Ferry Pockets First Win
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Taking twelve minutes to get untracked, Martins Ferry had no plans of stopping. With a stalwart defense that shut down an explosive Weir High offense and an offense that provided one thrill after another, the Purple Riders won their first with a 38-7 win over the Red Riders on a warm Friday night at the Dave Bruney Football Complex in Martins Ferry.
Talk about a tough opening season schedule, Purple Rider coach Chas Yoder dropped their first four games to four very tough opponents Linsly, Shadyside, Union Local and St. Clairsville before welcoming Weir High to Martins Ferry. The Purple Riders improved to 1-4.
Weir, coached by Frank Sisinni, opened with a pair of setbacks to John Marshall and Oak Glen before getting in the win column last week over Indian Creek. The loss dropped them to 1-3.
As the first quarter progressed, it appeared that the game was set up for a defensive struggle with little scoring, but as the frame advanced Weir's running game started to gain steam.
"We played hard on both sides of the ball and special teams picked it this week," Yoder said after the win.
"We gave up the long one, then we played good defense the rest of the night."
"He ran the ball well and he threw a couple nice passes," the Purple Rider coach added.
"Everyone played really well."
"We finally put one together. We missed a few plays here and there the last couple weeks, but we put a good game together and everyone just played well this week," Yoder said.
Taking over on their own 37 following a Purple Rider punt, Weir put together a lengthy nine play drive that included the impressive running of tailback Corey Lyons with runs of four, 15, eight and six to march the visitors to the MF 30. With 3:51 on the clock, Malachi Stromile rolled to his right and found Carson Yobbagy in the endzone for the score. Jacob Morgan booted the PAT.
It was the second quarter that belonged to the Martins Ferry offense and defense. Early in the second Baron Lucy picked off a Weir High pass and gave the hosts possession at the 37. From there it was a 26-yard scamper by freshman QB Ayden Ludolph that set the stage for a Ludolph to George Hulsey five-yard scoring pass at the 9:06 mark. Ludolph threw to Landyn Hores for the PAT.
Late in the half, the Riders drove to the Weir one before losing the handle on the ball and returning possession to the Red Riders. Less than twi minutes later, Ferry regained control at 22 and needed just three plays before Hulsey scored from the eight. Ludolph ran for the PAT and a 16-7 halftime lead.
In a game that featured a pair of southpaw gunslingers, it was the defense that took charge in the third. A pass theft by Yobbagy at the 3:30 mark of the frame helped to stall the Ferrians hopes. In those final minutes, it was defensive gems by Baron Lucy and Peyton Hores that eliminated Weir's efforts.
It was the fourth quarter that saw the Purple Riders extend their lead with three scores. Runs of 32 yards by Ludolph and 34 stripes by Hulsey keyed the early fourth frame score. Hulsey's run provided the score with 9:46 on the board and Ludolph passed to Lucy for the two-pointer.
Later in the session, Ferry took over at the Weir 33 following a punt from the endzone. Four plays later Hulsey added another score from two yards out with 6:34 showing. Hores booted the PAT.
Less than a minute later, Jackson Carte closed the Ferry scoring on a 22-yard sweep with 4:16 on the clock. Hores again added the PAT.
"We really started out fine and I think was a carryover from last week," Sisinni said following the game. "But we had a couple things that happened unfortunately before the half ended and then we came out the second half and didn't have it"
"It seemed that every time we took a step forward, we took another one backwards," he added. "It was self-inflicted wounds and penalties. I give credit to Martins Ferry's staff. They made some adjustments and we just ran out of gas," the Red Rider coach added.