Ardmore stops Ada

Jeff Cali Sports Editor

Ardmore September 10, 2008 02:43 pm

— Although there were plenty of flashes of brilliance throughout the night, the Ada Cougars got the Matt Weber era started off on the wrong foot.
Aided by four Ada turnovers, coach Larry McBroom’s Ardmore Tigers used two third-quarter scores to erase an early touchdown deficit and rally past the Cougars 14-7 before a huge crowd Friday night at Noble Stadium.
The victory gave McBroom his 200th victory in games played in Oklahoma — 199 coming at Ada High — while his former team begins the season at 0-1.
The Cougars held Ardmore to less than 100 yards of total offense in the first half and despite scoring just the single touchdown, seem to have all the momentum at halftime. But the Tigers turned the tables over the final two quarters, using a no--huddle offense to control the time of possession and limit Ada to just 13 offensive plays in remaining 24 minutes of action.
“Well that’s my fault. I probably had too much in for no longer than we’ve been at it,” Weber said following the game. “We were just marred by mistakes. Like we said all week, it’s going to come down to first-game jitters and we turned the ball over four times and they didn’t turn it over.”
Ada forced an Ardmore punt on the Tigers first possession of the second half. But the catch was botched during the return attempt and Trey Cohee recovered for the hosts.
The rival Tigers needed just three plays — including an 18-yard touchdown run by Cecil McCarrol — to score from 32 yards out at the 8:29 mark of the third period. But after a procedure penalty moved Ardmore kicker Jose Mendoza, his PAT was just off the mark, leaving Ada on top 7-6.
Ada running back Keeslar Stover returned the ensuing kickoff to near midfield, but a penalty pushed Ada all the way back to the their own 12. A three-and-out set up Ardmore at the 50.
Ardmore quarterback Reed Downing then maneuvered the Tigers down the field, converting a pair of third downs and a fourth-and-one on the drive. He then finished off the 10-play march with and 8-yard scoring keeper to give Ardmore the lead. Downing found tight end Cody Nall in the back of the end zone with a two-point pass to make it 14-7 at the 2:38 mark of the third period.
The Cougars looked like they were about to quickly answer when quarterback Qumain Black hit Stover with a pass around the 50 on second-and-13. Stover sprinted toward the goal line but was finally brought down at the Ardmore 7. After Black gained three yards on a keeper, Stover tried to muscle his way into the end zone and fumbled. Linebacker Shawn Smith, who had a strong game for the Tigers, recovered the loose pigskin, turning back that Ada threat.
The Cougars had one more shot, taking over at their own 43 with 5:45 left in the game. Fullback Justin Todd gained 17 yards on first down, moving Ada into Ardmore territory. Weber then reached into his bag of tricks and had playmaker Colton Richardson take the ball on an end around, roll to the right and throw back to a wide open Black who was all alone on the left sideline. But Black fell to the turf with a bad case of leg cramps just before the ball arrived, negating what would have been a sizable gain.
“He just had been out there the whole game, losing a lot of water and he just cramped up but he’s going to be just fine,” Weber said of Black, who played nearly every snap of the game.
After Ardmore stuff a running play on second down, backup quarterback Christian Johnson (a sophomore) tried to hit Richardson — who was a step and a half in front of two Ardmore defenders — down the right sideline. But the ball was a tad underthrown and Ardmore’s Cohee made a nice, one-handed interception at the 13 yard line to seal Ada’s fate.
The Cougars managed just 26 yards rushing, on just six carries, in the second half.
“We have to be able to move the football on the ground because that sets up our passing game. The first half we had a little success on the ground and opened some things up and the second half we didn’t and that was a big difference,” Weber said. “They got us wore down a little bit. We just had (our defense) out there too long and again, that’s my fault.”
Ada was driving down the field on its first possession of the second quarter — highlighted by Richardson’s 27-yard catch over the middle in traffic. Black found some running room on a keeper and got into the red zone but Andra Brown stripped the ball out of his hands while the Ada QB was fighting for extra yards, thwarting another Cougar scoring opportunity.
Ada set up at its own 48 on its next possession and finally put together a scoring drive. Black hit tight end Alex Long for 16 yard early in the drive and later made a highlight-reel run for 25 more yards when he faked to he left, spun around and dashed down the right sideline. Black then hit Richardson — who easily out-jumped his 5-6 defender — with an 11-yard TD pass. Ryan Smith’s PAT kick was wobbly but good, giving Ada a 7-0 lead it would take to the locker room.
Black would finish with 182 yards of total offense — including and 8-of-10 effort through the air. Richardson, who had several tackles for losses and sack of Downing that resulted in minus seven yards — had five grabs for 46 yards. But offensively, Black, Richardson and company just didn’t see the field enough in the second half.
“We would have liked to have won the game and we’re upset that we didn’t because we worked for something that didn’t turn out our way. But that’s not our season-long goal — to beat the Ardmore Tigers. We want to continue to get better and start playing our best ball by the time we get to district play,” Weber said.
Downing would finish with 99 yards rushing and 85 passing and deserved most of the credit for keeping the Ardmore offense on the field during the second half.
The Cougars will try to rebound this Friday, traveling to Durant to take on the rival Lions. Durant surprised No. 9 McAlester 24-7 in Week 1.

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