Thegatewaynews.com - Woodridge gets first-ever playoff victory

by Michael Leonard

Sports Editor

Martins Ferry — November 7, 2009 was a very good day to be a Bulldog.

Less than seven hours after the Woodridge boys cross country team won its fourth straight state title, the Woodridge football team won its first-ever playoff football game.

The Bulldogs came from behind twice to shock Martins Ferry 49-28 at Martins Ferry Stadium.

Faced with first-half deficits of 14-0 and 21-14, Woodridge rallied to tie the score at 21-21 by halftime and dominated the second half, forcing four Martins Ferry interceptions.

The game was a sloppy one, as the two teams combined for 10 turnovers, although Woodridge (9-2) had a 6-4 edge in takeaways.

“We always want to make it a little interesting,” said Woodridge head coach Eric Ervin. “We didn’t come down here just to lose. I say it every week, but we don’t worry about anything until the final gun sounds. Nobody panicked when we were 14-0 down, we just kept fighting.”

There were heroes all over the field for Woodridge, but the biggest was likely running back Anthony Kelly.

Kelly finished the game with three touchdown runs (two from one yard and one 29-yard score) and showed off moves in the fourth quarter that looked more like a video game. Kelly finished the game with 155 yards rushing and he also collected one of four interceptions by the Purple Rider quarterback.

“We just knew we had to fight back after going down early,” Kelly said. “We practiced [speeding up our offense] all week long.”

Woodridge went down 14-0 in the first quarter, thanks to a pair of interceptions, but quarterback Anthony Westren recovered to complete 14-of-22 passes for 192 yards and two TDs.

Senior Brandynn Peters had a big game on both sides of the ball, grabbing a 25-yard scoring pass from Westren to get the Bulldogs on the board. He also snagged two interceptions in the second half, one of which he returned 23 yards for a fourth-quarter score.

Brother Bryan Peters also recovered a fumble in the game.

Sebastian Dodds had two takeaways — one fumble and one interception.

After having success early, Martins Ferry’s offense fell apart in the second half.

Martins Ferry’s starting quarterback went 8-of-24 through the air for 139 yards, including four picks. Woodridge’s Kelly outgained the vaunted Purple Rider ground game all by himself, as Martins Ferry was held to 133 yards rushing.

The victory set up a semifinal matchup with Girard Nov. 14 for the Bulldogs after Girard (11-0) defeated Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, 42-7.

The game is scheduled to take place at Uniontown Lake High School at 7 p.m.

E-mail: mleonard@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3913