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It's Happening: Senior Stars of 2015 "Three-Peat" State Football Championship Featured in This Weekend's Episode of FRC with Curtis Fleming

By Julie Perine on January 31, 2017 from It’s Happening via Connect-Bridgeport.com

On Dec. 5, 2015, the Bridgeport High School football team shut out the Tolsia Rebels 39-0 at Wheeling Island Stadium, claiming the West Virginia Class AA championship; the Indians' third consecutive state title.
 
If you think you’ve seen the last of these history-making athletes, you are mistaken. Tune into the Outdoor Channel this weekend and you’ll see the senior stars of the 2015 Super Six in a worldwide TV show that not even they have laid their eyes on.
 
Dylan Tonkery, Dante Bonamico and Elijah Drummond – who now call Mountaineer Field their home turf – and many of the other gridironers who graduated with the 2016 BHS class - traded in their football equipment for fly fishing gear to be featured in an episode of “Fly Rod Chronicles with Curtis Fleming.”

The episode debuts 7 a.m. (EST) Friday and also airs 1 p.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
 
“I’m excited to watch the show,” Drummond said. “It’s always funny to see your friends acting serious because they’re on TV.”
 
The show will no doubt be entertaining, but so is the story behind how it all came to be. Long story short, Fleming lured the boys with a fly fishing excursion and they attacked. But in the spirit of the fish story, let’s look at the longer tale.
 
In 2014, Fleming, his wife Shelly and daughters Laken – a WVU sophomore - and Autumn – a high school junior- moved back to Bridgeport – where Fleming grew up and fished with the Bridgeport Junior High Outdoors Club.
 
Autumn soon became tight with her classmates, including several members of the football team. The gang often went to the Flemings’ house after high school games – or to watch college or pro games. In any case, the guys often wound up spending time with Curtis, inquisitive about his fly fishing hobby turned career.
 
Eventually, Tonkery started asking when he was going to take them with him. As the 2014-2015 football season progressed – and the Tribe accumulated victory after victory - Curtis had an idea.
 
It was after Light Up Night 2015 – the very day before the Class AA state championship game – when some of the guys joined the Flemings at Almost Heaven Desserts for a picture-perfect moment. The snow was falling, the city was lit up in true holiday style and a group of friends was enjoying goodies together at the Main Street coffee shop. It seemed the perfect time to make a most tempting offer.
 
“I told the guys that if they won the state championship, I’d take them fishing,” Curtis said. “They started high-fiving all over the place.”
 
Though they were all basking in excitement, Fleming placed a serious spin on the occasion, reminding the boys that it wasn’t just important to win the championship game, but to live in the moment, enjoying everything about it and not taking any of it for granted.
 
“I told them that even at age 50, I still talk about when I was a sophomore on the BHS football team and got to go to the state playoffs in 1982. I got injured and never played after that," he said. “Every day is a gift. I told them the experience would follow them the rest of their lives."
 
The next night, it all started to flow. By halftime, the Tribe was up two touchdowns – one a kickoff return by sophomore JT Harris that made state championship history.  Early in the third quarter, Tonkery ran 64 yards for the third. The crowd was going wild. So were the boys.

“Dante recovered a fumble and he and Dylan were running by the sidelines where I was standing – and they acted like they were throwing a fly rod,” said Fleming, so said he admitted he had a couple of anxious moments, hoping he didn’t create “a monster.”
 
By the time the game was over and Dante and Elijah each added a TD, sealing the deal, celebration was widespread, between team members, the Tribe and its fans. It was a contagious spirit and a memory-making moment and as if it were scripted – and well, it was – Curtis addressed the team.
 
“You just won the state championship for three years in a row. What are you going to do next?”
 
And, of course, they replied: “We’re going fly fishing with Curtis Fleming.”
 
You’ll see it in the episode. You’ll also see the cool spin Curtis and his producers – after praying about it - placed on the show. The creative process coincided with a message from a fan of the show who said how much he loved FRC, but found one element missing.

“He said he thought we took for granted that everyone knows everything about fly fishing – and why not do a show about the basics, so people who don’t know how to fly fish can learn,” Fleming said.
 
As they had on Dec. 5 at Wheeling Island, things started falling into place. It was decided that the location of the shoot would be Morgantown’s Chestnut Mountain Ranch, a Christ-centered school and home for boys in crisis.
 
“Three years before that, I helped establish fly fishing as part of the curriculum at the ranch. These troubled youth were learning all the basics,” Fleming said. “So here were these boys who were used to being mentored and we decided they would do the mentoring – teaching these championship-winning high school athletes how to fly fish.”
 
Because of the unexpected end to his own high school athletic career, Curtis had taken a liking to and developed a bond with BHS lineman Dalton Elliott - who because of an injury sat out much of the season. The two of them headed to the ranch a day ahead of schedule so Elliott could get a jump start on the experience. 
 
Due to schedules, etc., not all 17 senior team members were able to make the May 1, 2016 fishing trip, but those who did caught more than they bargained for.
 
“It was a lot of fun and a great experience to get to fish with Curtis,” said Drummond, adding that it was only his second fly fishing experience. “It was also very humbling to hear some of the kids’ stories and still get to see them out having fun fishing.”
 
Like the three-peat state championship, Bonamico said he will cherish the fly fishing trip forever.
 
“From learning a new hobby to hanging out with (Coach) Josh (Nicewarner) and (Defense Coordinator) Jason (Nicewarner) and my teammates is something that I won’t forget for a long time,” he said. “I definitely got hooked on a new hobby and I can’t thank Curtis enough for giving us all the experience of a lifetime.”
 
A ranch resident and student, Kyler Grimes really enjoyed fishing alongside the BHS football team. 
 
"He and the other boys enjoyed helping Curtis teach them how to tie flies and cast," said Trina Cutright, director of development at Chestnut Mountain Ranch. 
 
The best part, Kyler said, was watching the athletes catch their first fish on a fly rod. 
 
"It made me think of the first time I caught a fish like that," he said.
 
Fleming not only got a really cool show out of the deal, but he caught some special moments and learned more about the heart of the BHS Football Team.
 
And while spending time on the ranch, the boys had a surprise visitor.
 
I don’t want to spoil it for you. Tune in this weekend for the rest of the story. 
 
Editor's Note: Photos by Ben Queen Photography
 
Julie Perine can be reached at 304-848-7200, ext. 2, at julie@connect-bridgeport.com, Facebook or follow @JuliePerine on Twitter. 
 
More "It's Happening" HERE: Passion in Motion Brings Wreaths Across America Full Circle
 


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