’Skins blank Ferry

Sherri McAninch AROUND END — Indian Creed senior Austin Rawson looks to go around the left end during Friday’s 33-0 win at Martins Ferry.
MARTINS FERRY — Indian Creek’s combo of a steady defense with a very effective offense pushed the Redskins to a very important 33-0 win over host Martins Ferry Friday night.
Coach Andrew Connor’s Redskins, winning for the sixth straight time after opening the season with a loss, finish the season with three crucial games startng on the road with Beaver Local next week. They close with home encounters with South Range and Edison.
“That’s been our strategy the last three or four weeks,” Connor said. “We play fundamental football, execute all three phases of the game an we tell our kids to play hard. We you play hard, you will wear the other team out.
“Our defense play lights out and has played real good since the opener. Just the way we get to the ball, the way we tackle. I think that is something that we have really improved on since last year. Our tackling has really improved. We cut down on the broken tackles and we have had some really big stands.
“It takes a lot to beat a team like this. Martins Ferry is a very tough football team and to be able to do that to a team like Ferry, you give kudos to the kids and the way they played.
“We know we have some skilled players out there and our goal is to give those guys some space. I think both of our coordinators did a good job tonight, our offensive coordinator did a good job getting our guys some spaces and our defensive coordinator did a good job mixing up the defenses.
“This is a big, big win for us.”
Veteran coach Dave Bruney’s Purple Riders continued its up-and-down season with the loss that dropped them to 4-3. They will host Carrick (PA) next week and Beaver Local and Bellaire to close the regular season.
“Defensively we made some mistakes early, we got outflanked and they were able to make some big plays on us,” Bruney said. “But for the most play we played defense pretty hard and once we got settled down, we made some turnovers and couldn’t get back in the game.
“Sometimes you go through growing pains when you start a freshman at quarterback. He will end up being a good player.
“They have a good team and we have to tip our hat to them, but we’ve to put this behind us and get ready to play next week.
“We just have to get untracked, that’s the big thing right now.”
A rolling snap on a Purple Rider punt attempt set the stage for Creek’s first-quarter score as the Redskins took possession on the Ferry 14. Greg Wade’s second run from scrimmage picked up four yards. Trey Harton swept the left side for another seven yards and two plays later Robert Coppa ran it in from the 2 with 7:19 left in the first.
While the Rider offense continued to sputter in the first quarter, the Redskins regained possession late in the first following a Martins Ferry punt at their own 24.
Creek followed up that possession with an 11-play drive that featured an 10-yard run by Coppa just after the second quarter started and another run of 11 yards and a Wade to Rawson pass covering 10 yards. With 9:00 showing on the second quarter clock, Rawson capped the drive with a run from the 5. Ensign Maiorano tacked on the PAT for a 13-0 Redskin lead.
Another Rider miscue allowed the visitors to find the endzone once more before the half. With 7:19 on the board, Devin Eakle picked off a Ferry pass at the Redskins 37. Creek needed eight plays to push the ball for another score. Coppa ran three times for 23 yards to open the drive, Wade then connected with Rawson for 20 yards to the Ferry 20 and Coppa took over from there. Coppa ran for three, five and the final 12 at the 3:36 mark. Brandon Hiles booted the PAT for a 20-0 halftime lead.
After a scoreless third frame, the Redskins took advantage of a couple big defensive plays to put the contest out of reach.
With 9:36 remaining, Tyler Smarrella and Cody Allan teamed up on a QB sack for a seven-yard loss on a fourth-and-three for the Riders. Starting from the Rider 30, Coppa rushed twice to the 15 and three plays later Wade found Rawson in the corner of the endzone for 13 yards and the score. Hiles booted the PAT for a 27-0 lead at 7:28.
Just 20 seconds later Wade picked off a Rider pass and returned it 41 yards for the score. The PAT missed its mark as the Redskins closed with 33-0 win.
Indian Creek 33, Martins Ferry 0
Indian Creek 6 14 0 13 — 33
Martins Ferry 0 0 0 0 — 0
IC: Coppa 2 run (kick failed)
IC: Rawson 5 run (Maiorano kick)
IC: Coppa 12 run (Hiles kick)
IC: Rawson 13 pass from Wade (Hiles kick)
IC: Wade 41 interception return (kick failed)
RUSHING: Martins Ferry 32-41-0td (Hoover 15-47; Johnson, 1-6; Probst 6-4; Allen 5-11; Bennett 1-0; Hill 1-6; Olson 1-(-3); Team 1-(-30) ); Indian Creek 42-154-4td (Coppa 19-82-2; Wade 13-9-1; Rawson 2-14-1; Harton 4-19; Wukelic 1-8; Scales 2-0; Smarrella 1-2).
PASSING: Martins Ferry 11-23-102-0td-2int (Probst 11-20-102-2int; Hoover, 0-2-0; Opic 0-1-0 ); Indian Creek 5-8-65-1td (all by Wade )
RECEIVING: Martins Ferry (Davis 3-18; Opic 2-33; Bennett 2-10; Allen 2-33; Fox 2-8); Indian Creek (Rawson 4-43-1td; Wade 1-12).
FIRST DOWNS: Martins Ferry 9; Indian Creek 11.
FUMBLES: Martins Ferry 2-1; Indian Creek 1-1.
PENALTIES: Martins Ferry 5-41; Indian Creek 6-3.