Ad

Indians Begin Quest for Another Trip to Wheeling as Frankfort Set to Visit in First Round of 'AA' Playoffs

By Jeff Toquinto on November 09, 2018 via Connect-Bridgeport.com

The last time Bridgeport and Frankfort met in a high school football matchup was in 2014. At that time, things went quite well for the Indians as they not only took home a 37-7 win, but a Class AA state championship from Wheeling as well after the matchup.
 
Since that time, Bridgeport has been in the playoffs every year and managed to add another state championship in 2015. The Falcons, however, have not returned to the postseason since that game and went 2-8 just last year.
 
This year, the Falcons flipped the script. Frankfort finished the year 8-2 and earned the No. 14 ranking.
 
Tonight, FHS will visit Wayne Jamison Field to face off against Class AA No. 3 and 9-1 Bridgeport. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
“This is a much improved team and it’s a team familiar with us,” said BHS Coach John Cole. “We haven’t played each other, but they had an off week when we faced Keyser they had an off week during the Keyser game and saw us live.
 
“Add to that they have the same coach (Kevin Whiteman) as when we last played them in the title game in 2014,” he continued. “Their staff knows what to expect because what they saw against Keyser, in the title game and, for that matter, every time we’ve played them is pretty much the same. We’re different with the power pistol from some of the earlier matchups, but not much else.”
 
The Falcons would like nothing better than to have one thing be different that those previous games. And that would be the outcome as Bridgeport is currently 5-0 against Frankfort in the series.
 
“They may have missed the playoffs the last few years, but this is a successful program. The postseason is not a new experience for this coaching staff,” said Cole.
 
Cole said the Falcons will utilize a wing-T formation that often turns into a double wing attack. He said the Tribe has faced similar styles from Lewis County and East Fairmont and said it more closely resembles the offense of Lewis County.
 
“They can throw when they have to and they’ll spread it out, but this is a team that likes to run right at you,” said Cole. “They’re like us in the fact that they’re happy with getting three, four or five yards on a play. They want to control the flow of the game by having long possessions and limiting ours.”
 
Cole said the Falcons have one thing up front that has caused them problems this year – a quality line with a fair amount of size. Add to that what Cole calls a “solid” set of back and the BHS head man said his team better be ready.
 
“There are things about this offense that’s a bit scary. The line has some size and they have a few big backs that really run hard,” said Cole.
 
Among the key runners is junior Nick Marley who bring a 5’10, 205 pound frame to the game. Senior Dalton Pollock, at 6’2 and 220 pounds, is also a handful and has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark on the year. If the club goes to the air, sophomore Colton McTaggart will be doing the honors at quarterback.
 
“They’re going to run right at us in a game that is going to probably be rainy and wet. We haven’t had to deal with that yet and they’ve played not only in the rain, but in the mud,” said Cole. “That may not seem like a big deal, but it’s something we’re focusing on.”
 
For Bridgeport, ball security has been huge. Despite carrying the ball 475 times, the Tribe has just one fumble. In fact, through all aspects of the game, the Tribe has lost just one fumble among three times coughing up the ball to go along with only two interceptions.
 
“For the most part, it’s been really good compared to other years. Part of that goes back to us playing, for the most part, in pretty good weather conditions,” said Cole. “With a little wind and rain, that can change things.”
 
Cole is hoping that his defense can force some turnovers in the game and stop the Falcons’ wing-T attack. Carson Winkie has been the focal point of the defense with a team-high 65 stops. Trey Pancake and Austin Sponaugle are also key contributors with 50 and 49 stops, respectively. Elijah Smith is also among the team leaders in tackles with 47.
 
Offensively, the Indians will be look to do what they’ve done for decades. And that’s establish their ground game.
 
This year, that’s meant a healthy dose of Jake Bowen. Bowen leads the team with 1,684 yards rushing on 215 carries (7.8 per rush) with an impressive total of 28 touchdowns.
 
The Tribe has established a reliable number two option in junior fullback Pancake who has seen his touches go up in the second half of the season. Pancake has 501 yards on 77 carries (6.5 yards per rush) and seven touchdown. More important is that Pancake has not had a carry for negative yardage all season.
 
Bridgeport showed last week that it can use its passing game for more than just a chance to keep defenses honest. Junior Devin Vandergrift had three touchdown passes in the win against Lincoln in the final game of the regular season. Vandergrift has completed 27-of-51 passes for 497 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
 
D’Andre Holloway remains his top target. He has caught 18 of those passes for 270 yards and two scores.
 
“Offensively, we’ve done better at times this year and on defense it’s improving. The problem defensively is that it seems like, such as last week’s second quarter against Lincoln, the intensity just wasn’t there,” said Cole. “Some of it was what Lincoln was doing, but we’ve yet to be consistent enough on defense where we’re happy. At the same time, we’re also not totally happy with the defense. We’ve got room to get better on both sides of the ball and we’re still seeing it each week.”
 
Cole said he hopes his team, which should be relatively healthy, will have to have that intensity and focus needed to make a postseason run. He said it will be needed.
 
“We had a playoff game, I think it was against Roane County (54-20 in 2013) in the playoffs, where we had four or five turnovers in the first half. That team overcame it because of the amount of talent. This team doesn’t have enough talent to overcome something like that so we better be focused and ready and not put ourselves in position to have that happen,” said Cole. “We’re expecting Frankfort to give us a battle.”
 
Coverage of the game will be on 103.3 WAJR FM. The play by play will be handled by “The Voice of the Indians” Travis Jones and color commentary will be the duty of Chris George. The pre-game show begins at 7 p.m.
 
Editor's Note: Top photo shows Jake Bowen looking for room to run as Devin Heflin clears a path. In the second picture, Frankfort Coach Kevin Whiteman is shown at the 2014 title game. In the third picture, leading tackler Carson Winkie eyes the offense and, below, D'Andre Holloway (12) congratulates teammate Trey Pancake after a defensive stand. Photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.


Connect Bridgeport
© 2024 Connect-Bridgeport.com