It’s unusual that a loss marks a positive turning point in a season, but that’s exactly what happened last season when the ADM football team traveled to Creston in week 6.

The Tigers are in a similar position offensively as at this time a year ago, and hope that their offense will again come to life against the Panthers, who visit Adel Friday for an important district matchup.
ADM lost to Creston 50-35 last season, but the 35 points scored were a season-high and served as a springboard for the Tigers offense, which propelled ADM to a three-game winning streak and into the playoffs.

Prior to that game, ADM had scored just 58 points in 5 games (an 11.6 point-per-game average). After it, ADM scored 45, 28 and 35 points during the winning streak.

This season, ADM’s offense has been marred by inconsistency and turnovers. The Tigers (3-2, 1-2) have scored 103 points through five games, but 55 of those came in a blowout win over a struggling Atlantic team. In ADM’s other games, The Tigers have scored 14, 24, 7, and 3 points in Friday’s disappointing loss to Winterset.

ADM comes in with the same 1-2 district record as at this point last season, so a win now is crucial to keep pace in the Class 3A District 8 playoff race. The good news is that much like last season, Creston’s defense appears vulnerable.

The Panthers (3-2, 1-1) kept down Winterset’s offense in a 34-12 win in week 2, but have surrendered no fewer than 26 points in their other four games, including 56 to a now undefeated and district-leading Glenwood team last week.

ADM and Creston kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday night from Adel. Our pregame coverage on K107 and raccoonvalleyradio.com begins at 7.