SHORT GAP, W.Va. — Last season, Weir beat Frankfort twice, with the latter ending the Falcons’ season in the Class AA playoffs.
On Friday at Frankfort Stadium, the Falcons got revenge in dominant fashion, winning 51-0.
“It was a nice win for us,” Frankfort head coach Kevin Whiteman said. “Kids played hard. I thought we executed well. Did what we had to do to get the win. Everyone got to play, so that’s a good thing. A little concern when you’re coming off a bye week and how you’re gonna play, I thought the kids came out and played really hard.”
The Falcons (3-0) set the tone on the opening kickoff, when Jacob Nething bobbled the kick, then took off for a 46-yard return to the Frankfort 49.
“I just saw an opening,” Nething said. “Unfortunately, I got tripped up twice. I would’ve taken it back to the house.”
Five plays later, Julian Pattison scored from three yards out.
After a three-and-out by the Red Riders (1-3), Pattison picked up 11 on the punt return to set the Falcons up at Weir’s 29.
Three plays later, Uriah Cutter walked in on a quarterback keeper from the eight.
After another quick Red Rider drive, Frankfort began at its own 47.
“We just executed. I just thought we did a really good job doing what we do and doing it well,” Whiteman said of the number of short drives. “When you do that, you’re gonna win football games.”
The Falcons only needed three plays to add another score, as Blake Jacobs was gone after one cut, scoring a 28-yard touchdown.
Late in the first quarter, Nething made a one-handed catch down the left sideline for a 26-yard gain.
“It was a great throw by Uriah Cutter,” Nething said. “It wasn’t open, but he just put it in there, I just put my hand out there and caught it.”
Three plays later, Pattison was gone for a 45-yard touchdown run.
In the first quarter, Nething combined for 66 return yards.
He was a big reason why Frankfort’s first three drives either started around midfield or inside the Red Rider 30.
Leading 28-0 after one quarter, Frankfort opened the second quarter with another quick score.
On the opening play, Pattison recovered a fumble and 32 yards later, was in the end zone on a scoop and score.
“He’s a good football player,” Whiteman said of Pattison. “Hard-nosed, he’s tough, loves playing the game, loves running, loves tackling. Loves every aspect of the game. He’s been a real good addition to our team.”
Frankfort’s next drive started on its own 42, and only took six plays.
On second and goal from the five, Jacobs punched it in to institute a running clock.
Frankfort got the ball back at its own 49 a couple minutes later, and the Falcons began to insert some backups.
Brady Twigg took a handoff 51 yards and was untouched the final 40 yards.
On the extra point, Frankfort made one of its few mistakes of the game.
A fumbled snap was picked up by the kicker, who fumbled to keep the score 48-0 at halftime.
In the first half, the Falcon defense held Weir to 32 combined yards.
“The defense was aggressive, played hard, had good pass rush,” Whiteman said. “We tackled well, we covered the pass well. Just a good night for Frankfort football.”
Frankfort combined for 313 yards including 250 on the ground.
On the Falcons’ opening drive of the second half, Rhett Sensabaugh concluded the scoring with a 32-yard field goal.
Frankfort finished with 320 rushing yards and 383 total.
Pattison led the Falcons with 111 yards on six carries and a pair of scores.
Jacobs added five runs for 67 yards and two touchdowns.
The Red Riders finished with 91 total yards of offense.
Last season, Frankfort led 21-0 against Weir before the Red Riders completed the comeback to win 35-21.
Weir won 23-21 in the opening round of the Class AA playoffs when the Falcons’ field goal in the final seconds was blocked.
“It’s nice, we wanted revenge,” Whiteman said. “That was tough last year. The regular season game was tough, but the playoff game ripped our hearts out of our chest. This was a nice win for us.”
Frankfort hosts Northern (2-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. for Homecoming.
It will be the 24th meeting between the Falcons and Huskies, which Frankfort leads 18-5.
“First off, I love Phil Carr (Northern head coach),” Whiteman said of why he likes playing Northern. “Coach Carr’s a good guy, good coach, good friend of mine, and Northern always plays Frankfort tough. I guarantee you they’re gonna come hard. They play hard every year. It’s gonna be a dogfight.”