High school football is back in the Ohio Valley. The bright lights, the sound of the band, the packed stands, the crisp, cool fall air, all spell the start of football season. Tonight, it was the Martins Ferry Purple Riders traveling to Flemming Field in Shadyside to take on the Tigers. There is not a much better way to start the season off for us here at Ohio Valley Athletics.
Early on it looked like this one was going to turn into a Rider blow out. Martins Ferry scored on its first possession after forcing a Shadyside punt. The big play on the drive was Tev’n Williams’ 48-yard scamper for the touchdown. Williams would finish with 143 yards on the ground and the touchdown. Jacob Theaker’s PAT put the Riders up 7-0.
After another Tiger punt the Purple Riders had a more methodical drive, taking ten plays to score on the drive. Martins Ferry quarterback Adyen Ludolph (more on him later) was key on the drive. He hit Turner Krol (proud he had a good game, seeing he is my cousin) on a key third down. Ludolph would go in for the short td run, this would put Martins Ferry up 13-0 and looked as though they would go on for blowout win on the night.
Shadyside quarterback Ben Wach had a huge game for the Tigers. His team’s offense started slow in the first quarter but started the second quarter with a nice drive that ended in a 30-yard touchdown run for Wach as the Tigers pulled to within seven at 13-6 early in the second quarter.
The Tigers defense came up big on the Riders next offensive possession. With Martins Ferry driving and needing a fourth down conversion to continue the drive. The Riders went to the air, but Nathan Booth came up big for the Tigers by intercepting the fourth down pass.
On the ensuing possession the Tigers would be down only one 13-12 as Wach would score again. This time it was from fifteen yards out. Booth not only came up big on defense with the pick, but he would also make a big catch on the drive for a 22 yard gain to keep the drive going.
Cousin Krol came up big again on the next Martins Ferry possession as he made a diving catch of the Ludolph pass in the end zone. The 2-point attempt following the score was no good. The Riders still increased their lead to 19-12 towards the end of the half.
It looked as though the Riders would take the lead going into the break. Shadyside, though, had different ideas as they were aggressive in their play calling at the end of the half in pushing the ball down the field. Wach hit a couple big passes on the drive, one to running back Karl Tsoras and a touchdown to Cole Micker with just 23 seconds left in the half. Wach was not done there as he hit Tsoras again for the two pointer to put the host Tigers up 20-19 going into the half.
Special teams came up big for the Riders at the beginning of the second half as they blocked a punt on Shadyside’s second possession of the half. This led to a Ludolph six-yard touchdown run, putting the visiting Martins Ferry Purple Riders up 25-20 over halfway through the quarter.
After forcing a punt on the Riders next offensive possession, the Tigers took over on the Riders’ 40-yard line. Wach again would come up big for Shadyside as he weaved and wiggled his way down the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown run. Wach then hit Tsoras again for a two, to give the hosts the lead 28-25 early in the fourth.
Martins Ferry went back to Ludolph for their next two touchdown drives that seemingly put the game away. Ludolph scored from twenty-five yards out and with the two pointer, put the Riders up 33-28 with just over 7 minutes left. Ludolph would score again with just under 2 minutes to go to put Martins Ferry up 39-28. Shadyside, though, would not go away.
Wach found Booth on a 55-yard touchdown toss with under a minute to play, he would also run in the conversion to pull the Tigers within three at 39-36 with just about a minute to go. The onside attempt went out of bounds, ending the Tigers comeback bid.
This was a great game to take in for the beginning of the season. An exciting game to watch between two programs that are back on the rise. Many had good games on the night highlighted by Ludolph, who ended the game with 125 yards on the ground along with four touchdowns, adding another through the air. Wach ended the game with 176 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, while throwing for 161 and two more scores.
The win was a great way to start the season for Martins Ferry and coach Justin Kropka, who were playing for injured all everything player Baron Lucey, who was lost for the season with an injury in last week’s scrimmage. Shadyside coach Mike Kernick will not be happy with the loss but is happy about seeing his team playing hard until the end. Shadyside will look to rebound as they travel to take on Shenandoah next week. Martins Ferry will look for a win in their home opener against St. Clairsville.
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