WEIRTON, W.Va. (WTRF)– On September 8th, Weir Football celebrated it’s 100th birthday in style, inviting all their alumni young and old for a night full of fun. After catching up and being honored on the field, almost 300 alums lined the sideline to watch their Red Riders run out and dominate Indian Creek 41-8.

“To see the guys come in from out of town, all over the country, it was really special because a lot of work and planning went into that evening and to play the way we did in front of the guys who have laid the foundation prior to us, was really a pleasure for us to do for them.”

-Frank Sisinni, Weir Coach

Coming into the year, Coach got creative with a new way to motivate his team…

“We have black and white film and everything and the 2005 team and the eight state championships I could go on and on about but we show them that all the time so they’ve seen them on the screen when we have our down time before games so we’ll put the old stuff so they see that, so much them to actually meet the guys was really cool”

-Frank Sisinni, Weir Coach

One of those guys was stand-out running back Bob Kelley. Kelley graduated in 1961 and earned the Kennedy Award in his time for being the most outstanding player in the state. For a man who’s been all over the country since graduating, this occasion was one of a kind…

“I don’t think all day I sat down one time, it was just great.”

-Bob Kelley, Class of ’61

For a guy like Kelley, it’s been 63 years since he last took the field for Weir. But don’t let that fool you, his memory of the good ole days is as sharp as they come…

“Johnstown suited up almost 90 players, and all we could hear was ‘we’re bringing the Johnstown flood on Weirton and you’re going to be sorry you ever seen us’ safe to safe we beat Johnstown 48-13.”

-Bob Kelley, Class of ’61

So as the Red Riders chase playoffs, the support and motivation from past generations will be with them the entire way.