By David Shaw
dshaw@salisburypost.com
GRANITE QUARRY ó Riley Weber has always let his hands do the talking. Last Friday they told quite a story.
The East Rowan wideout made a pair of marvelous catches against Cox Mill ó including a sideliner that went for a 74-yard touchdown and helped the county’s most surprising team gain its fourth win in five decisions.
“He’s got some of the best hands, if not the best, on the team,” East coach Brian Hinson gushed after Weber scored his third TD in the past three weeks. “He’s been a big pickup for us.”
That’s right, Weber’s a pickup.
Best known as a basketball player, he’s a small forward who can cut on a dime and give you three cents change. A year ago he was a gym-class hero with little, if any, interest in playing football for the 1-10 Mustangs.
“I was just weightlifting, going to four-man workouts and getting ready for basketball,” said Weber, a 6-foot, 165-pound senior. “(Hinson) was always nagging me to come out for football. But really, I never played because I wanted to get stronger, not killed.”
By last spring Weber’s body had hardened and his stance softened. Hinson ó who attends church with Paul Weber, Riley’s dad and a former Catawba College defender ó convinced the senior he’d be a perfect fit for the 2009 team.
“Any time you can recruit a kid from your school and he’s already played another sport, you’re ahead of the game,” Hinson said. “Usually with those one-and-done kids, you have to watch them. You never know what they’re gonna do.”
Not with Weber. He’s a UPS player ó plain packaging, dependable and always on time.
“I’m just me, and I didn’t want to miss out on anything,” he said. “It’s my last year, so I at least wanted to give it a try. I didn’t care if I started or not. I figured I’d just come out and push myself. I guess it’s paid off.”
Teammate Preston Troutman has had a front-row seat to Weber’s emergence.
“We always played pickup games, and you’d see him going up for these one-handed catches,” Troutman said. “You could tell he should have been on a football field his whole life.”
A sharp route-runner who isn’t afraid to throw a block or get his hands dirty, Weber has shown remarkable propensity for adjusting to the ball. In the second quarter against Cox Mill, he snared a short, high-and-outside screen from quarterback Jamey Blalock and turned it into a 19-yard gain. One snap later East took an 8-6 lead.
With 1:48 remaining in the half, Weber reeled in the catch of the day. Blalock was under pressure when he lofted a rainbow pass toward the right sideline. Weber, running a left-to-right slant pattern, was well-defended but somehow found the ball and made an over-the-shoulder catch. He sprinted the final 40 yards into the end zone for a 23-6 lead.
“The ball was pretty high and in front of me,” Weber recalled. “I just had to run under it. Jamey threw it where I could get to it. That’s good chemistry.”
Troutman was the first to congratulate his friend.
“I don’t think any other (East) receiver could have made that catch,” he said.
Weber finished the game with 93 receiving yards, giving him six receptions for 160 yards this season.
“At this point I regret not playing before,” he said. “I’m really enjoying this.”
So is Hinson, for several reasons.
Just last month he saw a wide-eyed, freshman jayvee player searching for a place to sit in the school cafeteria.
“It was an awkward situation for the kid,” Hinson said. “But Riley went over and grabbed him and said, ‘You can sit with us.’ That’s the kind of person Riley Weber is. He gives us the best of both worlds.”