrapped up for the tackle before escaping and running to the right, diving over the pylon for a score. "This group of kids doesn't have any quit," Ada coach Toby Smith said. "We constantly believe. (We were) 8-2 coming into tonight. Realistically with where our program has been, we are now in a place where we feel good about these kids, and they're believing that they're gonna win. That's a big difference. When you're down 16 points, as it turns out you're not out of it. Because they believe. We're hoping that that attitude goes forward as our kids graduate and the next group gets to go back in."Hickman ended with 112 yards receiving, catching three passes and two touchdowns. Talented running back Kaine Fisher was locked down by the Vikings staunch defense, carrying the ball five times for 41 yards, and catching four passes for 13 yards. Fisher did find the end zone for the Bulldogs, scoring their opening touchdown on a 34-yard scramble down the right sideline."We had a couple different things, wrinkles that we put in that were actually pretty effective," Smith said. "Ultimately, what we didn't do well enough is not turn the ball over. We had too many mistakes to a quality football team. When you get to this level, we can't make those kind of mistakes.""For these kids, we're so proud of where we've come from. In 2020, this team was extinct. All of the sudden, these kids start to decide that they want to see this thing change into something that it go to today. We're very proud."Leipsic's Lammers finished with 62 yards rushing on 12 carries, and 50 yards on four receptions, and the third-quarter rushing TD. Brecht had 60 yards with four catches, and added 22 more on the ground on a reverse jet sweep to begin the second quarter. Avery Paris had 19 yards through the air, Quinn Westhoven finished with 17, Clark Schroeder had 15, and Marquise Williams ended with 14. Back Aaron Hazleton added 13 on the ground. "We challenged our offensive line to run the ball," coach Kirkendall said. "We thought we had some things there last time. Some guys being a little bit healthier helped. That was the biggest thing coming in on offense, we had to run the football. We were able to do that, and that makes us really good if we can be balanced."Leipsic 6 6 12 6–30Ada 7 7 0 8–22First QuarterADA - Fisher 34 Run (Allen Kick)LEIP - Niese 7 Run (2-pt Failed)Second QuarterADA - Hickman 62 Pass from Green (Allen Kick)LEIP - Niese 4 Run (2-pt Failed)Third QuarterLEIP - Lammers 8 Run (2-pt Failed)LEIP - Niese 43 Pass from Kirkendall (2-pt Failed)Fourth QuarterLEIP - Brecht 27 Pass (2-pt Failed)ADA - Hickman 46 Pass from Green (2-pt Oldfield Pass from Green)