By Drew Goodman / Scrimmageplaycva.com
Having been a member of Covenant’s football team for five years, running back/defensive lineman Rick Weaver has seen his fair share of senior days as an Eagle.
For the past two seasons, however, due to various injuries, Weaver was forced to watch from the sidelines as his veteran teammates played at home for the final time in their respective careers.
With his own senior celebration finally on the horizon, Weaver was determined to not only be healthy enough to participate, but to also give the capacity crowd on hand plenty to cheer about.
Mission accomplished.
In Friday’s clash with rival St. Anne’s Belfield, Weaver took his official final bow in front of the home fans in style. The senior rushed for a touchdown, scooped up a fumble and raced 51 yards for defensive score, and blocked a punt in the end zone that set up yet another Covenant touchdown.
For his effort, Weaver and his six fellow seniors earned well-deserved recognition on the field following the Eagles’ 62-13 romp over STAB. They’ll likely play other games at home in the VISFA playoffs, but the official curtain call was a sweet one.
“It’s awesome,” Weaver said of enjoying his senior celebration. “I’m here with my brothers. We’re fighting (for) a victory on every down, and it’s just a great experience to be here with a lot of teammates that honor and respect you. I’m just glad I got to play and be a part of this wonderful team.”
Covenant head coach Seth Wilson watched Weaver grow from an upstart eighth grader into one of the most feared rushers in Central Virginia over the last five seasons. The second-year head coach recognized all seven of his seniors individually following the contest, but saved Weaver’s speech for last, and could not help but get a little choked up when discussing his star player.
“One of the things that made it so great for “[Weaver] to show up like he did was that I think maybe it sunk in for him how valuable of a piece that he is on the defensive side of the ball,” Wilson said. “He is such a threat, such a force, and such a game-changer on that side of the ball. Yes, it’s awesome to watch him run and do all of those different things because you rarely have a guy that is built like that can do those things, but a guy like that as athletic as he is, if you put him on defense… he’s going to change the way teams have to play.”
Weaver might have been healthy for senior day at long last, but one fellow upperclassmen, Conner Poindexter, had to watch Friday’s game mostly from the sidelines.
In an effort to honor Poindexter, who tore his ACL in practice several weeks ago, Wilson sent his injured playmaker onto the field to take a knee for the game’s first offensive snap. Following the opening play from scrimmage, Poindexter received a befitting round of applause from both teams.
“With this sport, you put your body on the line; You put hurt shoulders and hurt knees… and all that stuff on the line, and when that’s taken from you… I don’t know how I could have found a better way to honor [Poindexter] and all that’s done for the program,” Wilson said.
Poindexter’s symbolic kneel was one of few plays that resulted in negative yardage for the home standing Eagles. On Covenant’s second offensive play of the game, senior quarterback Luke Sorensen weaved in and out of the STAB defense for a 57-yard rushing touchdown.
Six minutes later, Sorenson found Nic Sanker for a 13-yard grab in the end zone, and the two-point try doubled the home team’s advantage.
The Saints couldn’t slow down Sorenson and the high-flying Eagle offense, as Covenant raced out to a 28-6 lead before the end of the first quarter. The Eagles reeled off four touchdowns of 40 yards or greater, as Sorenson, Weaver, and both Jonas and Nic Sanker showed no signs of letting up against their cross-town rivals.
“They make me look good, because their performance is so great,” Sorenson said of his bevy offensive weapons. “It’s hard to stop Rick right up the middle and it’s hard to stop Jonas on the outside. They’re really the strong points in our offense.”
Friday’s triumph marked Covenant’s third consecutive win over St. Anne’s-Belfield. Twelve months after snatching a narrow road victory last October, the Eagles have outscored the Saints 124-33 in the two meetings this fall.
After falling behind 16-0, the STAB offense got something going late in the first quarter. Following a 28-yard run by quarterback Thomas Harry, sophomore Amani Woods muscled his way into the end zone to put the victors on the board.
Covenant poured on 40 additional points before STAB touched the scoreboard again. With time winding down in the fourth quarter, Harry crossed the goaline from a yard out on fourth down.
The Saints will play two more games before the end of next week. STAB will host Brunswick Academy on Monday, before welcoming Kenston Forest to town on October 26.
The Eagles will conclude the 2018 regular season next Friday at Greenbrier Christian.
Both teams will then jump into the VISFA playoffs as the current No. 1 and No.2-ranked squads.
