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Senior defeats Riders

CANNOT FIND ROOM TO RUN — Weir High running back Cody Enrietti is stopped by Fairmont Senior’s Dante Stills and Michael Toothman during Friday’s 20-3 win by the Polar Bears at East-West Stadium. (Tammy Shriver)

FAIRMONT — In a matchup of two of Class AA’s top 10 teams Friday, the Fairmont Senior Polar Bears were able to outlast the Weir Red Riders and earn a 20-3 victory on a rain-soaked field at East-West Stadium.

With the No. 9 Red Riders on the schedule, Fairmont Senior coach J.L. Abbott knew his undefeated team was up for a challenge, and Friday’s game proved to be just that.

“We knew coming in that this was going to be the best team we played to date,” J.L. Abbott said. “They’re very aggressive and they’ve got athletes.”

Through the first half of the season, both squads showed their ability to move the ball up and down the field and put points on the board. As the rain fell Friday, neither team was able to operate the way it was used to with each team being held significantly below its season average.

On nine offensive drives in the game, coach Tony Filberto’s Red Riders gained 110 total yards on 48 offensive plays with three turnovers.

“I thought offensively we didn’t get into the rhythm we’ve been in in the past,” Filberto said. “We’ve averaged about 400 yards per game. But some of the things (Fairmont Senior) did detered that.”

One of the things Fairmont Senior did to limit Weir’s offensive production was focus on stopping its two top playmakers — quarterback Donavan Spencer and running back Cody Enrietti.

“We had our outside linebackers sit on the quarterback and had everyone else take care of the dive,” J.L. Abbott said.

Fairmont Senior limited Spencer to 8 rushing yards and forced him to turn the ball over twice, once on a fumble recovered by Jake Abbott and the other on an interception from Elijah Posey.

With Spencer bottled up, Weir relied on dive play and the running of its bruising back, Enrietti, who carried the ball 21 times for 73 yards.

“He was tough,” FSHS linebacker Bryson Gilbert said of Enrietti. “I didn’t think they could move like that. He was scooting down the field.”

Enrietti also threw one pass in the game which was intercepted in the end zone by Antonio Parsons to end a 12-play, 49-yard drive.

Weir got on the scoreboard first in the opening quarter, taking advantage of a short field after Fairmont Senior lost 29 yards on a snap over punter Gilbert’s head that resulted in a turnover on downs and Weir gaining possession on the FSHS 11. The Red Riders lost 1 yard on three plays on that drive, settling for a 29-yard field goal from Michael Mills.

From there, the Polar Bears rattled off 20 unanswered points aided by a few big runs and several penalties on the Weir defense.

The stout Weir defense that entered the game allowing just 10.1 points per contest was not the only challenge that face the FSHS offense with the Polar Bears playing in unfamiliar weather conditions.

“It was the first time we’d played in the rain,” Abbott said. “We hadn’t even practiced in the rain, but I’m happy with how we performed.”

On the ground, Fairmont Senior gained 216 total yards, 181 of which came on the ground.

Fairmont Senior ran the ball 37 times, many of which were 5- and 6-yard gains. For players like Gilbert and quarterback Jake Abbott who are used to ripping off big chunks of yards, remaining patient and waiting for the right spots proved to be a challenge.

“It’s hard sometimes,” Gilbert said. “But you realize that if you just keep your eyes up you’ll see it and you’ve got to hit it.”

On two occasions in the game, Gilbert did find that hole in the defense.

The first came with 9:04 remaining in the second quarter when he found open space and raced 67 yards for a score to put Fairmont Senior up 7-3 after an extra point from David Childers.

The second came in the third quarter when Gilbert cut across the field and scored on a 55-yard run to extend the lead to 13-3.

With the exception of Gilbert’s two long runs, big plays were hard to come by for the Polar Bears. The rain made things difficult for the FSHS passing game — which completed 5-of-12 passes for 35 yards and touchdown — and the defensive front of the Red Riders made it even more challenging, hurrying Jake Abbott in the pocket and sacking him three times.

“They had a pretty good pass rush,” J.L. Abbott said. “Our offensive line had fits with them a little bit.”

Fairmont Senior added one final score late on an 8-yard pass from Jake Abbott to Caleb Walker that brought the final score to 20-3.

Defensively, Weir did statistically better than any team has so far this season, and Filberto was pleased with his team’s effort.

“It was a good high school football game between two good football teams,” Filberto said.

With the win, Fairmont Senior moves to 6-0 with a trip to Jefferson on the schedule next.

The Red Riders (5-2) welcome Warren Local next week.

Fairmont Senior 20, Weir 3

Weir         3   0   0   0   —    3

Fairmont Senior         0   7   6   7   —  20

W: FG 29 Mills

FS: Gilbert 67-yard run (Childers kick)

FS: Gilbert 55-yard run (kick failed)

FS: Walker 8-yard pass from Abbott (Childers kick)

RUSHING — FSHS: 31-181 (Abbott 22-45, Gilbert 9-129 2 TD,  Toothman 5-10, Walker 1-(-3). WHS: 35-94 (Enrietti 21-73, Murphy 7-13, Spencer 7-8).

PASSING — FSHS: Abbott 5-12-1 35 yards 1 TD. WHS: Spencer 4-12-1 16 yards, Enrietti 0-1-1 0 yards.

RECEIVING — FSHS: Gilbert 1-15, Toothman 3-12, Walker 1-8 1 TD. WHS: Adam Cowden 2-18, Chris Gillettte 1-11, Enrietti 1-(-13).

FIRST DOWNS” FSHS 11, WHS 11

PENALTIES: FSHS 7-60, WHS 9-78

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