East Liverpool’s Tamar Tisdale goes up over Weir High’s Angelo DoBraska to make a catch for a big gain on Friday night at Patterson Field. East Liverpool won, 26-19. (Photo by Jimmy Joe Savage)

EAST LIVERPOOL — Despite missing 10 starters due to injury, East Liverpool raced out to a 26-6 fourth-quarter lead and held off a determined Weir comeback to top the Red Riders, 26-19 on senior night at Patterson Field Friday night.

“Any time you get a win on senior night it’s a nice way for the seniors to end it with a win at home,” said East Liverpool head coach Paul Cusick.

“I love my guys, I love my staff and I love the school,” said Weir head coach and former NFL player Quincy Wilson. “I just told my guys you have to earn wins. We were there and we’ve got to figure out how to get that W and we’re going to do that.”

The win improved the Potters’ record to 3-6, while Weirton fell to 0-7. East Liverpool now leads the series with the Red Riders, 20-5.

East Liverpool sophomore quarterback Meshach Harris was the big star on the night for the Potters. Filling in for injured starter Ben Myers, Harris completed 8-of-14 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 49 yards and a score. 

“(Harris) stepped up and our guys stepped up to help him and we made plays,” praised Cusick. “Meshach did a nice job tonight and did a good job for his first start.”

“It felt great,” smiled Harris, who usually plays at the receiver position for the Potters. “At the beginning I was a little nervous but we came through. We have great coaches that helped me through this. I’m just grateful for this win.” 

The youthful signal-caller’s top target on the night was receiver Dre’Keim Abercrombie who caught five passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.

“They have athletes,” said Wilson of the Potters. “We don’t have a number 1 — Abercrombie is good and that quarterback stepped in and did a good job for them.”

Weir was led by running back Daniel Howland who rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries.

In a first half in which both teams suffered turnovers (Weir threw an interception and East Liverpool tossed two picks, the teams battled through a scoreless first quarter.

But Weir struck first at the 8:57 mark of the second quarter when quarterback Mathew Geer scooted around right end from 5 yards out to give the Red Riders a 6-0 lead. The PAT boot was short.

But East Liverpool answered just before half when running back Tamar Tisdale capped a long drive with a 16-yard scoring run around left end with just 1:49 showing on the second-quarter clock. The Potters, missing their injured kicker, then went for two and Harris found Tisdale with a spiral in the left side of the end zone for the two-point conversion pass and an 8-6 Potter lead. Harris threw for 176 yards in the first half, including a 69-yard pass to Tisdale that set up the touchdown.

But Weir, added by a 15-yard penalty on the Potters, marched deep into East Liverpool territory in the closing seconds before halftime, but East Liverpool turned the Red Riders away at the Potters’ 15 with just 11.3 seconds left, preserving the host’s 8-6 lead at the break.

East Liverpool’s Jaylen Smith had a first-half interception and Weir’s Ryan Lyons had two first-half interceptions.

East Liverpool led in total offense at halftime, 196-116.

The Potters’ got their offense in high gear when Harris fired a long pass that was deflected downfield into the arms of Dre’Keim Abercrombie who raced 51 yards to the end zone with 8:41 showing on the third-quarter clock. The conversion pass failed but the Potters took a 14-6 lead.

East Liverpool recovered the ensuing kickoff, outracing Weir to the ball along the sideline. Tthe Potters capitalized a few plays later when Harris raced four yards around left end to score at the 6:46 juncture of the third quarter. The conversion pass failed but the hosts went up 20-6.

“That (recovering the kickoff) was huge,” said Cusick. “That was a momentum turn right there. That was big.”

The Potters took their largest lead of the evening at 26-6 at the 6:53 mark of the fourth quarter when running back Amir Baker bolted five yards to score. The PAT pass failed.

But Weir made things interesting in the closing minutes, tallying two scores on a 52-yard scoring run by Izaigha George and a 55-yard pass from Geer to Howland. The latter score pulled the Red Raiders to within 26-19 of the Potters with just 55 seconds left.

“We’re getting there,” said Wilson. “I love the process and I can’t wait to get back to work tomorrow.”

Weir tried an onside kick but East Liverpool recovered and ran out the clock to preserve the win.

“Unfortunately, we made it difficult (at the end),” said Cusick. “It’s just the inexperience and just having the number of starters out that we have. We had 10 starters (out) and were duct taping stuff together, but our guys are playing hard. It’s just hard to overcome that (minus the starters) but we’re practicing hard.”

NOTES:

East Liverpool won last year’s game with Weir, 45-7.

The Potters will close the season next Friday in the “Battle for the Bridge” trophy game at Oak Glen (6-2) against the Golden Bears.

“It’s a nice little rivalry, so hopefully we get healed,” said Cusick. “I don’t think we’ll have too many back, but we’ll see what happens.”

Weir hits the road next Friday for a game at Albert Gallatin (Pa.).