WEIRTON — The 100th season of Red Rider football was certainly a memorable one for coach Frank Sisinni and company.

Now, in a new playoff class and with a very different roster, they hope the 101st edition can also prove to be a memorable one.

Weir High went 11-2 last fall, reaching the Class AA state semifinals before falling at North Marion. They got the program’s first playoff win at the new Jimmy Carey Stadium and had a memorable comeback win at Scott in the second round of the playoffs on the way, won four games against teams ranked in the top five and captured the OVAC Class 4A championship in the process.

“Last year’s season was something that was old school when it comes to the traditions and the standard at Weir High School,” Sisinni, who recently coached West Virginia in the OVAC All-Star Game, said. “All of the teams that came before laid the groundwork and it was our turn to go ahead and take on that challenge.

“To have an 11 win season and an OVAC championship back at this school was a big deal for us. Our goal is to go out and represent Weirton and Weir High football the best we can and I think we did that last year.”

Coach Frank Sisinni discusses the upcoming season

Departed from that group are 14 seniors, seven of which have gone on to play sports in college. That group consisted of Malachi Stromile, Charles Prentice, Alias Pugh, Bobby Shuble, Antonio Sims, DeShjuan Smith, Jacob Taylor, Kamar Bridges, Devan Colson, Kevin Freeman, Mason Klink, Corey Lyons, Anthony Zorbini and Colin “G” Cross.

Stromile at QB, Lyons at running back, Cross at receiver, Zorbini on the offensive line, Prentice and Bridges at linebacker and Colson and Taylor at defensive back were each Herald-Star/Daily Times All-Area selections.

“We talked to those seniors last year about how it was their turn to tell their story,” Sisinni, who was the all-area coach of the year, said. “To see seven of the boys from last year’s team go off to college and play is an exciting thing.

“That was a resilient group. When I got the job in 2020 that was the initial group of freshmen that came in with me and it was the COVID year. They persevered through the COVID-affected seasons and their junior year they helped the program turn that corner and get back to the playoffs, then had the success we had last year being one step away from the state championship game … they set the way for the next group.”

Coming off of that success, there has been a noticeable boost in excitement as the next group readies for their turn to leave their mark.

“We captured that momentum coming off the playoffs,” Sisinni said. “The kids have worked hard in the off season, the buy-in is there. We got a taste of it and got to see the level we want to be at. The off season has been great because we got to piggy-back off of the successes that we had.

“It’s rejuvenating for everyone to have a season like we did. You’re downtown at the gas station and hear people excited, it raises everybody up and builds the excitement.”

Aside from the roster changes, the WVSSAC playoff format moved from three classes to four, putting the Red Riders in Class AAA now.

“It’s slightly different, if you look at the class very similar to the playoff teams we’ve been seeing (in Class AA),” Sisinni said. “Princeton comes in, Bridgeport comes in, Brooke is in our class now, so it’s different, but at the same time it is some of the same teams. Bridgeport used to be in AA and we’ve played them in the playoffs before … now the Brooke game can really be a playoff game. We’ve had games recently with playoff implications, now it could be a playoff game.

“We’re going to throw our hat in the ring and see where we stack up.”

This year’s senior class consists of seven, including a couple newcomers.

Returning from last year’s group are wide receiver Damir Mowder, running back Logan Dawson, kicker Ben Howard and returning linemen Noah McClain and John Davis

The new faces in the senior group are Lucas McAllister, a former all-state selection at Madonna that played at Big Red last year, who transferred in at quarterback, while Gianni Shields came out for the first time and is in the mix at wide receiver and defensive back.

“We’ve seen this next group step up and want to make their mark,” Sisinni said. “Damir was a big part of that team last year, Logan Dawson was part of it, Noah McClain and Johnny Davis are anchors to the line … to capture some of their leadership is going to be big.

“Lucas comes in after playing at Big Red, he understands high-level football. He’s a talented kid and we’re excited to see what he can do for us.

“There are some experienced pieces in place, it’s not as big of a group as last year but we’re counting on them to be leaders now and tell their story.”

Overall, the Red Riders initial roster through the first week of practice sat at 48 players, including 29 freshmen and sophomores.

“The postseason run was a benefit to the young guys because they got a lot of extra reps, more practices in and they got to learn and watch the senior group last year,” Sisinni said. “They saw what the playoffs are all about and got to learn from a large group of seniors. They got to see the way, they weren’t all on the field, they had roles in special teams and scout team reps, but they got to learn, see what that level is like and now it’s their opportunity to step up and do their thing.”

Behind McAllister, vying to replace a three-year starter in Stromile at QB, is some youth in freshman Ryant Lyons and sophomore Nick Dimatteis. Mowder can also provide some depth at the position if needed.

The group looking to fill the void of 1,000-yard rusher Corey Lyons will be a committee of Dawson and sophomores Thomas Davidson and Connor Lancaster.

At receiver, where there is also plenty of production to be replaced, Mowder leads the way along with juniors Donte Masters, Jackson Bonner, Journey Turner, Taj Black-Majewski, Jayzen Grace and Isiah Bunner, sophomores Thayden Arnett, Landon Haught, Maddox Mount and Dallas Clark-Smith and freshmen Amir Williams, Terell Jones, Logan Lemmi, Mason Scott, Zackary Howland, Elijah McShan, Easton Hawthorne and Dhorian Grays.

Juniors Ben Bryan and Jayden McAllister are listed at tight end.

Up front, there is also a lot of depth, a lot of it also on the youthful side. The seniors McClain and Davis, will look to anchor the group with juniors Hunter Antol and Nico Bine, sophomores Max Klink, David Archie, Airick Easterday, Madonna transfer Andrew Caprarese, Kevin Phillips, Austin Bailey, Brody Baker, Aleks Zanieski and Ashton Hans and freshmen Cai Buice, Trenton Oliver and Garrett Yeager.

On the defensive side, it’s a lot of that same group in the mix up front with Bryan also penciled in on the D-line.

The linebackers are Mowder, Howland, Dawson, Jayden McAllister, Lancaster, Archie, Easterday, Caprarese, Bailey, Scott and McShan as inside backers and outside backers being Turner, Davidson, Jones and Lemmi.

In the secondary, there is also depth consisting of Lucas McAllsiter, Masters, Bonner, Black-Majewski, Bunner, Shields, DiMatteis, Arnett, Haught, Mount, Clark-Smith, Ryant

Lyons, Williams, McShan, Hawthorne and Grays. Howard is joined by junior Kalen Kuhns on the kicking duties.

Just because there is a lot of youth doesn’t mean the goals are any smaller.

“The goals here are always playoffs and state championships,” Sisinni said. “We talk about the standard at Weir High School, you can walk down the hallways and see what that is. There is an expectation here, there is reality too, based on experience, but the goal is always to work for the playoffs and then what comes after that. Championships are what we work for.”

Assisting Sisinni try to lead the group to those goals is an experienced staff that has added a couple of familiar faces to a group that is full of head coaching experience. Jason Angle, former Weir head baseball coach and previously a football assistant under Tony Filberto, has returned, as has Troy Fetty, who was the head coach at Madonna last season, also served as an assistant under Filberto and previously worked with Sisinni with Weir’s softball program.

The returning group of assistants include three current head coaches in other sports at Weir High in Dave Cowden (head baseball coach), John Leary (head softball coach), Tom Taylor (head track and wrestling coach) and veteran coaches George Martich and Gerard Spencer.

“There’s a ton of experience on this staff,” Sisinni said. “There’s probably 180 years of experience on this staff if not more. It’s very beneficial. They all see things differently and have different perspectives. They see things that need done and do it without me even having to ask.”

The Red Riders open with a Thursday night showdown with rival Oak Glen in the battle for Carl Hamill Trophy on the road on Aug. 29.