PETERSBURG, W.Va. — One week after squandering a 26-point second half lead in a loss to Keyser, Class AA No. 11 Weir forced Petersburg into six second half turnovers Saturday to earn a 25-15 win over the previously unbeaten No. 4 Vikings.
“Defense is a funny side of the ball, because it’s about five percent technique and ninety-five percent desire to get to the football,” Weir coach Tony Filberto said. “Our kids just wanted to get to the football. We didn’t do a whole lot of things different. We just kept coming and kept coming and it worked out for us.”
The Red Riders (4-1) trailed only briefly, but were unable to secure the win until coming up with the last of their seven forced turnovers —Sebastian Spencer’s interception of a Jacob Hartman pass with 1:15 remaining.
Clinging to an 18-15 lead to start the second half, Weir went three and out, but Reed Reitter intercepted Hartman on the Vikings’ second play from scrimmage of the half.
Starting at the Petersburg 30, the Red Riders were unable to capitalize and instead committed their own turnover as Spencer’s pass was picked off by Seth Williams.
The Vikings (3-1) then moved 50 yards in seven plays, but the eighth play of their drive resulted in Hartman being sacked by Reese Wills, who forced a fumble that teammate Logan Walters recovered at the Weir 29.
Petersburg was again threatening to score on its next possession, but Hartman was intercepted by Elijah Gillette at the Red Riders’ 15-yard line.
“Turnovers and penalties lose you games and we had a lot of both,” Petersburg coach Kevin Board said. “We have to get rid of the mental stuff and that’s stuff that we can control. We talk about controlling what we can control all the time and we just have to do a better job with that.”
Even with the three third quarter turnovers, Petersburg still faced just a three-point deficit when it got the ball back with 11:06 to play. However, Weir forced yet another turnover when Walters recovered a Hartman fumble with 8:01 remaining.
Weir took over at the Petersburg 46, but was unable to capitalize. Instead, the Red Riders immediately gave the ball back to the Vikings when tailback Donavan Kirby was brought down for a loss of 2 yards on fourth-and-2.
Hartman completed a 35-yard pass to Tyce Wisnewski that put the Vikings at the Weir 26, and they moved to the 15 following Zach Wampler’s 11-yard run.
In position to take a late lead, things again fell apart for Petersburg as Wills forced Hartman to fumble and Walters recovered, giving the Red Riders the ball back at their 10 with 5:40 left.
Kirby then broke free down the sideline for a 61-yard run that helped set up his 1-yard rushing touchdown with 3:35 remaining.
“They have a ton of athletes and a ton of skill,” Board said. “To go toe to toe with them and play as well as we did, I was very proud of our guys. But turnovers kill you. We had way too many. There in the fourth quarter, we fumbled at the 10 and if we punch it in and score, we’re up at that point. We have to get rid of the turnovers.”
Moments later, Spencer’s interception sealed the verdict and marked the Vikings’ sixth second half turnover in as many possessions.
While Weir’s defense stole the show in the second half, the offense helped the team get off to the start it desired.
Kirby ran for 20 and 29 yards, respectively, on the team’s first two plays before finishing off the Red Riders’ opening drive with a 1-yard TD run. Reitter knocked home the point-after try, leaving Weir with a 7-0 lead 3:10 into the action.
Reitter’s 25-yard field goal with 2:42 left in the opening quarter extended the Red Riders’ lead to 10-0.
The Vikings got on the board in the second quarter after Hartman threw a 41-yard pass to Peyton Sindledecker to set up Douglas Morral’s 1-yard TD run. Williams hauled in the two-point pass from Hartman to close the Vikings’ deficit to 10-8 at the 9:19 mark of the second quarter.
Hartman’s 49-yard touchdown pass to Wisnewski allowed the Vikings to take their only lead of the game, 15-10, with 4:50 to play in the first half.
But the advantage was short lived, as Weir responded with a 58-yard drive that Kirby finished off with a 2-yard touchdown run. Spencer ran in the two-point try, allowing the Red Riders to hold an 18-15 lead they’d take into halftime.
Kirby rushed for all three of his team’s touchdowns.
Weir played without standout quarterback Tyler Komorowski, who missed his second straight game with an injury.
“A football game got away from us last week and that happens and our kids came out and responded very well,” Filberto said. “They hit some adversity and handled it very well, so we’re proud of them.”