×

Boys shut out Tyler, 6-0

SECTIONAL CHAMPIONS — Members of the Weir High boys soccer team pose for a photo after beating Tyler Consolidated in the West Virginia Class AA/A Region I, Section I championship game at Brooke High School. The Red Riders beat the Silver Knights, 6-0. (Matthew Peaslee)

WELLSBURG — Another big first half made the difference as the Weir boys’ soccer team got to hoist its second trophy of the season.

Weir netted five goals in the first half against Tyler Consolidated, and cruised to a 6-0 win in the West Virginia Class AA Region 1 Section 1 Final Saturday inside Brooke Memorial Stadium.

“It feels great for all of the boys,” Weir (15-4) head coach Jim Luevano said. “We played them in the regular season, and we played well.

“We were connecting pass, but we were not finishing. Once we connected passes and finished, we did OK.”

Weir controlled the ball on Tyler Consolidated’s defensive side of the field for the majority of the game.

“They pass the ball really well,” Tyler Consolidated (12-6-2) head coach Scott Wall said. “They have skill at several spots on the field. They played well. They play well together. You can have great players, but if you don’t play well together your team is not going to do well.

“They’ve got talent everywhere. They are well coached. They have great players out on the field. They do well together.”

Weir will play East Fairmont in the regional final at 8 p.m. Tuesday at East-West Stadium in Fairmont. East Fairmont defeated defending state champion Fairmont Senior, 3-0, in its sectional final Saturday.

“We have never played East Fairmont since I have been the head coach,” Luevano said. “We will see what happens.”

Michael Gresko collected four goals to lead the way offensively for the boys from Hancock County, while Ashton Knuutila tallied two goals. Zach Hannah contributed four assists, while Chayton Luevano collected one.

Brett Hinchee made three saves and Cody Miller none for the Red Riders.

Luke Daugherty made 15 saves in goal for the boys from Tyler County.

“He’s tremendous,” Wall said. “He never gives up no matter what the score is. He is one of the most positive players out there. He is a great kid.”

Weir defeated Tyler Consolidated, 7-0, in the regular season at home on Aug. 20.

“I don’t think there was a difference,” Coach Luevano said. “We passed the ball well. When you pass the ball well and you finish, you are going to do well.

“You can never take a sectional game for granted. You never know what is going to happen going into the game. You don’t how the other team is going to play.”

It took Weir almost 11 minutes to score in the sectional final, but the Red Riders scored much faster in the two team’s first meeting of the season.

“The games were similar,” Wall said. “Our start was better this time. The last time we played, they scored a goal in the first 30 seconds. We did get off to a better start this time.

“Our guys anticipated what they were going to do. We knew how Weir plays. We knew about them.

“They passed the ball, and our opportunities were limited. When you have limited opportunities, when you get an opportunity, you have to be able to take advantage. We did not have a lot of opportunities.

“They did well.”

Gresko opened the scoring in Saturday’s game with 29:06 remaining to be played in the first half, and the Red Riders never looked back.

The boys in white had a few chances in the game, but they were never able to sustain an offensive attack.

Weir advanced to the tournament final by defeating Trinity Christian, 5-1, in the semifinals Thursday night at home.

“We definitely did a better job of finishing today,” Coach Luevano said. “We did a good job of crashing the net. We played the ball across the 6, and we were able to run onto the ball.”

Tyler Consolidated advanced to the title tilt by defeating Oak Glen, 1-0, Thursday night in the other semifinal down at Magnolia.

Earlier in the year, the Weir boys’ and girls’ teams each captured the OVAC Class 4A Tournament titles, and now both teams have captured a sectional championship.

The Weir girls defeated Wheeling Central, 3-1, in the first sectional final of the day.

“It is good,” Luevano said. “”Now, we are going down to play in Fairmont.”

Weir defeated Big Red, 2-1, down at Wheeling Island Stadium to win the OVAC Tournament title.

“We are going to keep doing what we are doing,” Coach Luevano said about his team’s strategy in the regional final. “We want to come out fast. We want to play one-two touch soccer, and we want to finish.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today