Countdown to Football: Ada

ADA –2024 Record 8-3 (6-2 BVC)Head coach: Toby Smith, fifth year (15-26)KEY GAME: Week 3, at Arlington. Ada made an impressive debut in its first year as a member of the Blanchard Valley Conference, going 6-2 in league games and 8-3 overall. The Bulldogs BVC baptism was a stunning loss to Arlington, though, when the Red Devils scored on the final snap of the game to beat the Bulldogs on their home field, 44-43. Ada lost just one other BVC game, although the Bulldogs did not play league champion Liberty-Benton last season and do not face the Eagles this year either. The week three matchup with Arlington will be a good litmus test for both teams. Ada lost a dangerous dual threat with the graduation of quarterback Levi Green. By the time Week 3 rolls around, the Bulldogs will have two games against Northwest Central Conference playoff schools (Upper Scioto Valley, Waynesfield-Goshen) under their belt and should be ready to show if they have the pieces in place to continue the kind of success they showed last season.INTERESTING FACT: Toby Smith may be in only his fifth season as head coach of Ada. Career-wise, though, he is one of the winningest coaches in the BVC. Successful at every stop on his coaching journey, Smith enters the 2025 season with a 172-93 overall record. He was 111-40 in 14 seasons at West Liberty Salem and 46-27 at Bellefontaine before taking the position at Ada. Smith was named Ada head coach after the disastrous season of 2020, when because of the COVID pandemic and low numbers, the school canceled the rest of the season after an 0-3 start. Ada went 1-9 in 2021, then had back to back 3-7 records before breaking out and going 8-3 last seasonMAGIC NUMBER: 16. Ada had pretty even balance among the seniors (9), juniors (7) and sophomores (9) on last year's 41-man squad. The class taking up a majority of the lines on the roster, though, was the freshmen. Ada had 16 ninth-graders last season and while only a few may have seen much varsity playing time, it is a large group that will be called on to fill a lot of key positions this year. 2024 SCHEDULEDate Opponent Home/AwayAug. 22 Upper Scioto Valley H 29 Waynesfield-Goshen ASept. 5 Arlington* A 12 Elmwood* H 19 McComb* A 26 Arcadia* HOct. 3 Riverdale* H 10 Van Buren* A 17 Pandora-Gilboa* H 24 Leipsic* A*Blanchard Valley Conference games