Martins Ferry and Bellaire are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2015, but not for long. The Martins Ferry Purple Riders will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Bellaire Big Reds at 7:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Martins Ferry has five straight victories, Bellaire has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Friday, Martins Ferry humbled Rootstown with a 34-7 victory. The Purple Riders might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matches by 27 points or more this season.
Meanwhile, a win for Bellaire just wasn't in the cards on Saturday as the team wasn't able to take the lead at any point. They were beaten by Union Local 50-18. While losing is never fun, the Big Reds can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 484th, while the Jets are ranked 200th).
Despite the defeat, Bellaire saw an underclassman step up: Raekwon Pettigrew picked up 172 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 34 yards. Pettigrew torched the secondary when he pulled down a catch that went for 78 yards. Another player making a difference was Michael Dippel, who threw for 229 yards and three touchdowns.
Bellaire wouldn't let Union Local keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Bellaire can thank Kole Swierkos and Alex Ney for forcing both of them.
Martins Ferry's victory bumped their record up to 8-1. As for Bellaire, they now have a losing record at 4-5.
Martins Ferry was dealt a bruising 41-14 loss at the hands of Bellaire in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. Will Martins Ferry have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
