Bellaire and Martins Ferry are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2015, but not for long. The Bellaire Big Reds will take on the Martins Ferry Purple Riders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Bellaire has struggled recently with four defeats in a row, while Martins Ferry will arrive with five straight wins.
Bellaire is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Union Local on Saturday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Bellaire was 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 loss, Bellaire got top-tier performance from Raekwon Pettigrew, who picked up 172 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 34 yards. Pettigrew has become a key player for Bellaire: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two receiving touchdowns, but 1-4 otherwise. 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.
Meanwhile, 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 contests by 27 points or more this season.
Bellaire now has a losing record at 4-5. As for Martins Ferry, their victory bumped their record up to 8-1.
Everything came up roses for Bellaire against Martins Ferry when the teams last played back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 41-14 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Bellaire since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
