Photo by Joe Lovell Union Local’s Brody Myers runs with the ball against Martins Ferry Friday.

MARTINS FERRY — Early in the week, Union Local head coach Bernie Thompson referred to his team’s game at Martins Ferry as a “business trip.”

The Jets took care of business … and then some on Friday night.

Union Local dropped a 28-point bomb on the Purple Riders during the second quarter to blow what was a 7-6 game wide open en route to what eventually resulted in a 60-14 rout at the Dave Bruney Football Complex inside muggy Purple Rider Stadium.

“Stats and score aside, we wanted to come down here and be physical,” Thompson said. “The last time we came down here (in 2020), we got our butts kicked, so we wanted to set the tone early and I thought we did a great job of that early.”

The Jets took the game right at the Purple Riders from the opening kickoff onward. Following a strong, experienced and talented offensive line, the Jets set the tone in the trenches, which led to an explosion on the stat sheet of 435 yards and six touchdowns rushing. The Jets threw for 94 yards and a score and for good measure they added two defensive touchdowns.

“It was phenomenal performance on both sides of the ball,” Thompson said. “Our mindset all week was to come down and score a lot of points. We had a hiccup (in the first half) and had to punt, but after that, we kept our compsure and took care of our business.”

For the second straight week, the Jets played without the services of All-Ohio senior running back Hayden McCrate due to a knee injury he sustained in week one. However, they didn’t miss a beat because of the one-two punch of seniors Jaksan Price and quarterback Carter Blake.

The Price was definitely right for the Jets once again. Despite limited work, he powered his way to 234 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns. He opened the scoring with an 11-yard burst, added a 72-yard sprint and then tacked on an 8-yarder. He actually ignited the aformentioned second-quarter scoring run by stripping Ferry quarterback Ayden Ludolph, scooping the ball and scoring from 2 yards out.

“Jaksan is pretty good,” Thompson said. “He and Carter came to us early in the week and said ‘give us the ball.’ We planned to ride them and they did their job.”

Blake, who came up a little lame after one of his eight carries, finished with 90 yards.

Even with Blake exiting early, the Jets didn’t miss a beat. Isaiah Tomolonis came on late in the first half and scored ona 15-yard run. He found the end zone a second time when he was johnny on the spot, picking off a deflected pass and racing it back 64 yards for the pick six. He later threw a 61-yard touchdown to sophomore Billy Schumacher in the fourth quarter.

Union Local also got a 31-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play from senior Brody Myers and Matt Keller scored on a 30-yard run to cap the scoring.

“I was a little worried coming in because I knew we’d have to do some different things and not just stay in our base (formation),” first-year Martins Ferry head coach Justin Kropka said. “They whipped us in every way you can be whipped. We just don’t have enough time in the program yet to be at the point where I can help them. We’re still making rookie mistakes and doing that against a good team, you’re going to get beat.”

The Riders gained 292 yards of total offense. Ludolph, who scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter, was 10-of-19 passing for 197 yards. He threw a 68-yard touchdown to Baron Lucey in the third quarter.

“I was very pleased with our effort in the second half and the support of our fans, which was incredible,” Kropka said. “We were getting beat pretty good and they were still cheering our kids on. That’s the kind of positivity that’s going to help us turn this thing around.”

Union Local (3-0) returns to Morristown next Friday to take on Harrison Central, while the Riders head on the road for the first time to take on St. Clairsville.

Union Local 60, Martins Ferry 14

UL 7 28 12 13 — 60

MF 6 0 8 0 — 14

UL — Price 11 run (Blake kick).

MF — Ludolph 4 run (kick failed).

UL — Price 2 fumble return (Blake kick).

UL — Price 72 run (kick failed).

UL — Price 8 run (Blake run).

UL — Tomolonis 15 run (Blinco kick).

MF — Lucey 68 pass from Ludolph (Ludolph run).

UL — Myers 31 run (run failed).

UL — Tomolonis 64 INT return (kick failed).

UL — Schumacher 61 pass from Tomolonis (Blinco kick).

UL — Kellar 30 run (kick failed).

RUSHING: Union Local, 34-435-6td (Price, 16-234-3td; Blake, 8-90; Tomolonis, 1-15-td; Myers, 2-29-td; Cross, 2-5; Kellar, 3-54-td; Team, 2-8). Martins Ferry, 32-86-td (Williams, 9-35; Ludolph, 7-14-td; Carte, 8-28; Hulsey, 1-(-1); Booth, 2-8; Shane, 3-(-3); Mahoney, 2-5).

PASSING: Union Local, 5-9-94-1td (Blake, 2-4-16; Tomolonis, 3-6-78-td). Martins Ferry, 11-20-206-1td-1x (Ludolph, 10-19-197-1td-1x; Shane, 1-1-9).

RECEIVING: Union Local, 5-94-td (Saunders, 1-1; Akers, 1-15; Higgenbotham, 1-11; Price, 1-6; Schumacher, 1-61-td). Martins Ferry, 11-206-td (Hores, 2-46); Williams, 4-27; Hulsey, 1-40: Lucey, 2-74-td; Fox, 1-10; Booth, 1-9).

First Downs: Union Local, 18; Martins Ferry, 11.

Fumbles: Union Local, 1-0; Martins Ferry, 4-2.

Penalties: Union Local, 5-40; Martins Ferry, 4-40.