WEIRTON, W.Va. — For 47 minutes, Frankfort and Weir battled for their playoff lives, and it all rested on one final field goal.
The Falcons, trailing 23-21, drove down to the Weir 20-yard line but were stood up on third down. Facing a 4th-and-3 with 42.4 seconds left, Frankfort elected to try a 39-yard field goal for the lead.
Rhett Sensabaugh’s kick was tipped at the line of scrimmage, and No. 5 Weir held on to defeat No. 12 Frankfort, 23-21, in the first round of the Class AA playoffs on Friday at Jimmy Carey Stadium.
Frankfort finishes the season with a 7-4 record.
“It’s just a hard one to swallow,” Frankfort head coach Kevin Whiteman said. “That last drive there, I didn’t think it was going to come down to a field goal. … We were moving the ball pretty well, and I thought we were going to be able to punch it in.
“Just unfortunate because the kids battled for 48 minutes. I’m really proud of the effort. They just gave it everything they have.”
Weir improves to 10-1 and advances to play the winner of No. 4 Scott and No. 13 Nitro, which plays today.
It was the second meeting this season between Frankfort and Weir — the Red Riders winning the first matchup 35-21 — and Whiteman was hopeful his Falcons would play a better game this time around.
His players delivered, taking their first lead at 21-17 with 10:47 to play after a three-yard touchdown run by Cam Layton.
Weir answered with a 12-play, 78-yard touchdown drive, and Corey Lyons pounded into the end zone for his third and final touchdown to put the Red Riders back in front 23-21 with 5:22 to play.
Lyons ended with a game-high 130 yards on 20 carries.
Weir missed the extra point, meaning a Frankfort field goal would win it, and the Falcons got a short field thanks to a 31-yard kick return by Jacob Nething up to midfield.
Frankfort moved down to the Weir 20 but lost two yards on a 3rd-and-1 to set up a 4th-and-3 as the clock dipped below a minute.
Despite the success of Frankfort’s running game — which gained 221 yards on 45 carries and was topped by Tyrique Powell’s 100 on 24 totes — the Falcons felt the fourth down was too long.
“It was within our kicker’s range, so I just thought we’d go ahead and kick it,” Whiteman said. “At that range, he’s usually golden. I had a little bit of hesitation, but it’s 4th-and-3 and that’s tough.”
Weir head coach Frank Sisinni confirmed the kick was tipped at the line, and the Red Riders kneeled it out to keep their season alive.
The difference ended up being a 26-yard field goal by Weir’s Ben Howard, which broke a 14-all tie with 2:14 left in the third period.
“We knew coming into this one it was going to be an extreme challenge,” Sisinni said. “We stayed the course and really played some strong football up front.
“When you talk about West Virginia AA football, you can’t stay in the conversation without talking about Frankfort football.”
Weir ended with a 17-14 edge in first downs and 308-250 margin in total offense.
Red Riders quarterback Malachi Stromile completed 6 of 11 passes for 71 yards, and he rushed for 97 more on 12 carries. Lyons also caught a 25-yard pass.
In addition to Powell’s performance, Landen Kinser gained 73 yards on four carries — 54 of which came on a well-timed counter call by Frankfort on its go-ahead touchdown drive in the second half.
Layton added 36 yards on six runs, and Rocky Fontenot gained 25 on five gives. Fontenot also caught two passes for 29 yards and had two pass breakups on defense, and Daniel Marley had a sack. Blake Jacobs completed both of his passes to Fontenot.
Frankfort lost one fumble after halftime, recovered by Damir Mowder. Weir didn’t turn it over.
Frankfort and Weir couldn’t have been more even in the first half, and it was reflected by a 14-all score.
Weir had an 11-10 edge in first downs at the break and held the ball just two more seconds (12:01 to 11:59). Frankfort scored on drives of 72 and 80 yards, and Weir scored on two 80-yard series.
Both teams also had two stops, and both missed opportunities to lead at intermission.
Weir won the coin toss and elected to receive, and the move paid off as the Red Riders drove 80 yards on 10 plays. Lyons capped the series with a three-yard touchdown run with 6:52 left in the opening quarter.
Frankfort followed suit with a 12-play, 72-yard series to level the score. The Falcons didn’t have a big play, but they methodically moved down the field with positive runs.
Jacobs fittingly punched it in on a one-yard quarterback sneak to make it 7-all with 34 seconds left in the quarter.
Weir then drove 80 yards on 14 plays to regain the lead, again capped by a three-yard Lyons scamper to pay dirt to make it 14-7 with 7:24 remaining in the half.
Frankfort had windows at stops on both of Weir’s first two series.
Weir converted a 3rd-and-10 from its own 20 on its opening drive, and it converted 4th-and-8 on its second series. The Falcons also dropped an interception.
Frankfort blinked first, as a ball carrier fumbled on its second drive. While the Falcons recovered, the negative play led to a three-and-out and a punt.
Weir had an opportunity to go up two scores, but Frankfort forced Weir into consecutive incompletions to get the ball back with 3:23 left 80 yards from the end zone.
Frankfort quickly moved the ball down the field, and Jacobs had the big play, a 22-yard completion to Fontenot down to the Weir 15 with 18.6 seconds left in the half.
Fontenot took a pitch and ran out of bounds at the Weir 7 with 13.5 seconds left — a crucial move since Frankfort was out of timeouts.
Whiteman rolled the dice and gave the ball to his workhorse Powell on an interior run, and the fullback found a seam and scored on a seven-yard carry to level the score at 14 with 8.3 seconds to go.
Yet, Frankfort couldn’t muster up more magic in the waning seconds of the second half, and Weir held on to end the Falcons’ season.
“The whole season was a joy. The kids really worked hard and had good attitudes. We had some nice wins,” Whiteman said. “We didn’t hit our goal of advancing when we got here, but we were awful damn close.
“It just sucks for these kids because they’re devastated, and I’m devastated for them.”