Weir faces mirror image Saturday
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WEIRTON -- The Weir High football team will attempt to rebound from a 49-0 loss to Keyser in a game where the offense was stymied and the defense was porous.
The Riders (2-2) will go into their next game Saturday against Petersburg at Jimmy Carey Stadium, with some adjustments on both sides of the football. In a departure from the normal Friday night games, the Riders and Vikings will go at it at 4 p.m.
Veteran coach Tony Filberto is confident his charges will bounce back, but to do that they must focus on playing assignment football on defense and take advantage of what he thinks is Weir High's superior speed on the outside.
"We can't focus on last week because next week will be on us before we know it," Filberto said about the loss that dropped them down to 21st in the wvtailgatecentral.com standings. "Petersburg, which is ranked just behind at 23rd, is 2-2 like us. They were 13th in the state last year and have a lot of kids back from that playoff team. They are a good football team and remind me a little bit of us in the sense of what we each do defensively and offensively."
The Red Riders have beaten the Vikings in each of the last three years. They made the four-hour bus trip to Petersburg, located in the eastern mountains of the state, and pocketed a 25-15 victory last year.
Having the same record isn't the only thing the teams have in common. They are similar in size up front, and both want to run and throw the football and use an inside option game. Both teams also try to get the ball into the hands of different players. Besides an advantage of speed on the outside, Weir High's defense could be a little better, giving up 117 points to the 171 that the Vikings have yielded.
"They'll do some of the things we do, such as run the veer option and throw the football off of play action," Filberto said. "Defensively, Petersburg plays a 4-4 front with one of the linebackers blitzing on every play."
Because of the familiarity with the offense, Filberto doesn't believe his defense will have as much trouble stopping the Vikings as they did last week against Keyser's Wing-T.
Filberto plans to counter this week by putting the ball into the air more than the Red Riders have done to date. He'll do that with his two-quarterback rotation in Sebastian Spencer and Anthony DiMatteis. The two swap positions, depending on the play called.
Petersburg does that, too, with senior quarterback Dawson Tingler (5-foot-11, 185 pounds) and wingback Cody Nuzum a 6-1, 175-pound sophomore.
"Nuzum has pretty good speed," Filberto said. "Of course, not as much as Spencer, but we'll have to keep him under control. Both of their quarterbacks can throw the ball down field, too. We think their strength is inside with their run game on offense and their blitzing on defense. That's where Petersburg is strong, so we'll attack them with our speed athletes on the outside where we have a better match-up. We'll probably throw the ball more than we have in the last couple of weeks."
Filberto added that the Viking running backs are junior Montana Sindledecker (6-0, 185) and freshman Peyton Day (5-10, 165). The biggest of the Vikings is junior tackle Chevy Brown (6-3, 285).
The teams have played one common opponent to date in Keyser. The Vikings got blasted, 59-0, at home in Week 3, and the Golden Tornado overwhelmed Weir High by 49 points last week. Petersburg opened the season with a 25-14 win over Berkeley Springs and defeated Hampshire last week, 29-14.
The Red Riders are led by Spencer, the fastest high school athlete in the state. He is the team rushing leader with 46 carries, gaining 220 stripes and six touchdowns. In the passing department, Spencer has completed 15 of 32 for 208 yards and a score. DiMatteis has completed 13 of 30 aerials for 169 yards. Senior Elijah Gillette is the leading receiver with 10 catches for 121 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
One of the things that has bolstered the Red Rider offense is the emergence of Jamari Bass, especially with the loss of senior Drew Curtis due to an injury. The freshman came off the bench in the second half and ran with the football 14 times for 41 yards and a touchdown. He had 10 carries for 44 yards last week against Keyser.
"He's going to be a good one," Filberto said about the 170-pound youngster. "He's a 14-year-old in an older kid's body. We don't want to put him out there full time. He's still learning and competing against 18 year olds. But, physically, he's a good one. He's going to be special.
"Our keys to victory, I told the kids on defense, they will have to focus on assignment football because the quarterbacks run the football and are capable of throwing it. So, we have to be focused on our assignments. Offensively, I think we have to take advantage of our athletic speed. We want to get matchups in the secondary. We feel we can do some things with our passing game that they'll have trouble defending. "