Photo/MICHELLE WITT MARTINS FERRY’S Dylan Ward defends a Cambridge wide receiver during Friday’s game in Guernsey County. The Bobcats rallied to defeat the Purple Riders, 25-18.

CAMBRIDGE – A pair of teams looking to end losing streaks collided on Friday, with Martins Ferry paying a visit to McFarland Stadium to take on Cambridge High in a Buckeye 8 Conference match-up.

A spirited second half rally propelled the Bobcats to a hard-fought 25-18 victory to improve to 4-2 on the season, while the Purple Riders suffer their fourth straight defeat to slip to 2-4.

Tied at 18-18 in the late stages of the fourth quarter, Cambridge took the lead for the first time all night with senior QB Caden Moore connecting with senior Davion Bahr for the 50-yard TD pass with just 2:52 left in the game for the thrilling comeback victory.

“Our kids really stepped up that second half,” CHS head coach Ray Leek said. “We played with a lot more energy, flew to the football. They just came out and played Bobcat football in that second half. We need to do that for four quarters, we can not come out flat like we did tonight.”

“We challenged our kids at halftime and they responded in a big way,” Leek continued. “They stepped up and came back to get a big win tonight. They got a little talking to at halftime and they responded to that in a positive way. That talk could have went one of two ways, they could have put their heads down. But to their credit they showed what they are made of and I’m proud of them.”

Cambridge trailed by a 12-3 margin following a sluggish first half, but Leek’s ‘encouraging words’ at halftime propelled the Bobcats to outscore the visiting Riders 22-6 in the second half for the win.

Martins Ferry took the second half kick-off and the CHS defense forced a quick 3-and-out to get their first crack on offense in the third quarter at the Riders’ 41-yard line.

Cambridge only needed five plays to advance 41 yards into the end zone with Moore hitting senior Trey Stottsberry with a 20-yard scoring pass at the 8:50 mark of the third period to quickly pull within 12-10 following senior Lucas Parsons’ PAT boot.

To close out the third period, Martins Ferry responded with sophomore QB Ayden Ludolph finding junior Baron Lucy with a short six-yard TD pass to extend the lead back out to 18-10 with just 1:40 left on the clock.

Cambridge continued to click offensively on the ensuing kick-off, with Moore capping a seven play scoring march with an eight-yard scamper to pay-dirt with 11:00 left in the game. Parson’s added his second PAT kick to deadlock the game at 18-18, setting up the fantastic finish.

“We got good effort in that second half both offensively and defensively to get the win and get this ship headed in the right direction,” Leek added. “Coming off a pair of tough losses to good teams, we needed this one tonight. And 4-2 sounds a lot better than 3-3 in my book.”

Martins Ferry opened the scoring in the first quarter with Ludolph, who battled with an injured leg all night found 6-5, 215-pound senior Landyn Hores with a 61-yard TD at the 8:07 mark, to lead 6-0 after a missed PAT kick.

Cambridge got on the board thanks to the reliable leg of Parsons, who drilled a 26-yard field goal to get the Bobcats within 6-3 with 4:58 left in the first quarter.

Martins Ferry grabbed the ‘Mo’ heading to the locker room with Ludolph hit Alex Reese with a 16-yard scoring strike with 6:25 left in the opening half. That same duo then teamed up to add the 2-point PAT pass to make it 12-3 at the intermission.

Ludolph finished his night hitting on 10-of-12 passing attempts for 149 yards with three TDs for Martins Ferry, Hores hauled in six receptions for 95 yards with a touchdown. Sophomore Tev’n Williams paced the Riders’ ground game with 123 yards on 22 carries.

Senior Trey Stottsberry rushed for a season high 109 yards on 19 attempts to give the Bobcats a balanced offensive attack. Moore then finished his night connecting on 15-of-26 passes for 232 yards with a pair of TDs.

Senior Beau Stottsberry led the CHS receivers with six catches for 64 yards, Bahr added four receptions for 93 yards with the game-winning TD and junior Devin Ogle latched on to three catches for 42 yards.

NEXT – Cambridge travels to Union Local on Friday at 7 p.m. for another key Buckeye 8 tussle.