Golden Bears three-peat complete
Oak Glen uses big second half to down Weir High, keep Carl Hamill Trophy
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WELLSBURG -- It may not have been the Bears Den, but by the time the players were singing "Country Roads" after a nearly three hour rivalry battle Saturday night, Oak Glen sure made Brooke Memorial feel like home.
The new-look Golden Bears used some key halftime adjustments on both sides of the ball and an impressive ground attack to top Hancock County rival Weir High, 35-20, on Paul "Bud" Billiard Field and claim the Carl R. Hamill Trophy for a third consecutive season.
"It just feels great. I know we’re not home at Oak Glen, but I told the kids home is where we are," Golden Bears head coach Ted Arneault said. "Our fans traveled and we got to sing country roads in front of them, we had a great student section.
"Our kids overcame a lot of adversity. I’m just so proud of the kids. This is huge for this group, this is a statement win. I think Weir High is going to be a good team and win some games. I think we’re going to look back on this game and realize what an accomplishment it was."
The Red Riders led 20-14 at halftime, but the Oak Glen defense pitched a second half shutout while the offense put the final 21 points on the board to pull away.
"The message at halftime was this is your team, with all the adversity we have faced with the field (not being ready) and the COVID situation last year ... I just wanted them to realize this is a special night," Arneault said. "I wanted them to play at their best, I wanted them to wake up and get that fire back."
After the break, the Golden Bears shifted to an up-tempo offense, which gave the Weir defense trouble on what was a steamy night and the opener for both clubs. The game was stopped at least a dozen times in the second half for players going down with cramps.
""We just felt like we needed to do what we do on a basic level, because our confidence level wasn’t very high in the first half," Arneault said. "I felt like we needed to do what we do best, and do it fast."
"It was definitely a tail of two halves," Weir High head coach Frank Sisinni said. "I give (Arneault) credit on the adjustment to go to tempo. The tempo really got to us when it comes to our pad level and execution. That falls on me. We have to get to a point where that doesn’t affect us.
"Our kids played their hearts out, we just came out on the short end of the stick."
The moment both coaches pointed to as a turning point in the game came in the final minute of the first half.
Weir’s Carson Yobaggy -- who had already got things off to a fast start by returning the opening kick of the game 85 yards to score the first points -- returned an Oak Glen punt booted from the Bears end zone back to the 3-yard-line, setting up an and-goal situation for the Red Riders and chance to go up two scores at the break.
The first three attempts to get the ball across the goal line came up short, then a misfire on fourth-and-goal from the 5 with :18 left in the half turned the ball over on downs.
"That was absolutely huge, our defense stepped up big time," Arneault said.
The Red Riders did not reach the red zone again in the game.
"We had a misread," Sisinni said of the fourth down pass that didn’t connect. "It was a play we hit early in the game, we practice it all the time. It was (Malachi Stromile’s) first game and he just made a mistake on the read.
"Not getting the touchdown there really haunted us late in the game."
On its first possession of the second half, Oak Glen marched inside the 10 before turning the ball over on downs. However, the Bears forced a three-and-out and the next possession ended up being the difference as Matt Greenlief caught a short pass from Dylan Conley on a fourth-and-10 and took it 23 yards to score, making it a 21-20 Oak Glen lead.
The Golden Bears never looked back.
"In the second half we had an opportunity to do something early and put the game in our favor, and we didn’t," Sisinni said. "That is a sign of immaturity as a football player for some of them, but these are the things we have to go through, the growing pains."
After forcing another punt, Greenlief -- who finished with 96 rushing yards -- broke free for a 38-yard scoring run to make it 28-20.
Weir had its best chance to close the gap on the ensuing possession, marching deep into Golden Bear territory, but turned the ball over on downs at the 23.
The Rider defense forced a punt, but once again the offense stalled on the Oak Glen side of the field and turned the ball over on downs again with 3:05 to go.
On the very next play, Kholton Goodlin capped a fantastic second half performance by speeding through the Weir defense for a 63-yard touchdown, all-but clearing room to put the trophy back in Oak Glen’s case.
He finished with 159 yards on 21 carries, 122 of which came after halftime.
As a team, the Golden Bears rushed for 389 yards and four scores.
After Yobaggy’s big return to start things off, Buck Franklin, lined up in the wildcat, took the Golden Bears first play from scrimmage 84 yards to score.
Franklin made it a 14-6 lead for Oak Glen by scoring from 38-yards out on a fake punt. He finished over the century mark with 118 yards on just five totes.
Weir High built its halftime lead with scoring runs by Corey Lyons (10 yards) and Jamari Bass (5 yards) in the second quarter.
Making his first start, the Red Riders’ sophomore quarterback, Stromile, finished just 8 of 26 but connected on some deep throws to finish with 166 yards, adding another 75 yards on 10 keepers.
"That was his first time under the lights as a quarterback," Sisinni said. "He planted his foot and turned up field, so he showed he’s a dual threat. He’s going to learn. He came up short on some of his throws, but that comes with time. We saw some really good things from him and the group."
UP NEXT
Weir High: The Red Riders head even further down Route 2 with a trip to Glen Dale to take on John Marshall on Friday. Both teams will be looking to get in the win column after Week 1 losses.
Oak Glen: Will once again play a home game at Brooke Memorial Stadium as it was announced with time winding down the Golden Bears match up with Taylor Allderice of the Pittsburgh area on Friday night will also be contested in Wellsburg as the work on the new turf at the Bears home field is not yet completed. Allderice dropped its opener to North Allegheny.
Oak Glen 35, Weir High 20
Weir High 6-14-0-0 -- 20
Oak Glen 14-0-7-14 -- 35
First Quarter
WH: Yobaggy 85 kick return (kick failed) 11:47
OG: Franklin 84 run (Richmond kick) 11:22
OG: Franklin 38 run (Richmond kick) :14
Second Quarter
WH: Lyons 10 run (Stromile pass) 11:04
WH: Bass 5 run (run failed) 5:17
Third Quarter
OG: Greenlief 23 pass from Conley (Richmond kick) 3:50
Fourth Quarter
OG: Greenlief 38 run (Richmond kick) 9:27
OG: Goodlin 63 run (Richmond kick) 2:51
RUSHING: Weir High 34-113-2TD (Bass 11-32-TD; Yobaggy 2-(-3); Lyons 10-7-TD; Stromile 10-75; Nosko 1-2); Oak Glen 54-389-4TD (Franklin 5-118-2TD; Goodlin 21-159-TD; Greenlief 14-96-TD; Conley 13-14; Flowers 1-2).
PASSING: Weir High 8-26-166 (all by Stromile); Oak Glen 2-2-24-TD (all by Conley).
RECEIVING: Weir High 8-166 (Lyons 1-46; Yobaggy 1-48; Mowder 1-5; Maley 2-38; Nosko 2-17; Bass 1-12); Oak Glen 2-24-TD (Franklin 1-1; Greenlief 1-23-TD).
FIRST DOWNS: Weir High 12; Oak Glen 11.
PENALTIES-YARDS: Weir High 6-40; Oak Glen 9-55.
FUMBLES-LOST: Weir High 1-1; Oak Glen 3-2.
PUNTS-AVERAGE: Weir High 5-35.2; Oak Glen 4-28.