By RALPH COX Weir High powered its way to the No. 4 seed in the West Virginia Class AA playoffs during a highly successful 2008 season. With a senior-oriented team and two big backs that gained roughly 2,800 yards between them, coach Eric Meek’s Red Riders posted a 9-3 record. They were 8-2 in the regular season and after beating Independence 23-14 to open the postseason, lost 14-7 to James Monroe at Jimmy Carey Stadium in the state quarterfinal round. Meek and all but six of the starters on that team are gone, so the Red Riders began another new era when drills opened Aug. 3. Tom Taylor, a Weir High graduate and former assistant coach, took over the team and he promises a new style of football. Last season the opponents knew what they were going to get from the Red Riders offense — a good dose of smash-mouth football with a big veteran line and quarterback Bryant Davidson blasting into it. When Davidson wasn’t carrying the ball, Derrick Rovira was. Davidson, an all-stater, finished the season with 1,913 yards and 22 touchdowns on 295 carries, while Rovira, who made the all-state team at linebacker, plowed his way for 830 yards. Others who saw considerable playing time last season as seniors were Brendon Sadler, Corey Enrietti, Cody Davidson, Mike Salko, Mike Rasicci, J. J. Vanezalos, Artie Chappell, Mike Mohoroski, Vance Miller, Mike Mitchell, and Chayne Haynes.