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Red Riders roll over the Jets

AT THE GOAL LINE — Weir High’s Cody Enrietti reaches to the goal line as his Red Riders teammates Travis Lowther (52) and Zach Martin lay down blocks. Weir beat Union Local, 42-14, on Homecoming. (Michael D. McElwain)

WEIRTON — Doing what they’ve done all season long, the Weir High Red Riders played lights out defense and gave the football to Cody Enrietti in a surprisingly easy 42-14 Homecoming romp over previously unbeaten Union Local Friday night at Jimmy Carey Stadium.

It is the first of back-to-back games against unbeaten and top ranked foes for the Red Riders, who travel to Fairmont Senior next week.

Weir High forced the Jets (5-1) into being one dimensional early on with a 19-point first quarter that saw Enrietti plow three times into the end zone, two of them after 2015 All State tackle and defensive end, Jordan Allen, intercepted two Shane Smolenak passes. Allen also had four sacks in the game.

Allen and his defensive friends completely dominated the Jets allowing them a net of only two yards on the ground in the first half and finished the game with a net of minus 9 yards rushing. Union Local went to the locker room, though, at halftime trailing by 27-14 after Smolenak connected on second quarter touchdown passes of 45 and 15 yards.

“That was a big win for us,” said a happy Tony Filberto. “That team came in undefeated and leading one of the Ohio regions and we controlled this game from the first play to the last one. So I’m pleased with our efforts and real pleased in our kids’ performances.”

The Red Riders scored on all three of their first period possessions beginning with a one-yard plunge into the end zone by Enrietti to cap a nine-play drive.

Allen halted the Jets’ longest possession of the game, a six-play drive with his first interception at midfield. He carried the pigskin into Union Local territory where the Red Rider offense set up at the Jets’ 40. Three plays later, Enrietti ripped off right guard saw daylight to his left, veered that way and scored on a 30-yard run.

The Jets were going nowhere on the next possession, but UL coach, Bruce Stiles felt his team needed to make a play so he called for a pass on 4th down and 11 from his own 18. Smolenak’s aerial was tipped and the alert Allen was Jordan on the spot grabbing the ball at the UL 30 and racing to the 15.

On the first play, the Red Riders hit pay dirt again on an Enrietti smash up the middle. A couple of two-point conversion runs failed on the first two touchdowns, but Michael Mills drilled his kick through the uprights on this one to arm his Red Riders with a 19-0 lead as the first quarter wound down.

“Weir High blitzed a lot of guys,” said Stiles. “They applied a lot of pressure and we didn’t handle it very well. They got us back on our heels and when they did that they just took control of the game.

“Give credit to Weir. They’re a good football team. There’s no doubt about that. They took some of things we wanted away. Hats off to them they did a nice job.

“I told the kids after the game that we’re 5-1 and still in the hunt. I told them I didn’t plan on being undefeated this year anyway. I just planned on having a good team. I said lets don’t let one loss define us. Hopefully, we can bounce back next week against Warren Local.”

After Enrietti bulled into the end zone from five yards out and senior Adam Cowden, the holder for extra point kicks, completed a fake kick with a pass to sophomore Tyler Komorowski for two points, the Red Riders were in command at 27-0 with 9:03 left in the first half.

Enrietti, who was elected Homecoming King by the Weir High student body prior to the game, finished with 147 yards on 30 carries, which gives him 920 yards on the ground in the first six games. He has more than 100 yards rushing in all six Red Rider games this season and went over 200 yards a week ago against Petersburg.

Union Local showed some spark and got back into the game with back-to-back scores late in the second period. Their first score came on a 45-yard bubble screen pass from Smolenak to junior Luke Menges. A couple of Red Riders missed tackles on the Menges scamper to the end zone. Isaiah Meyer booted the extra point.

A Red Rider turnover led to another UL score just minutes later when Enrietti fumbled and an alert Nate Stubbs pounced on the football. On the Jets’ fourth play, Smolenak hit senior Sam Russell wide open on a post pattern for a 15-yard strike. Meyer was perfect again and the Jets narrowed the gap to 27-14 with 4:35 left before the half.

T. J. Kelley found himself in front of Weir quarterback, Donavan Spencer’s attempted screen pass on the first Weir High possession of the second half. He gave the Jets a very short field at the Weir High 23, but the Red Rider defense slammed the door and took over on downs at their own 22.

The Red Riders marched to the UL 6 where on first down, Spencer sped to his right on a keeper and seemed to be stopped, but found a way to hit Domenick Murphy in the end zone with a shovel pass. Murphy caught three touchdown passes from Spencer in the Red Rider romp at Petersburg a week ago.

Enrietti ran for the two-pointer widening the gap to 35-14 midway through the third period with UL getting a 15-yard penalty on the play.

With the extra 15 yards on the kickoff, Michael Mills skipped the ball down the left sideline where junior Jaylon Bridges raced in and recovered it at the UL 13 to set up the final touchdown of the game.

Spencer received an injury to his left leg on the first play of the drive. A Red Rider holding penalty and a couple of negative yardage runs left them with fourth and 15 and the UL 18.Tyler Komorowski, the Red Rider backup quarterback, lofted a pass toward Cowden in the back of the end zone and it appeared a Union Local defender leaped high and intercepted the ball, but somehow Cowden ended up with it for a touchdown. Mills converted the kick.

“We talked early in the week that we wanted to go straight at them,” said Filberto. “We wanted to show that our linemen could block their linemen and let our big backs control this football game and they did. We just wore them down and wore them down so we’re pleased.

“We should break into the top eight in the state this week and Fairmont Senior will be one or two in the state. To be the best you have to beat the best so we’ll be ready to play next week.”

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