At Full Strength
Purple Riders on a roll since opening defeatBy MIKE HUGHES, Staff Writer
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By MIKE HUGHES
Staff Writer
It's safe to say Martins Ferry has shaken off the effects of a season-opening loss to Buckeye Local.
Since that 21-14 defeat on Aug. 22 at World War II Memorial Stadium, the Purple Riders have ripped off four straight victories, including Friday 60-18 rout of previously unbeaten Union Local.
The most telling stat of that game is not that Ferry scored 60 points, but how Coach Dave Bruney's club was able to contain the Jets' Jordan Barbina and limit an offense that came in averaging nearly 42 points per game, to 18. Barbina himself was averaging nearly 400 yards of total offense.
But against the Riders' stanch defense, Barbina was limited to season lows in passing attempts (19), yards (173) and rushing yards (29). His previous low in passing yards was 246 against Shenandoah.
Just how was Ferry able to do it?
''We tried to keep him in the pocket and pressure him with (Jordan) Burress, (Matt) Shreve and (Steve) Woodford from the inside,'' Bruney said.
Burress accounted for three sacks, Dalton Leach and Marquis Bass had two and the team speed of the Riders' defense resulted in nine sacks total.
When Barbina wasn't getting dragged down, he was running for his life, resulting in the senior to make decisions much faster than he was accustomed to doing. He threw two interceptions in the process. Kyle Copeland, who came in later in the game under center, didn't fare much better, also throwing a pick.
One of those three interceptions was returned for a touchdown by Brandon Leonard.
It has been Leonard's return, along with a healthy Matt Shreve, that has fueled Ferry's return to defensive dominance.
''There's no question about it,'' said Bruney of the importance of having a healthy Leonard in his team's secondary. ''Leonard is an All-Valley safety type player and having him and Shreve back has been big.
''Matt is an All-Ohio type player and the combination of those two back in the lineup has boosted our confidence.
Leonard suffered a season-ending knee injury during the UL game in 2007 and the road to recovery was a long process.
Shreve missed the first couple of games this season and has just recently returned.
With Shreve, along with Woodford anchoring the second-level of the Riders defense, and Leonard lurking in the secondary, it has allowed Ferry to be more liberal with its defensive play calls.
''Brandon covers a lot of ground back there,'' Bruney said. ''He's an intelligent player and a real fine tackler and it allows us to do a lot more (defensively) when he's back there.''
Ferry finished the '07 season with a 6-4 record as no less than seven two-way starters missed at least five games.
The plus side of that was a number of underclassmen got the opportunity for live, game experience.
The negative of that was the Riders missed the postseason, but the positive, as evident by this season's performances, have spoke for themselves.
Sea of Red, White and Blue
A big key for Wheeling Park during its 4-0 start to the 2008 season has been the play of its defense. It's not an overly large unit, but the Patriots have plenty of speed and they utilized that against Brooke to the tune of 12 sacks.
Richard Hall, R.J. Vargo, Derek Stahl, Brady McConnell, Sean Lake and Zach Kimmins each posted two sacks. Hall leads the team through four games with five.
Ground Assault
- Tyler Hardesty, Cambridge: Ran for 248 yards and fourt TDs in a victory against River View.
- Chance Rowland, Oak Glen: Golden Bears sophomore ran for 142 yards and two TDs in a victory against Toronto. Rowland also had a sack and a pick defensively.
- Tyler Kinchen, Monroe Central: The Seminoles 6-foot-1, 200-pound budding freshman rushed for 165 yards and a score on 11 carries in a victory against Fort Frye.
- Timmy Jones, Beallsville: Backed Lucas with 112 yards and a touchdown while also posting 14 stops and a sack defensively.
- Matt Schrumpf, Bishop Donahue: Senior ran for 223 yards and two touchdowns against St. John Central.
- Rawn Driver, Jeremy Murray, Martins Ferry: Driver had two TDs, rushing for 132 yards on 12 carries while Murray ran for 146 yards and a TD on 19 carries. He also threw a TD pass to Driver and finished with 41 yards passing.
- Doren Thomas, Indian Creek: Junior rushed for 114 yards and two scores against Buckeye Local.
- Chris Smelley, Garrett Price, Bridgeport: Smelley had 126 yards and three scores on nine carries while Price totaled 132 yards and a score on three carries against Paden City.
- Dwight Macon, Demetrius Brandon, Steubenville: Macon ran for 120 yards and a touchdown while Brandon had two scores with 115 yards against Beaver Local. Macon also threw for 131 yards.
- Nate Zills, Tyler Consolidated: Senior rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown as the Silver Knights took one of the chin against No. 1 Grafton.
- Tyler Brooks, River: Pilots' senior bruiser churned his legs for 148 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Defensively, Brooks had 11 tackles, including two for a loss, plus a sack.
- Adam Klein, Buckeye Trail: Had 128 yards and two TDs on 13 carries as Buckeye Trail narrowly missed earning its first victory of the season, losing to Wahama.
- Phil Acrie, Linsly: Rushed for 185 yards and TD on 16 carries as Linsly earned its first victory of the season.
- Brandon Elliott, Shadyside: Ran for 138 yards and TD on 19 carries as Shadyside beat Zanesville Rosecrans.
Air Raid
- Ryan Feller, Bellaire: In his best game to date, Feller broke Jose Davis' single-game passing mark with a 418-yard, five touchdown performance against Steubenville Catholic.
- Billy Webb, Cambridge: In his best game of the season, Webb threw for 184 yards on 6 of 9 passing, including a pair of touchdowns.
- Seth Barnhart, Oak Glen: Fired for 142 yards and three TDs on 6 of 8 passing while rushing for 36 yards and another score.
- Cameron-London Dierkes, Monroe Central: Had only one incompletion, going 7 of 8 for 109 yards and a pair of scores.
- Jerry Manukin, St. John Central: Threw for 145 yards and a touchdown and added two on the ground as the Fighting Irish snapped a 20-game losing streak.
- Ryan Sengewalt, Wheeling Park: The Patriots don't throw often, but Sengewalt is efficient when he does throw. Against Brooke, he was 5 of 8 for 110 yards and a TD.
- Sal Conti, Weirton Madonna: Blue Dons senior threw for 139 yards and two TDs on 3 of 8 passing against Valley.
- Jordan Barbina, Union Local: Completed 12 of 19 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns amidst a sea of pressure against Martins Ferry.
- Ethan Snyder, Buckeye Trail: Threw for 148 yards and two TDs on 10 of 19 passing against the Falcons.
- Mike Newton, Brooke: Finished with 161 yards passing and a TD on 12 of 18 passing while facing constant harassment from Wheeling Park's defense.
- Cody Zernansky, Toronto: Threw for 411 yards and four TDs in a loss to Oak Glen. His main target, Zak Cernansky, had 199 yards and two TDs while Mtich Ludewig had 118 yards and a score.
Sure Handed
- Jacob Porter, Oak Glen: Had two catches for 75 yards, with both going for scores against the Red Knights.
- Mark Rogers, Edison: Another strong outing with five catches for 78 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Harrison Central.
- Ryan Jones, Bishop Donahue: Caught three passes for 83 yards and a score.
- Brandon Nicholes, Joby Barr, Union Local: Nicholes hauled in four passes for 98 yards and a score. Barr had five receptions for 76 yards and a TD.
- Ty Tobiczyk, Tyler Rose, Bellaire: Tobiczyk had five catches for 179 yards and three touchdowns against the Crusaders, while rose caught four passes for 86 yards and a score.
Mr. Everything
- Cody Johnson, Shenandoah: Threw for 100 yards and a touchdown, added a 2-yard rushing score and returned a fumble 75 yards for the opening TD of the game as the Zeps got back on track with a victory against Barnesville.
- Eric Lucas, Beallsville: Rushed for 143 yards and three TDs, completed two passes for 66 yards and had two sacks and an interception returned for a touchdown on defense as Beallsville took it to Frontier.
- Alec Wood, Wheeling Park: Park senior had two rushing TDs and 65 yards, and one receiving TD with 81 yards in a rounded effort against Brooke.
- Adam Shanks, St. Clairsville: Ran for 80 yards and a TD while throwing for 69 yards and a pair of scores against Weir.
- A.J. Klein, Weirton Madonna: Scored two rushing touchdowns with 65 yards on seven carries, caught a 21-yard touchdown pass and returned two punts for touchdowns in a victory against Valley.
- Justin Fox, Magnolia: Sophomore quarterback had two TD passes, completing 6 of 7 for 100 yards. He also had a rushing TD and returned an interception for a touchdown in a victory against previously unbeaten Tolsia.
- Wes Cosper, Malakai Anderson, Paden City: Cosper ran for 152 yards and caught three passes for 23 yards and a score against Bridgeport. Anderson threw for 94 yards on 10 of 17 with the one TD, while rushing for 81 yards and a touchdown.
Wrecking Crew
- Phil Poling, Oak Glen: Sophomore recorded three sacks and forced a fumble.
- Aaron Lucas, Brandon Hudson, Beallsville: Lucas had 12 tackles and a sack while Hudson had three sacks to go with his eight stops.
- Austin Coffield, Caleb Kucera, Bishop Donahue: Coffield had 15 stops and Kucera had 11 with a sack.
- Steve Woodford, Brandon Leonard, Martins Ferry: Woodford had 11 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble, while Leonard had eight tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and returned an pick 87 yards for a touchdown.
- Niko Otto, Indian Creek: Had 10 stops, two for a loss, and a caused fumble against the Panthers.
- Zane Butler, Ryan Jarvie, St. Clairsville: Butler had 14 tackles and three sacks while Jarvie led the Red Devils with 17 tackles and a pick in a victory against Weir that stopped a two-game slide.
- Wes Ferguson, Weirton Madonna: Led the Dons' defense with seven solos, 1 sacks, two fumble recovers and one forced fumble from his defensive end position.
- Nate Maleski, Sean West, Bridgeport: Bulldogs' DT tandem combined for 17 stops, with Maleski totaling nine with a sack against the Wildcats.
- Cole Mullett, Traeh Keller, Magnolia: Mullett led Magnolia with 12 solos, nine assists and a tackle for a loss from his outside linebacker position, while Keller had seven solos and 10 assists from the inside.
- Nick Hurley, Xavier Whetzel, Wheeling Central: Knights' defensive back tandem combined on seven tackles, with Hurley intercepting two passes and Whetzel one. They each also caught a touchdown pass from freshman Lee Peluchette in a victory against Morgan.
- Daniel Starr, Taylor Potts, River: Starr had four solos, four assists and intercepted Caldwell quarterback Travis Mettler twice. Potts had six solos and eight assists for the Pilots.
- Tyler Arigoni, Marcellus Stradford, Union Local: Arigoni again led the defense with 16 tackles and a sack while Stradford had nine stops, two sacks and three tackles for a loss.
- Dylan Garloch, Chris Eneix, Bellaire: Garloch led the Big Reds' defense with six solos and four assists while Eneix had two solos and nine assists as Bellaire improved to 3-2.
- Isaac Snyder, Buckeye Trail: Posted six solos and three assists to lead the Warriors.
- Mike Henderson, Ryan Lazear, Brooke: Henderson finished with 11 tackles, while Lazear had 10 against Park.
- Cody Scott, Valley: Led a depleted defense with 12 tackles against Madonna.
- Matt Mastracci, David Vaughn, Shadyside: Mastracci had seven solos, four assists and two tackles for a loss while Vaughn posted seven solos and three assists, including a pair of sacks.
