bsfoy 10 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 The Intelligencer Wheeling News-Register Weir Suffers Crushing Overtime Defeat By TRACY WATSON http://news-register.net/sports/story/1128202004_spt03.asp BLUEFIELD - Not again! That was the emotion for the Weir High football team Saturday afternoon after the Red Riders dropped an overtime playoff game to Bluefield for the second straight season. Making Saturday's 21-20 Class AA semifinal loss even harder to swallow for Weir High head coach Tony Filberto was the way his team had been on the verge of shutting out the No. 1-ranked Beavers (13-0) when a late-game gamble blew up in the Red Riders' (10-3) faces. "I'm very disappointed,'' said a dejected Filberto in an emotionally-charged postgame scene at Mitchell Stadium. "I have never been disappointed like this on a football field in my life. "I'm really sad for my seniors right now. They deserve to be getting ready to play one more football game in Wheeling Friday night. "I apologize to them that they're not.'' Leading 14-0 midway through the fourth quarter, Weir backed Bluefield deep into its own territory. The Beavers' side of the stands began to empty with 4:45 remaining when Coach Fred Simon's hosts had to punt the ball back to Weir on 4th-and-43 from the Bluefield 17. The ball rolled dead at midfield and the Red Riders began working on the clock. After Weir picked up a first down, Simon started using his timeouts to preserve as much time as possible and the Red Riders found themselves facing a fourth-and-3 situation from the Beaver 32. With Bluefield out of timeouts, Filberto knew that another stick-mover would all but ice the game so he decided to roll the dice. Quarterback Brandon Sperlazza dropped back from center and fired a quick out to wide receiver Jack Crow. The ball bounced off Crow's pads directly into the hands of a fast-closing Mike Davis, who caught the deflection in stride and won the footrace down the sideline for a 70-yard interception return touchdown. Lucas Stone's PAT kick cut Weir's lead to 14-7 with 2:28 remaining and the Beavers were back in business. "There's no reason to try to hide what happened,'' said Filberto. "We were trying to run out the clock and we threw a pass that we'd had success with for a 12-yard gain earlier in the game. "They intercepted the ball and ran it back for a score. It was a very quick momentum swing.'' That momentum gained even more impetus seconds later when Bluefield executed a perfect onside kickoff and recovered the ball at the Weir 47. On second down, Derrick Steptoe swept around right end for 20 yards and a first down at the 27. The Beavers were flagged for illegal procedure prior to the next snap but quarterback Rusty Coeburn fired a 10-yard strike to Davis at the 22 to set up a second-and-5. As the clock ticked down under one minute, Steptoe was dragged down at the 20 after a short run to set up a third-and-3 for the hosts but Coeburn came up big again with an 18-yard pass to David Perdue. That stopped the clock with 31 seconds left in regulation and set up a first-and-goal from the 2. The Beavers tried to run the ball in but the Weir High defense stuffed Perdue at the 1. Bluefield got a break when an illegal substitution penalty on the Red Riders not only moved the ball inside the 1 but stopped the clock with 10 seconds to go. Coeburn tried to score on a sneak but once more couldn't penetrate the Weir High front. That set off a wild scramble as the Beavers hustled to get lined up for a third-down snap. Coeburn took the hurried snap and spiked the ball into the ground, stopping the clock with just one second remaining. Derrick Steptoe burrowed up the middle for the score on fourth-and-goal and Stone's PAT sent the game into overtime. "Maybe in the same situation, we wouldn't throw that pass again,'' said Filberto, "but at the time we felt it was a good idea. "Football is a game of mistakes and the team that makes the most usually loses. "We made one major mistake today and it wound up costing us the ballgame.'' Bluefield got the ball first in overtime and needed just two plays to find the end zone. Perdue ran for seven yards on first down and Quintin Steptoe took a toss right the final 13 yards to paydirt on the next play. Stone's PAT put the ball in Weir High's court. Workhorse Zac Cooper - who went over 1,000 yards for the season with 131 yards on 29 carries - ran the ball four straight times to set up a second-and-goal from the 7. After Sperlazza scrambled to the 4, Cooper was stopped at the 2 to set up fourth-and-goal. Under heavy pressure, Sperlazza found Justin Pernell in the end zone for the touchdown but Ryan Dennis' PAT attempt twisted wide left to give Bluefield the win. "This shows that miracles really do happen,'' said an ebullient Simon afterwards. "Weir High is one heck of a football team but we're really looking forward to going back to Wheeling.'' Weir dominated the statistical battle, rushing for 260 yards and holding Bluefield to just 177 yards of total offense on the day. Time of possession was definitely in favor of the visitors as Weir had three drives of more than 5:30 and finished with a whopping 31:42-16:18 advantage on the clock. Cooper opened the scoring at 2:56 of the second quarter when he caught a Sperlazza pass, broke a tackle inside the five and danced into the end zone for an 11-yard TD grab. Dennis' PAT was blocked by Bluefield's T.J. Morris, giving Weir a 6-0 halftime lead. The Red Riders upped the count to 14-0 in the second half with a drive that consumed 7:40 of the third quarter. The 17-play march ended in bizarre fashion as Josh Smith - who had 104 rushing yards on 21 carries - fumbled at the Bluefield 2 only to see Cooper scoop up the ball and dive into the end zone for the touchdown. Sperlazza then flipped a two-point conversion pass to Cooper on the right flank for a 14-0 lead with 3:18 left in the third quarter. The afternoon was marred by an ugly post-game scene involving some of the Weir High coaches, players and fans. Police had to be called in to restore order. One Weir High assistant coach was thrown to the ground by police and handcuffed but was later released without being arrested. "It's a very emotional, volatile situation,'' said Filberto. "The kids had great expectations and this thing just ended the wrong way for them. "I just hope they'll stick by each other and this staff.'' Bluefield will take on Wayne (13-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the first game of Super Six Weekend at Wheeling Island Stadium. The Beavers lost to Poca in the double-A title tilt each of the past two seasons. W.Va. Class AA Semifinal (At Bluefield) Weir 0 6 8 0 6-20 Bluefield 0 0 0 14 7-21 Second Quarter W-Cooper 11 pass from Sperlazza (kick blocked), 2:56 Third Quarter W-Cooper 2 run (Cooper pass from Sperlazza), 3:18 Fourth Quarter B-Davis 70 interception return (Stone kick), 2:28 B-D.Steptoe 1 run (Stone kick), :00 Overtime B-Q.Steptoe 13 run (Stone kick) W-Pernell 2 pass from Sperlazza (kick failed) Game Statistics Rushing: Weir 61-260, Cooper 29-131-td, Smith 21-104, Sperlazza 8-15, Levendorf 1-6, Frankovitch 1-4, Crow 1-0; Bluefield 31-104, D.Steptoe 10-93-td, Q.Steptoe 6-21-td, Perdue 8-11, Coeburn 5-1, Repass 2-(-22). Passing: Weir 4-9-34-2td-1x (all by Sperlazza). Bluefield 5-16-73-0td-2x (Coeburn 4-14-45-0-1x, Repass 1-2-28-0-1x) Receiving: Weir, Crow 2-21, Cooper 1-11-td, Pernell 1-2-td. Bluefield, Perdue 2-33, Davis 2-12, Coeburn 1-28. First Downs: Weir 17, Bluefield 9 Penalties: Weir 7-60, Bluefield 4-38 Fumbles: Weir 5-0, Bluefield 4-1 Time of Poss: Weir 31:42, Bluefield 16:18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefieldRocks 14 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 In the article the head coach from weir said on that 4th down pass they were just trying to run the clock down, you know good and well thats bull....they were trying to run the score up is all they were doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefield_Rules 46 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 [ QUOTE ] In the article the head coach from weir said on that 4th down pass they were just trying to run the clock down, you know good and well thats bull....they were trying to run the score up is all they were doing [/ QUOTE ] I don't have a problem with what he did even if he was trying to "run up the score." It's Bluefield responsiblity to stop Weir from scoring and if I'm a coach in the same situation I would like to have another TD or at least FG on the board. Now would I have passed with Cooper in the backfield to hand it to? HECK NO! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefieldRocks 14 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 yea, he reminds me of mike alstott wvu has a good full back headed there way next year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefield_Rules 46 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 WVU plans on playing the kid at either linebacker or defensive end from what I've been told... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefieldRocks 14 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 I'd say he'd be pretty good at DE because he has power to get around those blockers and make the big play Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverHokie 35 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 [ QUOTE ] WVU plans on playing the kid at either linebacker or defensive end from what I've been told... [/ QUOTE ] Seems like a waste of talent, but he is awfully tall to be a RB, and he runs a bit too straight-up to be a big-time success. That kid amazed me, he seemed to be impossible to bring down...but then, we're talking about HS kids in the 180-220 lb range making tackles. It is a different world when the D-linemen are all 260+ and the LBs are all 225+ Still, on that 4th down, there is no question I would have run Cooper up the middle yet again. Clearly the lowest risk, with the highest chance of success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefield_Rules 46 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 [ QUOTE ] That kid amazed me, he seemed to be impossible to bring down...but then, we're talking about HS kids in the 180-220 lb range making tackles. It is a different world when the D-linemen are all 260+ and the LBs are all 225+ [/ QUOTE ] This was the exactly point I was going to make if someone asked why he wasn't going to play offense. He's a tank in high school, but would be just another player at the D1 college level. While he has decent speed, it isn't overwhelming speed and I don't think he'd be too successful running the football. However, the kid is a warrior and a very smart player. WVU might look at using him on goal-line or short-yardage situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverHokie 35 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] That kid amazed me, he seemed to be impossible to bring down...but then, we're talking about HS kids in the 180-220 lb range making tackles. It is a different world when the D-linemen are all 260+ and the LBs are all 225+ [/ QUOTE ] This was the exactly point I was going to make if someone asked why he wasn't going to play offense. He's a tank in high school, but would be just another player at the D1 college level. While he has decent speed, it isn't overwhelming speed and I don't think he'd be too successful running the football. However, the kid is a warrior and a very smart player. WVU might look at using him on goal-line or short-yardage situations. [/ QUOTE ] There are always good examples of this...down in Blacksburg, Justin Hamilton came in as a similar player, a tall guy who just ran all over defenses. Justin was a tailback, but was then moved to receiver, now back to tailback due to a lack of depth. Justin has done OK, but he's not a game-changer as a tailback at the collegiate level. when I lived in Charleston, I saw Mark Plants of South Charleston go to WVU as a RB, get shifted all over the place, and he was never fully effective as a college RB. The gap between skill levels in HS and college is huge. You're just not going to find 195 lb defensive linemen in college. Or 175 lb linebackers. All the linemen and linebackers in college are big. And good. And fast. All were stars on their respective HS teams. I agree that the Cooper kid could make a good defender...he has a good frame for DE if he could put on 30 lb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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