Marietta’s Timmy Ryan, left, tries to break a tackle during a game against Morgan earlier this season at Don Drumm Stadium. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

WILLIAMSTOWN — The last two seasons, Marietta and Williamstown have played tight games on the gridiron.

In both games, the Yellowjackets had to erase double-digit deficits to rally for wins. In 2023, they claimed a 22-19 victory before escaping Don Drumm Stadium with a 30-22 triumph last year.

Coming into this season’s matchup, both teams have experienced some early-season struggles. The Tigers made the playoffs two years ago and secured their first winning record since 2002 last year, but are winless in their first six tries this season.

“I’m proud of our guys,” said first-year Marietta head coach Mike Kupfner. “Nobody wants to start 0-6. We’ve had chances, battled some adversity and learned some life lessons along the way.

“We told our guys that with Williamstown it really doesn’t matter what their record is. They’re well coached, disciplined and run a really good program. They do what they do. You may stop it once or twice, but they’ll continue to go to it because they’ve had success with it for years.”

Williamstown’s Jackson Fulton runs with the ball during a game against James Monroe earlier this season. (Photo by Nikki Allen)

From 2021 to 2023, Williamstown played in three straight W.Va. state championship games, winning two, before falling in the state semis last year. Through four games in 2025, the ‘Jackets have just one win.

“We’ve just got to continue to get better,” said WHS head coach Chris Beck. “From week one to the last couple of weeks, I think we’ve improved a great deal. We’ve got to find more consistency. If we do that, we have the capability to be a pretty good team. Hopefully we can take a step in the right direction this week.”

Despite the 0-6 record, the Yellowjackets have played too many nail-biters against the Tigers to take them lightly.

“They do a great job on defense,” Beck said. “They play physical and aggressive. They’re senior heavy and a lot of the names are kids we’re familiar with. Offensively, they run that tight single wing, which fits their personnel well. They want to block down, kick out, gap scheme, and they seem to have found some traction with that. They play a tough schedule and I don’t know if their record’s indicative of the team they have. It’s a huge challenge.”

Williamstown’s offense is quarterbacked by Breck Allen. Running back Jackson Kerr has put up some huge numbers of late. Jackson Fulton and Carson Haines are threats in the receiving game.

“It’s a rivalry, so there’s always a little added juice to it,” Kupfner said of the game. “Obviously I come from Parkersburg, where the PHS-South week is wild from top to bottom. This is my first experience with Marietta-Williamstown, but it’s been kind of the same vibes a little bit. Right across the river, it’s been a close game over the years — the kids are excited for it.”

Beck believes some of the excitement for this game comes from the players’ familiarity with one another.

“We’ll tell a kid, ‘Hey, you’re blocking down on 71.’ And they’ll say, ‘That’s not 71, that’s Teddy Bauer. I know him from’ wherever. That adds a level of excitement to the week. There’s a lot more local interest.”

After going scoreless in losses to Claymont and Whitehall-Yearling, Marietta looked much sharper on offense in last week’s 42-21 loss to Circleville.

The Tigers went with a more run-heavy attack. What Marietta does offensively this week will depend somewhat on what Williamstown’s defense does.

“It allows us to five the ball to our best players easily,” Kupfner said of the formation, which includes Owen Riley as the quarterback with Kobe Alexander and Will Tornes in the backfield. “We try to get them the ball and see what they can do. Prior to Circleville, we were in a really bad slump offensively. Nothing was going our way. So we tried to simplify it. Shorten the playbook. Play power football and get after it a little bit. We stayed in it the whole game against Circleville and I was proud of the resiliency of our guys.”

The last two years, this game has come down to the wire. In close battles like that, every play, every yard, every inch matters.

“We’ve got to limit turnovers,” Beck said, “and be physical. In our three losses we have 10 turnovers, and in our one win we had zero — that’s not a coincidence. If you five the ball to the other team, they tend to win.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.