Tornado warning
Weir concludes home stand with Keyser
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WEIRTON -- Weir High coach Tony Filberto said he didn't feel his 3-0, sixth-ranked Red Riders played very well at times in the thrilling 26-20 win over James Monroe last Friday, but they gained experience and perhaps found out some things about themselves.
"We didn't play very well at times, but what we learned was we can come from behind in the fourth quarter when we have to and make a play when we have to," he said. "That's a good thing. Its a good learning experience."
With that said, the veteran Red Rider boss feels it could be a case of going out of the frying pan and into the fire this week. Keyser (1-1), a 21-18 winner over the Red Riders last year, invades Jimmy Carey Stadium Friday with a 7 p.m. kick.
"Keyser is a better football team than James Monroe, I think, just watching them on film," Filberto said. "They have four linemen back from last year that I thought were very, very good linemen then. They have a 6-foot-5 receiver (Reginald Redman). Their fullback (Caleb Crowe) returns, and they probably are as good a coached team as we'll see."
Filberto said the Golden Tornado coach, Sean Biser, played college football at West Virginia during the mid-1980s and has been at Keyser for several years.
Filberto thinks Redman is the best athlete on the Golden Tornado squad. He said the quarterback who led the Golden Tornado to a fourth-quarter game-winning touchdown graduated, but junior Carlton Shoemaker does a good job as this year's signal caller.
Keyser finished 2017 at 7-3 and was ranked 13 in the final poll, one spot ahead of the Red Riders. That forced the Golden Tornado to go against Fairmont Senior in the first playoff game, and they were eliminated by a score of 34-12.
The Keyser linemen are big. The roster lists James Ratliff at 6-3, 305 pounds and Caleb Welch at 5-11, 250. Then there is Matthew Miller at 6-2, 290. All are seniors. Junior Shawn See goes 6-8, 283.
"They were the only team we couldn't run against last year," Filberto said. "We had no success running the football last year against them. However, we did pretty well throwing the football against them last year.
"So, it means that if they want to take the run away again, we'll throw. We will definitely try to establish the run Friday, but we'll take whatever they give us. Films show they want to pack the box with six players and use man coverage on the outside. We think we have the skill players that will be able to take advantage of that. If they want to take the run away, we'll be happy to throw it. If they want to take the pass away, we'll be more than happy to run it."
It was late in the Keyser game last year that then-junior quarterback Tyler Komorowski injured a knee. He ended up missing five games because of the injury.
Weir High went into the fourth quarter of that game a year ago ahead 18-14, but with Komorowski out of the defensive lineup where he was first-team all-state at defensive end, the Golden Tornado exploited that and ran the ball on a long game-winning drive.
Komorowski has been healthy so far this year and is third in the Herald-Star/Daily Times coverage area in passing. He has completed 21 of 39 tosses for 391 yards and five touchdowns.
The Red Riders, who are the only team in the area still unbeaten, rank second in team defense, allowing 654 total yards. Offensively, the Riders are ranked third with 1,039 total yards. They have scored a total of 146 points, which out-distances any other team by far. The closest is Steubenville Catholic Central with 89 points.
The Red Riders posted those offensive statistics without the services of the leading rusher from a year ago, Chad Custer, who broke a bone in his hand in the opener against Oak Glen. Filberto said Custer has a chance to return if the healing process allows doctors to install a soft cast on the injury.
That void, though, has been filled very capably by senior Donavan Kirby. Filberto unleashed Kirby in the second half last week, and he scored the tying and game-winning touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Kirby finished the game with 175 yards and now is the third leading ground gainer among all the area running backs, with 295 yards on 36 carries. He leads the area in rushing touchdowns with six.
Filberto said Keyser, which has a a 47-0 win over Berkley Springs and was beaten 20-14 last week at Robert C. Byrd in Clarksburg, uses the wing-T offense with a lot of misdirection and play action passes.
"That gives our defense a lot of confusion with passes, along with the fullback inside and those wing backs coming around on counter plays," he said. "You have to be very disciplined when you play against them.
"I think the strength of their team is the defensive front. They're going to put six guys from tackle-to-tackle and, if you think you can run against us, give it a try. We hurt them on outside runs last year with Sebastian Spencer's speed, and we hurt them with Reed Reitter catching the football."