As usual, rumors of Adams Central’s ACAC demise prove premature.
We all should’ve known better. Not that many so-called experts like yours truly picked against Adams Central in Friday night’s game against Bluffton, but there were certainly some concerns that almost lead to that.
While undefeated, Adams Central had showed some cracks at times this season. That, coupled with Bluffton’s 7-0 start with an offense that appeared to be clicking on all cylinders gave us an indication that, potentially, maybe, there could be a changing of the guard in the ACAC.
One lopsided 47-17 win for Adams Central later and all of that hyperbole is out the window.
Here’s the thing about the Flying Jets and the ACAC: since 2022, they haven’t just been better—they’ve been the benchmark everyone else measures against. The arc is unmistakable: elite efficiency, suffocating defense, and a culture that reproduces winning seasons even as rosters turn over.
It seems like every year there is the question, will Adam Central do it again? One year we think Heritage could end the run, then maybe the rival of South Adams, lately it has been Bluffton. The reality? This is Adam Central’s conference and until something drastically shifts, nothing will change in the ACAC and to Blitz, it starts in the trenches.
If you look at the stats from Friday night, Jamison Roach will stand out, and rightfully so. Roach, Vance Miller, Thomas Laughlin, Joey Everett and Braylend Reber combined for 326 yards on the ground. They win with big plays, but it all started with the battle in the trenches.
The offensive front line of the Flying Jets looked more than stout on Friday night. They opened up holes, they pushed Bluffton out of the way and executed their schemes so well. And that isn’t to take anything away from Adams Central’s skill position guys because they looked downright phenomenal too. But it all starts up front and we know that. Until someone can beat Adams Central and beat them convincingly at the point of attack, nobody is going to knock off Adams Central in the ACAC.
It extended to the other side of the ball as well.
We recently watched Adams Central lock down South Adams’ high powered and versatile passing game. On Friday, Bluffton connected on two of its first three, but only one of them was for positive yardage. Axton Beste did a more than reasonable job under center for the Tigers, picking up big chunks of yardage several times on the ground, but more often than not it came because he was pushed deep out of the pocket and into uncomfortable territory.
The Flying Jets had six tackles for loss, a sack, an interception and three forced fumbles on Friday. If those numbers don’t underline how tenacious the defensive front was, Blitz isn’t sure you’re paying attention. Ashton Yergler had the interception and two of the fumble recoveries, while David Fisher picked up the other fumble recovery. Xander Schwartz led Adams Central with 15 tackles, while he and Reece Hammond each had four solo tackles to lead the team.
It was utter dominance at times, especially in the first half. Despite Bluffton playing the Flying Jets relatively even in the second half, it was a 26-3 AC lead at the break. And you have to question just how much the Flying Jets were pushing in the final two quarters with the game well in hand.
The Flying Jets are great at grabbing momentum and once they do, the game is mostly over. Adams Central does not allow teams to get back into games it takes control of early. Period. Poise and confidence go a long way and even Friday against a fellow undefeated team with the conference on the line, the AC sideline exuded poise and confidence.
The week-to-week grind that makes this dominance possible? Look at the year-by-year accounting: 14–1 (7–0 ACAC) in 2022, 14–1 (7–0) in 2023, 14–1 (7–0) in 2024. Three seasons, three outright unbeaten conference slates—numbers that capture how decisively Adams Central has separated from the ACAC pack. Adams Central’s league winning streak has stretched to 30 straight league victories, along with a fifth consecutive ACAC title after a decisive win Friday. Dominance is one thing; sustaining it while everyone schemes to stop you is another.
Of course, numbers don’t block, tackle, or hit the hole. What separates Adams Central continues to be infrastructure around those stats: continuity on the headset with Coach Michael Mosser, a line-centric identity that travels well, and a defense that chokes off opposing oxygen in key moments. That is why they have been to the state finals with changing rosters each of the last four seasons. It’s repeatable football—November-ready habits practiced in July and August.
And it is not like the ACAC struggles, as previously mentioned there have been what we’ve seen to be legit contenders almost every year. The rest of the league keeps getting better; Adams Central keeps setting the bar higher.
If you’re writing the conference’s story, you start in Monroe—and, more often than not, you end there, too.
These opinions represent those of Blitz and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Blitz on Twitter at Blitz_OTH
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