Both Andrew Connor and Chas Yoder are quite pleased with the consistency with which their respective teams are playing.

So, what’s going to give on Friday night when Indian Creek hosts Martins Ferry at newly turfed Kettlewell Memorial Stadium in Wintersville?

“We’ve continued to get better on both sides of the ball,” Connor said. “We need to continue that trend over the next few weeks.”

The Redskins are currently 5-1 on the season and are coming off a big win over Brooke. The Purple Riders, meanwhile, have evened their record at 3-3 after a 1-3 start. Consecutive wins over Harrison Central and East Liverpool have served as the springboard.

“I don’t know if it’s as much we’ve turned the corner, but really we played one bad game (at Shadyside) and gotten beat by two other good teams,” Yoder said. “We know what we’re capable of when we come to play. We’ve continued to improve on both sides of the ball and we played our best defensive game last week.”

The Riders shut down a sound Potters outfit last week, 23-13.

The Ferry defense, which is led by talented junior linebacker Evan Carpenter, will need to be in top form again this week against a Redskins’ squad, which is averaging almost 29 points a game.

“I am really not sure how they do it, but Martins Ferry always has kids who play physical and tackle well,” Connor said. “It starts with how impressed I am with Carpenter, who they’ve moved around on both sides of the ball, so we need to be aware of him. We know we’re going to see Martins Ferry’s best effort this week.”

Indian Creek’s offense is led by its ground game, which features senior running back Trevor Fante. He’s rushed for better than 500 yards despite a light workload last week. Sam Mazur triggers the attack. He’s a threat with both his legs and arm. He’s thrown for almost 500 yards and three touchdowns.

The Redskins leading receiver is Brandon Fleming, who has caught 17 passes for 163 yards.

“Indian Creek is really balanced on offense,” Yoder said. “These are honestly the games you get excited for as a coach and player. You don’t get too excited playing teams that are 0 and whatever, but when you’re playing a team (like Creek), it’s exciting and something you look forward to. I expect a good, hard-hitting football game.”

The Redskins’ defense will be tested by a Purple Rider offense, which seems to finding its identity more and more. It starts with the passing game and senior quarterback Jacob Probst, who is in the midst of a brilliant campaign. He’s thrown for 969 yards and 10 touchdowns.

His favorite receiver is senior Dasyn Hores, who is a home-run hitter offensively. He’s caught 28 passes for 556 yards and 7 touchdowns. Junior Logan Smith returned from injury two games ago and has made a big impact as a secondary receiving option.

On the ground, the Riders have gone more by committee with the likes of Caleb Olson, Chase Goff and Trevor Hason all getting their share of carries.

“The biggest is thing about Ferry’s offense is having a quarterback as good as Probst,” Connor said. “Everything they do starts with him and centers on him, but you can’t forget about their running game. Their receivers provide some tough matchups to the point where you often times can’t concentrate on one (guy) or the other.”

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.