Weir Runs Past Martins Ferry
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WEIRTON – The Weir football team ran past Martins Ferry.
The Red Riders ran for 380 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 35-20 victory against the Purple Riders Friday night at Jimmy Carey Stadium.
“Run, run, run,” Weir (3-1) head coach Frank Sisinni said. “That was the story. You have that old adage or saying, ‘If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. It wasn’t broke, so we didn’t need to fix it.
“You had our running backs Hubbard-Bass, Smith and Lyons with a little Malachi Stromile thrown in. They all ran well.
“That happens when your offensive line plays well. Our offensive line played really well. That is something we have been working on in the offseason, in the weight room and in the summer. That has translated from our scrimmages to now. I’m very proud of our guys.”
The boys from Hancock County were able to wear down the boys from Belmont County.
“The last three weeks we have played bigger schools,” first-year Martins Ferry (2-3) head coach Justin Kropka said. “They have had much bigger offensive lines. We just don’t have enough in our butts to hold up for four quarters.
“We can do two quarters or two-and-a-half quarters, but if we don’t score before we get to halftime they are going to be able to wear us down.”
Corey Lyons tallied 189 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Red Rider rushing attack. Lyons scored both of his touchdowns in the first quarter. Also, Jamari Hubbard-Bass delivered 118 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, while Deshjaun Smith collected 81 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
Stromile completed 5-of-6 passes for 51 yards and a 5-yard touchdown to Damir Mowder. Mowder recorded two catches for 14 yards in the game. Devan Colson caught one pass for 23 yards.
Martins Ferry starting quarterback Ayden Ludolph played well, but he took multiple big hits from the Weir defense. The sophomore signal caller ran 17 times for 81 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing for 143 yards.
Connor Probst came on to play quarterback during the second half, and he ran for a 5-yard touchdown, while throwing for 42 yards.
Landyn Hores caught three passes for 86 yards to lead the way in that category.
Ludolph opened the scoring when he scored on a 1-yard run, however, the 2-point conversion pass was no good keeping the score at 6-0 with 8:40 left to play in the first.
Weir answered right back.
Lyons capped off the ensuing drive with a 5-yard run, and Ben Howard’s extra point gave the hosts a 7-6 lead with 6:53 left in the quarter.
Lyons found paydirt for a second time when he scored on a 7-yard run late in the quarter. Howard booted the PAT making the score 14-6 with 21.2 seconds left on the clock.
Mowder hauled in his touchdown reception late in the second as Howard split the uprights with his third extra point of the night increasing Weir’s advantage to 21-6 with 1:37 remaining to be played before halftime.
Tevy’n Williams pulled the Purple Riders closer when he scored on a 6-yard run in the third, however, the conversion pass was not successful keeping the score 21-12 with 3.1 seconds left in the third.
The Red Riders quickly regained the momentum.
This time, Smith gashed the Martins Ferry defense en route to a 35-yard score, and Howard’s PAT made the score 28-12 with 11:52 left to play in the game.
To their credit, the Purple Riders didn’t quit as they drove down the field for their third touchdown of the night. Probst ran it in from 5-yards out, and he hooked up with Alex Reese for the 2-point conversion making the score, 28-20.
“This team is amazing,” Kropka said. “I can’t say enough about this team. This is the gutsiest team I have ever coached.
“Our starting quarterback took some big hits, and as a coach and a father I felt compelled to take him out of the game. Our No. 2 quarterback got injured last week. We put our No. 3 quarterback in, and he drove us down the field for a touchdown a 2-point conversion.”
Hubbard-Bass scored the Red Riders’ fourth touchdown of the night on the ground when he broke through the Martins Ferry defense on his way for a 33-yard score. Howard once again hit the extra point making the score 35-20 with 1:26 left in the game.
Weir 35, Martins Ferry 20
Martins Ferry 6 0 6 8 – 20
Weir 14 7 0 14 – 35
MF-Ludolph 1 run (pass fail)
W-Lyons 5 run (Howard kick)
W-Lyons 7 run (Howard kick)
W-Mowder 5 pass from Stromile (Howard kick)
MF-Williams 6 run (pass fail)
W-Smith 35 run (Howard kick)
MF-Probst 5 run (Reese pass from Probst)
W-Hubbard-Bass 35 run (Howard kick)
RUSHING: Martins Ferry 32-120-3TDs (Ludolph 17-81-TD, Hulsey 1-0, Williams 8-31-TD, Carte 1-(-1), Hores 1-4, Probst 2-5-TD); Weir 52-380-4TDs (Stromile 11-(-6), Hubbard-Bass 11-118-TD, Lyons 21-189-2TDSs, Smith 8-81-TD, Colson 1-(-2))
PASSING: Martins Ferry 13-25-185-0-2 (Ludolph 11-22-143-0-1, Probst 2-3-42-0-1); Weir 5-6-51-1-1 (All by Stromile)
RECEIVING: Martins Ferry 11-22-143-1TD (Hores 3-86, Hulsey 4-43, Ward 2-26, Fox 2-7, Williams 1-11, Reese 1-12); Weir 5-6-51-1TD (Colson 1-23, Mowder 2-14-TD, Hubard-Bass 1-5, Turner 1-11)
FIRST DOWNS: Martins 12; Weir 22
PENALTIES: Martins Ferry 10-75; Weir 5-41
FUMBLES: Martins Ferry 3-1; Weir 3-2