Published: September 03, 2008 09:43 am      

Weir opens with win over physical South Leake

WALNUT GROVE — Weir second-year head coach Jim Wood was hoping South Leake would give his Lions a physical test.

He got what he wished for on Friday night.

"They physically whipped us," Wood said, despite his team's 28-0 season-opening win over the homestanding Wildcats. "They beat us up front on both sides of the ball. It wasn't by any means a lack of effort on our part, they were just big and strong.

"This is the kind of ballgame we needed," he said. "We needed a physical test to judge were we are. Now we know what we need to work on so that we can keep improving."

Weir, ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 2A both my the Jackson Clarion-Ledger and Mississippi Prep Sports Source, rolled out to a 22-0 lead and then added a touchdown late in the game to seal the victory.

The first touchdown came on a 5-yard run by Cramer Miller when the Lions got the ball on a short field following a botched punt by the Wildcats. The snap on the extra point sailed long and into place-kicker Jeffrey Miller's hands, who then passed it to Cramer Miller for the two-point conversion to put the winners up 8-0.

Next came a long drive for the Lions that saw Weir score early in the second quarter on a 25-yard run by Cramer Miller. The conversion failed, leaving the winners with a 14-0 lead.

That was stretched out to 22-0 later in the second quarter when fullback Jeffrey Miller broke lose for a 57-yard touchdown run and Cramer Miller an in the conversion.

"It was one of those runs by your fullback you like to see," Wood said of the touchdown. "It was a heck of an effort. He just busted it up the middle and ran away from everybody."

The final Weir score came middle ways in the fourth quarter when Rodriguez Miller gathered in a 25-yard scoring pass from Jay Miller.

"I was pleased with the way we ran to the ball defensively," Wood said. "We were able to play some new faces in key situations and we rotated a lot of people in and out. Anytime you pitch a shutout you feel pretty good about your defensive effort."

As a team the Lions churned out 304 yards, with 243 of those coming on the ground.

Jeffrey Miller had nine carries for 129 yards, Cramer Miller 16 carries for 63 yards and Jay Miller 36 yards on six attempts. Jay Miller also hit on five-of-10 passes for 61 yards.

The Lions return to action on Thursday when they host Edinburg at 7:30 p.m It will be the first of four Thursday games for Weir this season.