Heading into tonight’s game, Bridgeport Coach John Cole was concerned how his team would respond following an off week. A few minutes into the game, his concerns were gone.

 

The Indians came out of the gates quickly and didn’t slow down until the game was decided in a 56-21 win against Big 10 and Harrison County foe Lincoln tonight at Wayne Jamison Field.

 

With the win, BHS ends the regular season as likely the No. 3 seed or no worse than the No. 4 seed, which will be determined once all games are final. The loss may have knocked out the Cougars from the ‘AA’ field of 16.

 

Bridgeport didn’t have to worry about any of that. And they had the one-two punch of Jake Bowen and John Merica to thank for it.

 

Bowen, who had a career high 256 yards two weeks ago against Keyser, picked up where he left off. He finished with 215 yards on 14 carries with three touchdowns. For good measure, he added a kickoff return for a score to end the first half.

 

Merica made the most of his six carries. The senior quarterback finished with 103 yards with three touchdown runs.

 

While both were solid, it was Bowen that got the Indians out of the gates in a hurry. In fact, before most people had settled down the Tribe was already up 14-0 and Cole was breathing a sigh of relief.

 

“I was very pleased,” said Cole of the start. “Coming off of the off week you always wonder if you handled the off week okay and if the kids handled it okay. It seems like for the most part we did … You take that (start) any day of the week.”

 

The start was a near carbon copy of what the Indians and Bowen did against Keyser. And that was not good news for Lincoln.

 

After BHS forced a three-and-out by the Cougars on the game’s opening drive, the hosts needed little time to find points on their first offensive series of the game. In fact, it would take all of one play.

 

Starting on their own 25, the Tribe used an off tackle play and it worked to perfection. Bowen hit the hole and went untouched 75 yards for the score. Following the first of eight extra point kicks by Koby Kiefer, the score stood at 7-0 and the route was on.

 

Lincoln drove deep into Bridgeport territory on its next drive. Unfortunately, a 31-yard field goal attempt was wide left. Even more unfortunate for the guests from Shinnston was what the Indians would do three plays later.

 

Bowen’s first two runs of the second offensive series netted Bridgeport seven yards as Lincoln forced the Indians into a third-down situation. The problem for BHS would only be temporary thanks to Bowen.

 

On the third play after getting the ball back, Bowen again went off tackle. About the only difference this time was that he did meet a little bit of resistance and the scoring run only covered 73 yards to make it 14-0 at the 6:49 mark.

 

“That’s him getting better with his vision and confidence,” said Cole. “He hasn’t had much experience and (it’s also a result of) the line. Those guys know that if they can get him through the line, it doesn’t matter if it’s against an eight- or nine-man box, he has a chance to score. Believe me, as a line coach that’s a luxury and it motivates them.”

 

Bridgeport would go up 28-0 early in the second period and this time it would be John Merica doing the damage. The first score of the second quarter came when Merica kept the ball on a quarterback option and darted to his left. Merica capped the drive by running over a Lincoln defender at the goal line to help put BHS up 21-0 at the 10:47 mark.

 

Merica’s next score came on the Indians’ next offensive series. This time, he kept the ball from 28 yards out and put the home team in front 28-0 with 9:45 to go before the half.

 

Lincoln didn’t simply throw in the towel. The visitors used a 12-play drive, kept alive by a holding call on a punt, to go 76 yards and breathe life into their offense and fading chances. Kobie Carpenter hit Jonathan Leep in the left corner of the end zone and Leep made a spectacular one-handed catch for Lincoln’s first score. The first of three point-after kicks by Gustavo Giesbrecht made it 28-7 with 6:36 to go.

 

Any hopes Lincoln would mount a comeback faded quickly and it was Merica who did the honors. On his fourth carry of the game, Merica got his third touchdown of the game as he scored from 10 yards out with 4:53 to go to put the Tribe up 35-7.

 

“We battled with the snap and believe it or not we made a change with it and it relaxed John a little more. John’s a good player and a heck of a competitor that wants things the way they’re supposed to be,” said Cole. “ … We made that change with (center) Noah (Drummond), who did really well and it gave (John) confidence with it. I know his reads were excellent and he needed a game like that.”

 

Bridgeport’s next score came after a unique series by the Cougars. After BHS intercepted a pass, the Tribe fumbled it back on the return. There was no need to worry as two plays later a tipped pass would be hauled in by Sebastian Meade to give the hosts the ball back at their own 47.

 

Three plays later, Bowen was back in the end zone. The junior scored from 32 yards out with 2:45 to go before the intermission for what would be a 42-7 advantage.

 

Anyone thinking that would be it for the scoring would be wrong. Lincoln would get back into the end zone for its second score when Carpenter connected with Hunter Moore for a 14-yard strike with 39.8 seconds to go before the break.

 

Again, the Cougars would see their momentum end in a hurry. Not surprisingly, Bowen was the man in the black hat.

 

On the ensuing kickoff, Bowen hauled in the ball at the 17-yard line, gathered himself and took off. If there was any contact on Bowen it was minimal as he scored on an 83-yard kickoff return for what would turn into a 49-14 halftime score.

 

“We’ve got two pretty good return guys and that’s the first time that’s happened this year,” said Cole of the return for six. “It came at a really good time … That was momentum and that could be huge in the playoffs.”

 

Incredibly, Bridgeport got seven first half touchdowns on just 21 plays. Lincoln actually ran 43 plays in the opening two periods, but the scoreboard didn’t reflect that dominance.

 

“It’s hard to complain about that,” said Cole. “When the line has to work a little harder and the backs have to dig things out that helps us. That’s a very good thing (scoring that much on so few plays in the first half), but at the same time there’s going to be a time coming soon where that’s not going to happen. We’re going to prepare are kids to be ready and hopefully they will be.”

 

Bowen finished the first half with 207 yards on just nine carries. Merica added 92 yards on five runs. To make matters worse, the Cougars had to deal with D’Andre Holloway who ended up with 75 yards on six runs. All but one of Bridgeport’s plays was on the ground as the Tribe carried the ball 20 times for 374.

 

Bridgeport’s final score came thanks to an 11-play, 65-yard drive that started the third quarter. The drive culminated with Brian Henderson scoring his first-ever touchdown from one yard out and left the Indians up 56-14.

 

BHS ended the game with 42 plays and 469 yards of offense. BHS finished 1-of-2 passing for 28 yards with Merica connecting with Caleb Strakel for 28 yards.

 

Carpenter finished the first half completing 8-of-25 passes for 133 yards with two scores and two interceptions. Colten Hovermale rushed for 74 yards on 17 carries. As a team, the Cougars had 210 yards of offense in the first two quarters.

 

The Cougars got one final score in the third period. Carpenter found Hunter Moore on a 14-yard strike with 1:58 to go for what would prove to be the contest’s final points.

 

For the game, Lincoln would have 318 yards of offense. Carpenter would finish 13-of-33 with 202 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions to perhaps wrap up a spectacular career. Hovermale had 91 yards rushing on 19 carries. Leep finished with four catches for 98 yards.

 

Just who Bridgeport plays will likely be determined this evening. Although far from settled, the one team that keeps coming up is Weir. Whether that happens could be unofficially announced this evening as both MetroNews and WDTV will have playoff projections.

 

When the Indians will be played will be determined Sunday in Parkersburg. The team visiting Bridgeport will have the choice to play Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 1:30 p.m. or Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m.

 

BHS wrapped up the regular season at 9-1. Lincoln ended at 7-3.

 

Editor's Note: Top two photos show Jake Bowen and John Merica, respectively, churning up yardage. In the third photo, Christian Olivio puts the pressure on as he tries to get to Lincoln quarterback Kobie Carpenter. In the fourth photo, John Cole goes over some of the finer points of the game with an official, while in the fifth picture, center Noah Drummond gets ready for the blind shotgun snap. In the sixth photo, Merica makes a play on a Lincoln receiver by knocking him out of bounds to make a catch become an incompletion. Below, Brian Henderson goes into the end zone for his first career touchdown. Photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.