PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — It was no secret how Class AAA No. 8 Bridgeport wanted Friday’s contest against No. 1 Parkersburg South to be played.
The Indians were out to control the line of scrimmage, limit possessions and wear down the Patriots while keeping their defense off of the grass at Erickson All-Sports Facility as much as possible.
That’s precisely what the Tribe did, and as a result, Bridgeport claimed an impressive 28-20 victory that leaves both teams 5-1 overall.
“I’m so proud of our kids. Our mindset coming into this game was to win the line of scrimmage and we had to have the lower pad level, because they have such tremendous athletes and they’re so well-coached,” Bridgeport coach Tyler Phares said. “We tried to win that game in a phone booth.”
Of the Indians’ 66 offensive snaps excluding a knee on the game’s final play, Bridgeport rushed 65 times and accumulated 355 rushing yards. Phares couldn’t have scripted it any better for his team, which finished with 14 unanswered points after facing its only deficit at 20-14.
After Gage Wright’s 6-yard touchdown run gave the Patriots their first lead, Bridgeport’s Ty Martin blocked the point-after attempt, leaving the Tribe behind by six points 2:16 into the second half.
Bridgeport answered with a 16 play, 73-yard drive that featured a pair of fourth-and-1 conversions and was capped off by Phil Reed’s 4-yard touchdown run. The third of four Taylor Thomas point-after kicks gave BHS a 21-20 lead at the 1:40 mark of the third quarter.
“We fixed the mistakes that we saw from the sideline and we knew they were little things that we could easily correct,” Phares said of his team’s second-half adjustments. “We saw some keys from their defense that we liked and we threw a few key-breakers at them in the second half that we didn’t in the first and we were able to execute.”
On the ensuing possession, PSHS converted on third-and-17 when Robert Shockey found Turner Garreston for a pass that covered exactly that distance. However, on the next play, Shockey’s pass intended for Cyrus Trough was intercepted by Josh Love, allowing the Indians to start at their 43 with 18 seconds remaining in the third.
The Indians then methodically drove 57 yards in 14 plays, converting on fourth-and-1 courtesy of Zach Rohrig’s 1-yard run and gaining an eight-point advantage when Rohrig reached pay dirt from 4 yards with 4:38 remaining.
Trough hauled in a 28-yard pass for one of two PSHS first downs on its next series, before Shockey threw consecutive incomplete passes that resulted in a turnover on downs.
Starting at its 42 with 2:06 to play, Bridgeport needed one first down to seal the verdict and got it on Rohrig’s 1-yard run on fourth-and-1 — Bridgeport’s sixth fourth-down conversion in seven tries.
“Against a team like this, they make it easy to go for it on fourth down, because even if you punt it to them, they have the chance to score,” Phares said. “You get nervous about that, but we’re not afraid to go for it on fourth down. It doesn’t matter where it is on the field and it’s because we trust our kids so much.”
Although the Indians’ lost a fumble on an exchange that the Patriots’ Demetrius Gearheart recovered on the game’s opening series, Bridgeport came up with a critical stand when Wright was stopped at the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-1 from the BHS 12.
Reed broke off a 45-yard run on Bridgeport’s ensuing series, which Charlie Brazier finished off with a 25-yard touchdown run on an inside trap play that left the Indians leading 7-0 at the 4:42 mark of the opening quarter.
Shockey’s 44-yard pass to Traugh on the next possession led to a 24-yard touchdown pass by that same duo as the Patriots pulled even 1:49 before the start of the second quarter.
However, the Indians answered with a 17 play, 73-yard drive that featured two fourth-down conversions, including Rohrig’s 3-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal.
“They did a phenomenal job controlling the clock,” Patriots’ coach Nathan Tanner said. “Coming into it, we knew that was going to be their game plan and they just played 3-yard football. They were 3 yards at a time and whenever you get at least 3 yards every single time, you get first downs and keep churning the clock. They did a good job keeping it out of our hands.”
The first of Rohrig’s two touchdowns gave the Tribe a 14-7 lead, and Bridgeport stayed in front after Shockey fumbled at the end of a 53-yard run and Martin recovered.
Rohrig followed with a 53-yard run of his own, which combined with a late hit penalty, allowed the Indians to immediately enter the red zone. However, a fumble on an option resulted in a loss of 13 yards and put BHS in fourth-and-20, which it failed to convert.
The Patriots then appeared to seize momentum when they went 75 yards in 56 seconds, with Shockey and Trough hooking up on a 42-yard TD pass that featured the receiver breaking free from multiple defenders and doing most of his damage after the catch.
“They’re going to get theirs and going to get big plays, but you have to try to reset your mind and forget about the last play,” Phares said. “Try to come up and make form tackles and do the little things. When they’re in space, they’re very dangerous.”
Although Parkersburg South took its first and only lead on the opening series of the second half, the Patriots never scored again and hurt their cause by committing all eight of the game’s penalties.
“That’s been our kryptonite all year,” Tanner said. “If you look at our team stats for the entire season, we’ve dominated in every category except penalties. I’ll take that on the chin. It’s my job to manage these kids better and it’s not just our kids learning, but I’ll learn from this. Maybe I’ve been too easy on them regarding penalties, but we have to get that in check.”
Parkersburg South scored at least 48 points in each of its first five games but was limited to seven possessions. Neither team punted.
“Bridgeport is one of the premier programs in the state,” Tanner said. “We knew it was going to be tough and they just made a few more plays than we did.”