MARTINS FERRY — And the beat goes on. For the seventh straight season and the 11th time in the last 12 meetings, St. Clairsville has defeated Martins Ferry.

Friday night at muggy Purple Rider Stadium inside the Dave Bruney Football Complex, the Red Devils (1-1) reeled off 41 points on just 16 offensive snaps in the first half on their way to a 54-0 shellacking of the Purple Riders (1-1).

St. Clairsville scored on its first two possessions of the initial quarter and found the end zone on six of seven in the first 24 minutes to take command and never looked back as the entire second half was played under the OHSAA’s 30-point mercy rule.

“I am most proud of the way the kids practiced this week,” St. Clairsville head coach Brett McLean. “They practiced as hard as they have in a long time. They were focused. They had intensity. This is the result of a lot of hard work, not only by the players but by the coaching staff, as well, because this was a chaotic game. I don’t think there is a kid on my sideline that didn’t get to play a down.”

After a Cole Thoburn punt return set the Red Devils up at the Purple Riders’ 32, tailback Dino Burk picked up 11 yards on first down and went 21 to paydirt on his second carry. Jacob Meager added the PAT and it was quickly 7-0 with less than three minutes off the clock.

Martins Ferry was unable to move the first down sticks on its second drive, with St. Clairsville starting on the Purple Riders’ 36.

On second-and-15, Burk took the handoff and went up the middle of the field before cutting to his left at the 10 to finish off a 41-yard scamper. The placement was no good for a 13-0 advantage with 6:33 showing.

Martins Ferry’s defense finally got a stop but the offense couldn’t generate any movement and the Purple Riders punted for the fourth time.

St. Clairsville erupted for 28 points in the second quarter as sophomore quarterback Brady Schafer passed for two touchdowns and Burk scored his third of the night and seventh in two games.

Schafer found senior wideout Cole Thoburn streaking down the left hash all alone and he delivered a strike to complete the 35-yard six-point pass.

Makenna Booth converted the first of her four PATs and it was 20-0.

Burk capped a 2-play, 27-yard scoring drive with a 3-yard sprint around left end and Booth’s placement made it 27-0.

The Purple Riders picked up two of their nine first downs on the ensuing drive, but quarterback Ayden Ludolph was sacked on third-and-17 by outside linebacker Brody Saunders.

On first down from its own 12, Schafer found Gage Wolfe in the left flat. Wolfe side-stepped a defender, got to the corner and turned on the jets for an 88-yard scoring play. Booth made it 34-0.

St. Clairsville’s defense stiffened again and forced the seventh Martins Ferry punt of the half.

It only took three plays to cover 40 yards, with Colt Westlake powering in from a yard out. Booth upped the count to 41-0.

Sophomore Guy Vcelka got in on the scoring act when he finished off a 3-play monarch with a 2-yard TD run. The point after was no good and the margin had ballooned to 47-0.

Sophomore Sam McLean, Brett’s son, and classmate Kolton Ferguson concluded the scorefest with an 82-yard connection. McLean fired a pass to Ferguson on the right side and Ferguson danced his way through a scrum of defenders before turning on the speed. Parker Galloway booted the PAT for the final point.

“We knew we were outmanned against them up front. If we stood toe-to-toe with them we didn’t stand a chance, so we tried to change some things up on defense,” Martins Ferry head coach Justin Kropka said. “But once they were able to figure it out in the second quarter, they took advantage of it because they’ve got some really good speed on the outside.

“We would rather die by shotgun rather than 50,000 paper cuts, so we went for it and tried some different things.”

St. Clairsville was balanced offensively with 272 yards through the air and 216 on the ground.

Sophomore Ollie Muhly led the Red Devils with 108 yards on just four carries. Burk finished with 80 stripes on five rushes as they ran 16 times for 216 yards and scored five touchdowns.

Schafer was very impressive. He misfired on his first attempt before completing his final eight for 174 yards and the two TDs. McLean was 3-for-3 for 98 yards and a TD.

“Brady is coming along just fine,” Coach McLean said without putting any undo pressure on him. “He’s doing what we tell him to and he’s not making mistakes.”

Wolfe had 112 yards on two receptions. Thoburn caught three for 51.

Martins Ferry could only manage 117 total yards against a tough-as-nails St. Clairsville defense, with most of those coming in the second half. Jase Mahoney led the Purple Riders with 32 of their 100. They completed three passes for 17 yards.

“The score might not indicate it, but I thought we played with more intensity and fight in the first half than we did last week (at Shadyside in a win),” Kropka noted. “That’s what I wanted to see. You go into games like this kind of knowing what to expect. They are two divisions bigger than us and are a really good Division IV team. We’re fighting an uphill battle but I thought my kids played hard.”

St. Clairsville makes its home debut next Friday as Zanesville rolls into Red Devil Stadium. Martins Ferry, meanwhile, prepares for another home game against Tuscarawas Catholic.