11/28/2025
𝑶𝒏 𝒂 𝑭𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓
𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐬 - 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐣𝐨 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬
There’s no easing into this one. No warmup. No pleasantries. When Ridgeview and Union meet, it’s not just a football game, it’s a collision of pride, history, and two communities cut from the same coal country cloth. Saturday afternoon at Bullitt Park, the undefeated Bears (12–0) welcome the 11–1 Wolfpack in what will be only the second playoff matchup between the two programs, the first coming last season in a 21–14 Union victory. Ridgeview hasn’t beaten Union since 2022, and they’ve never won at Bullitt Park, a drought they’re hungry to end as they chase their own dream of getting one step closer on the road to Salem.
This rivalry runs deep. There’s respect on both sidelines, but that doesn’t mean they like each other. Game recognize game type of thing, but make no mistake, nothing would satisfy either team more than ending the other’s season and sending them to start lacing up basketball shoes come Monday. These are two teams that mirror each other in all the right and dangerous ways…physical, big, fast, and unafraid of the moment. If there’s a tougher, more evenly matched playoff game anywhere in the state this weekend, good luck finding it.
For Union, it feels like the weight of the world has been placed on the shoulders of every kid wearing navy and orange. But the boys from the Gap and Appy aren’t tapping out under pressure. They’re leaning on each other, leaning on their communities, and doing what anybody from those hollers and hills does best, put on the work boots, grab the lunch pail, and go to work. Last week’s 12–0 shutout of defending state champion Graham turned heads statewide, but folks have already begun to whisper about a post Graham hangover or a letdown. The Bears aren’t listening. Their mindset is the same as it has been all season. 1–0 each week, survive and advance. As one Union player put it, “The only opinion that matters is the opinions that are in our locker room.”
Ridgeview, meanwhile, arrives red hot and fully aware of the opportunity in front of them. The folks in Nora, Haysi and Clintwood say nobody in the state is playing better than the Pack and they’re saying they got the team they wanted, on the stage they wanted. Since their only loss of the season, a defeat to Union, back on October 9th, they’ve been chomping at the bit to get another shot at the Bears. And since that loss, the Wolfpack have been mauling anyone that’s stood in their path. They closed the regular season with a 34–20 win over Gate City in the rain, then rolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs with a 42–14 dismantling of Richlands and a convincing 35–16 win over a high powered Lebanon offense. It’s clear the Wolfpack are playing their best football at the perfect time, and they’re coming into Bullitt Park with the confidence and edge of a team that believes it can rewrite the script.
Bullitt Park will be rocking long before kickoff. Fans will be packed in shoulder to shoulder, knowing they’re about to witness one of the most physical, emotionally charged, high level football games in the state. Ridgeview comes in hunting. A surging Wolfpack ready to feast. Union stands ready to defend. A focused, battle hardened Bear squad looking to take one more step toward their goal.
Will Ridgeview finally break through and conquer Bullitt Park? Or will Union rise to the moment once again and keep their unbeaten season alive?
Better get there after breakfast and find out. It’s going to be a packed house, and it’s going to be a war.
