The St. Marys Blue Devils will head out to take on the Ritchie County Rebels at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in St. Marys' favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last four games.
St. Marys is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Magnolia: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Blue Devils blew the Blue Eagles out of the water with a 44-14 final score. The Blue Devils haven't had any issues with the Blue Eagles recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.
Eli Wilson had another great game (as he tends to do), rushing for 159 yards and three TDs on only 14 carries, while also catching one score. His longest rush was for an impressive 54 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Another player making a difference was Jeremiah Demoss, who rushed for 106 yards and one touchdown on only 12 carries.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: St. Marys was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 301 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 168 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Ritchie County strolled past Tygarts Valley with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 26-12. The Rebels' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
The critical scores for Ritchie County came from Jenner Keen, Isaiah Poole, Landon Hanlon, and Kellen Cress.
Ritchie County picked up their first road win, bumping their record up to 2-5. As for St. Marys, their record now sits at 5-2.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. St. Marys has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 196.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Ritchie County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 159 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.
St. Marys took their victory against Ritchie County in their previous matchup back in October of 2024 by a conclusive 27-7 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Blue Devils since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
