ADA - Mannford's o ense was under full sail and running at usual clip Friday night in Ada, but the Pirate defense could not stymie a Cougar attack that simply had too many looks.
Ada piled up 464 yards of total o ense and handed Mannford a 40-20 district loss, dropping the Pirates to 4-4 overall and 1-4 in District 4A-4.
The 20 points scored were at least a step back in the right direction o ensively for Mannford, who had struggled to fi nd the end zone consistently during a di cult stretch of district play. The Pirates had scored just 13 combined points in losses to Poteau, Sallisaw and Hilldale before getting healthy with a 37-0 win over McLain in week 7.
Against Ada, Mannford was able to put three scores on the board, but keeping pace proved to be another matter.
The Cougars were balanced enough to make life di cult on every level of the Mannford defense, fi nishing with 240 yards through the air and another 224 on the ground. That kind of balance left the Pirates without the luxury of loading up to stop one phase of o ense.
Mannford has made its living largely on the ground this season behind J.J. Hindsman and Ryder Tidwell. Hindsman entered the week as the Pirates’ leading rusher with 855 yards and 14 total touchdowns, while Tidwell had added 633 rushing yards.
That formula had worked particularly well in the win over McLain, when Mannford ran for 324 yards and controlled the game almost entirely on the ground.
Ada proved to be a di erent animal. Even with the loss, Mannford showed more o ensive life than it had in several of its recent district games, a silver lining with the season moving toward shown they can run the football e ectively and control games when they are able to stay on schedule and keep their opponents’ o ensive unit o the fi eld.
Friday’s challenge was that Ada kept answering.
Giving up 464 yards is the kind of pig you just can’t put lipstick on, and Mannford will have plenty to clean up defensively. Still, scoring 20 against a quality district opponent gives the Pirates something useful to build on as they endeavor to fi nish the season with any momentum.
Mannford now turns its attention to the next district challenge, looking to get back to the formula that has worked best this season: run the football, control the pace and keep the opposing o ense on the sidelines.