Aerial Ada faces punishing St. John’s ground game in regional final

Delphos St. John's loves to run.

Ada has certainly been pass happy over the last few years.

For both teams, being able to establish what it does best will go a long way in determining the regional champion.

Delphos St. John's (10-2) meets Ada (12-0) in the Division VI regional championship at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Findlay's Donnell Stadium.

The key cogs to the St. John's running game are quarterback Wes Ulm and sophomore running back Jordan Leininger. Ulm runs the option and has rushed for 701 yards and seven TDs. In the air, the 6-foot junior has thrown for 914 yards with 12 touchdowns.

Leininger, who missed several early-season games with a separated shoulder, has run for 941 yards and nine TDs.

"It starts with their quarterback," Ada coach Mike Fell said. "Wes Ulm is a great athlete, a good quick runner and he leads the off-tackle and toss sweep as a blocker. And he makes plays as a thrower. He's the key."

St. John's coach Todd Schulte said, "The best defense is keeping our offense on the field. We'll try to establish the run and mix in the pass. (Last week) Carey was very physical and much stronger than us up front, but we kind of abandoned our technique. We'll go back and work on technique this week."

The anchor to the Ada defense is 6-foot-2, 210-pound middle linebacker Justin Stransky, who has 102 tackles with eight sacks. He also has nine tackles for loss.

The Ada offense graduated quarterback Zac Dysert, who is at Miami. Stepping in for him has been quarterback Mitchell Faine, who has thrown for 3,534 yards. He has 34 TDs and five interceptions.

"It all starts with protecting the quarterback," Fell said. "The offensive line has done a great job of giving Mitchell time to throw. We've spread it around and try to take what the defense gives us."

Kyle Baker is the leading receiver with 78 catches for 1,014 yards and 10 TDs. Heath Jackson, who joined the team in midseason, has 60 catches for 950 yards and nine TDs. Alex Weber has 41 catches for 509 yards and six TDs. The spread offense also has Colby Dysert, who has 31 catches for 447 yards and six TDs.

"You can't zero in on one guy," Schulte said. "And with Faine back there, he's the catalyst to the offense. He doesn't miss open guys and doesn't force things. He's poised and confident."

Faine also leads the team with 603 yards rushing with 15 TDs.

"Ada will set up for a pass, then low and behold, they sneak a run in there. Faine runs pretty well," Schulte said.

Fell added, "He has the option to run at any time."

The key for St. John's will be getting pressure on Faine from end Tyler Hayson and his teammates. The Blue Jays' defensive backs - A.J. Klausing, Brad Hoffman, Evan Burgei and Tyler Bergfeld - will have a challenge covering Baker and Jackson. Blue Jays linebackers Chris and Joel Pohlman must keep the running game in check and keep the receivers from turning a short gain into a long one.

St. John's also must keep Ada from jumping out to an early lead. The Bulldogs have outscored opponents 141-3 in the first quarter this year.

St. John's opened the playoffs with a 24-7 victory over Arlington. It then defeated Carey, 21-14. Ada has had blowout wins over Hilltop, 56-8, and Pandora-Gilboa, 42-14.

One thing is for sure: In the preseason, few expected this matchup in the regional title game.

St. John's was 2-8 last year. Ada, after losing Dysert, wasn't picked to win the Northwest Conference.

"We weren't picked by anyone," Fell said. "These kids weren't oblivious to that. They felt they had something to prove. They've exceeded everyone's expectations, but we haven't exceeded our own."