Riders look to keep rolling with a trip to Pa.
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UNIONTOWN, Pa. -- The Red Riders quest for the playoffs will take Frank Sisinni and company into Pennsylvania this week as Weir High travels to Uniontown to challenge Albert Gallatin.
The Red Riders, now 6-1 after a big win on the road at Martins Ferry last week, currently sit at No. 7 in the West Virginia Class AA playoff rankings. The top 16 make the playoffs and the top eight play their Round 1 game at home.
To stay in position to host a playoff game at Jimmy Carey Stadium for the first time since 2008, Sisinni knows his team still has a lot of work to do.
"We're at the point of the season with three games left that they're all really important games, this is our last road game." Sisinni said. "(Albert Gallatin) is a AAA team by West Virginia playoff standards so there are some points at stake for us. We need to take care of business because we need all the points we can get, we want to maintain or improve our position and have that potential opportunity to host a playoff game.
"It's one at a time, we have to take care of business."
Leading the way this season has been senior tailback Corey Lyons, who's emerged as one of the top backs in the OVAC. The Red Riders limited his work load against Martins Ferry due to him coming off an injury late in the Keyser game, and the powerful runner still racked up 142 yards and four touchdowns on just 16 carries, and was instrumental in the Red Riders pulling away from the Purple Riders in the second half.
For the season, he has 774 yards and 19 touchdowns, nine of which have come in the last two games. He's averaging nearly 6.5 yards per carry.
De'Shjuan Smith has emerged as a strong second back with 212 yards and a pair of scores in the last two games, including 150 yards against Ferry. Malachi Stromile, the Riders' senior QB, has 359 rushing yards and four scores on the ground and another 595 yards and seven TDs in the air.
"I give credit to our offensive line for success of the running game, those guys are really producing for us," Sisinni said. "Corey Lyons, Deshjuan Smith and Malachi have done a good job and that's led by the guys up front opening up the holes.
"Corey just has a knack for finding the seam and exposing it. Once he entered the game on Friday we were like a completely different team."
Colin "G" Cross and Devan Colson each have eight catches to lead the receiving corps, Cross having hauled in a pair of touchdowns, as has Damir Mowder.
Friday's meeting with the Colonials is the second between the schools, Weir High taking a 41-19 win at home last season in the first. The teams were supposed to play in 2021 as well, but the game was canceled due to COVID concerns.
Albert Gallatin comes in with a 3-4 record, but has been credited with three wins in its last four games. One of those wins, however, is by forfeit. The Colonials, an independent squad no longer part of WPIAL, defeated Laurel Highlands 19-17 in their last outing.
"This is an opportunity for us to go on the road and play in that kind of scenario," Sisinni said. "We have to be able to travel if we have a playoff opportunity because there aren't many teams close, the Northern Panhandle teams know when it comes to playoff time you could be traveling a long way."
The Colonials average 12.7 points per game and allow an average of 28. A pair of young QBs have split time for Albert Gallatin in T Guesman and Bronx Jamison.
The majority of the offense comes from the run game, led by senior Cyrus Potkul with 340 yards and pair of scores. He averages 4.6 yards per carry. Caleb Dehaven, a junior, has 185 yards and two scores and averages over nine yards per carry.
"They're a team that comes right at you, we saw that last year," Sisinni said. "They're a tough, hard-nosed group that gets after it. All the way to the half of last year's game it was back and forth.
"It's going to be a challenge, we have to match their physical style of play. It's hard to gauge exactly how we match up because we don't have any common opponents. They have a unique style and that's good for us to see."
The Red Riders will close the season at home with games against 5-3 East Liverpool and 4-3 Brooke.
Friday's kick is set for 7 p.m.