Photo by Joe Lovell Martins Ferry’s Ayden Ludolph (5) runs in for a touchdown during the Purple Riders’ 27-23 win over Shadyside Friday.

MARTINS FERRY — Martins Ferry has 720 victories in its storied football history. First-year head coach and Purple Rider alum Justin Kropka picked up his first as head coach Friday night.

Kropka, a 1994 graduate of MFHS, watched his squad rally from a 10-point halftime deficit by outscoring visiting Shadyside, 21-7, in the second half to post a cherished back-and-forth, 27-23, triumph inside Purple Rider Stadium before a huge crowd at the Dave Bruney Football Complex.

“That was a dandy. I thought maybe we were trying to give it away in the first half,” Kropka said, “but I couldn’t be any prouder of a group of kids. Coming off a 1-9 (season) sometimes things don’t go your way, sometimes you tend to revert back to that, but these kids kept battling and battling.

“They showed the character they’ve shown all summer. That’s why I’m so glad the game ended the way it did.”

The game was the first for Shadyside interim head coach Mike Kernik who has been on the job less than two weeks after the resignation of ultra-successful head coach Mark Holenka.

“Those kids played as hard as they could,” Kernik said while gesturing towards the visitors’ locker room. “They played their tails off and I’m proud of them. We just came out on the short end of things.”

Trailing 16-6 at the half after a terrible second quarter, the Purple Riders scored the lone points of the third quarter when sophomore quarterback Ayden Ludolph found senior Landyn Hores from 19 yards out with 1:32 on the clock. Connor Probst’s PAT made it 16-13 entering the final 12-minute quarter.

“We couldn’t have played any worse in the second quarter,” Kropka admitted. “Give Shadyside credit, however. They had a lot to do with that.”

Faced with a 4th-and-four from the Tigers’ 44, Kropka and his staff went to their bag of tricks early in the fourth quarter. A direct snap to Hores in punt formation resulted in a 9-yard pickup to the 35. Ludolph gained 17 on a keeper and Jackson Carte, who had the first touchdown on a 12-yard jaunt in the first quarter, picked up 12 to the Tigers’ 2.

Tev’n Williams would score the first of his two fourth-quarter TDs on the next snap, and the placement by Probst put the hosts ahead, 20-16, with 8:33 remaining to play.

“We work on those types of things starting in July and you never know when you’re going to need one,” Kropka said of the fake punt. “We needed one tonight and we executed it perfectly.”

However, Shadyside was not about to lay down as junior quarterback Ben Wach marched the Tigers 73 yards on eight plays. Grant Miller’s 17-yard jet sweep around left end capped the three-minute drive and Gavin Bommer’s PAT made it 23-20 with 2:38 showing.

Wach, who passed for 198 yards on 12-of-37, found Elijah Brock for 22 yards on a fourth down play to extend the drive.

Martins Ferry didn’t quit either.

Starting at their own 35 after the kickoff went out of bounds, Ludolph scrambled for 16 yards before finding junior Baron Lucey on back-to-back passes for 13 and 25 yards, respectively. The second advanced the ball to the six from where Williams went into the end zone. Probst’s PAT upped the margin to 27-23.

The Tigers had one last opportunity but Wach’s fourth-down pass with less than a minute to play was incomplete.

Shadyside used a 36-yard scoring pass from Wach to Miller to take a 7-6 lead after one quarter. The lead increased to 9-6 when Andrew Brown and Josh Harris combined to tackle Ludolph in the end zone for a safety.

Harris figured in the scoring again when he picked off a screen pass and lumbered 30 yards to paydirt with 42.2 seconds left before the half.

Williams ran for 97 yards as the Purple Riders amassed 214 infantry yards. Ludolph added 76. Ludolph passed for 96 yards on 8-for-15. He had one TD and an INT. Lucey caught four passes for 43 yards.

Martins Ferry’s defense limited Shadyside to 49 yards via the ground on 26 carries.

“Our defense played lights-out all night,” Kropka allowed. “In the first half we played like it was the first time a lot of those kids had played at the varsity level, and it was.”

The Tigers’ undoing was 17 penalties for 112 yards.

“That’s a recipe for disaster,” Kernik stressed. “That’s my fault. That’s stuff I have to work on in practice. I’ve got to be more disciplined, making sure the kids are lining up right and ready to play. That’s something I have to work on.”

The Tigers lost junior two-way performer Andrew Osman late in the third quarter to what Kernik described as a “pretty good leg injury.” The coach said he wasn’t sure what type of injury it was.

“He’s a tough kid. If he can come back from it, he will.” Osman was taken from the field via stretcher and transported from the facility to a local hospital by ambulance.

Martins Ferry remains at home next Friday as Leetonia visits. The Bears (0-1) were blanked 54-0 by Jackson-Milton in their opener. Meanwhile, Shadyside will make its home debut at Fleming Field as Shenandoah (1-0) visits. The Zeps zapped Newcomerstown 48-8 on Thursday night.