One may assume Bridgeport Coach John Cole is thrilled that his team will be facing the only team that upended a higher seed in the first round of the Class AA prep football playoffs last week. That assumption would be wrong.

 

Instead, the Indians will be facing a Winfield squad that is considered one of the hottest teams in the state. Whether the Tribe can cool them off and advance to the semifinals next week will be determined this evening.

 

No. 3 BHS and the No. 11 Generals will square off for the first time since 1988 at Wayne Jamison Field. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

 

How good of a roll is WHS on right now? Prior to losing a shootout by a 56-50 score to top-ranked and defending ‘AA’ champion Mingo Central 56-50 in the final game of the regular season, Winfield had won five straight. Counting last week’s 29-0 first round win against No. 6 James Monroe, the Generals have won six of their last seven.

 

“We’re going into our second round and we’ll have faced two lower seed that easily are top eight  caliber; where I don’t know, but they’re both good ball clubs and Weir (who BHS beat 35-12 last week) showed that,” said Cole. “Getting that test against Weir turned out to be a good thing because it battle tested us and we needed that. The only bad thing in a game like last week’s game when you play longer than you’re used to is you have more opportunity for injury. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

 

Winfield comes into the game sporting a single wing offense – the same offensive style used by Elkins. While the Indians handled Elkins 21-3, Cole said Winfield’s attack is different in the fact that they Generals will throw it.

 

“It’s the same offense, but they’re much more multiple with what they do with it. Elkins was primarily run, almost exclusively,” said Cole. “You’re going to see a decent amount of passing from Winfield unless they’re able to run it on us. If they’re able to run it that probably isn’t going to be a good sign.”

 

For the second straight week, the Tribe will have to face a quarterback that is big. Senior Andrew Huff comes in at 6’3 and 190 and with numbers just as big. He’s completed 87-of-153 passes for 1,739 yards with 27 touchdowns and six interceptions. Against Mingo, he completed 18-of-29 passes for 320 yards with six TDs.

 

“They actually have the option of snapping it to two guys (sophomore Nick Vance is the other), but Huff is the main one and he can do more than just throw it,” said Cole. “”He runs strong enough that we can’t just afford to grab at him and he blocks extremely well.”

 

Huff is the team’s leading rusher. He has carried the ball 156 times for 853 with 10 touchdowns. He also has blocked to allow Zach Bratton (senior, 5’8, 175) rush for 826 yards on 109 carries with 14 touchdowns. Vance is also a threat with 60 carries for 567 yards and six scores.

 

“They run to the weak side a good bit more so you can’t stack the unbalanced side. Everybody has to stay at home. It’s assignment football again,” said Cole. “ ... It’s a bit of a nightmare planning for us defensively because usually when you encounter teams that do this type of thing offensively, they’re luck to execute one or two things well. On film, they execute multiple things well.”

 

Receiving is one of those things. Senior Brian Fisher (6’4, 175) is the big-play threat as he leads the team with 24 catches for 423 yards with 13 touchdowns. Fellow senior Jackson VanScoy (6’0, 185) leads the team in receiving yardage with 20 catches for 483 yards and seven scores. Bratton and senior Ben Clark (5’10, 170) both have more than 250 yards receiving as well.

 

“We can adjust defensively as needed, but we’re going to be playing our base 4-3 defense that we always play,” said Cole. “I say it all the time, but that’s not a surprise to anyone.”

 

There’s a reason for that. Bridgeport has yield just 40 points in the first half of games this year, while scoring 286 points. While the Tribe allows an average of 13.2 points per game, the bulk of that has come late in games against Bridgeport’s reserves.

 

John Merica is the club’s leading tackler from his secondary spot. He has 46 tackles, while Jake Bowen and Brent Sinsel are right behind with 45 stops each. Trey Pancake has 43 tackles, Josh Osborn has 41, while the duo of Cody Spring and Christian Olivio both have 37.

 

“We have to play assignment football and be able to recognize things that they’re doing,” said Cole. “Our defense is going to face a very big and strong team. They’re size is incredible. They’ve got kids approaching 300 pound and only a few of their kids play both ways.  When you see that, you just hope they’re big and not strong and athletic. We can see on film that’s not the case with most of them.

 

“Size is a benefit, but it doesn’t always determine who can get the upper hand,” Cole continued. “I do know the line of scrimmage will determine it and we need to win the battle on both sides.”

 

Bridgeport’s defensive line of John Thomas, Jimmy Allison, Chapin Murphy and Christian Olivio have been solid in doing their job. The offensive line has been just as impressive opening up huge holes that, many times, Bowen takes full advantage of.

 

Bowen leads the team with 162 carries for 1,549 yards (9.6 yards per carry) and 21 touchdowns. Bowen has been on a four-game tear that has saw him gain 863 yards. That is the most since the 2014 playoffs when Dylan Tonkery ran for 849 yards over four games, including a Class AA state championship game record 313 yards.

 

Merica still remains the second option with 717 yards on 101 carries (7.1 yards per carry) with 15 touchdowns. D’Andre Holloway’s development continues as well with 427 yards on 59 runs (7.2 yards per carry) with a pair of touchdowns.

 

“With these guys, it’s a base four defense, but they’ll bring in an extra lineman and give you and odd front,” said Cole. “Our line will have to adjust to that.”

 

The winner of tonight’s game plays the winner of Point Pleasant and Bluefield. When and where next week’s game will be played will be determined based on who wins this evening and by the visiting team Sunday at the WVSSAC offices in Parkersburg.

 

Tonight’s game can be listened to on 103.3 WAJR FM with Travis Jones handling the play by play and Ryan Nicewarner doing the color commentary. The pre-game show begins at 7 p.m.