When the chips were down, Bridgeport turned to two things it has relied on for decades – the defense and the stick-I offense.

 

Thanks to a defense that allowed just one big play and the Indians opting to scrap its power pistol in the second half for the second straight week, the Indians were able to rally for a 14-7 win over previously unbeaten Lewis County at Wayne Jamison Field.

 

Although it was two second half scores that put the Tribe ahead, it was a complete effort by the Bridgeport defense over four periods that proved to put the hosts in the winner’s circle. Just how good were the Indians on the defensive side of the ball? Lewis County managed to get off just 28 plays on offense for 107 yards. Of that total, the Minutemen ran the ball 20 times for a net total of just one yard.

 

Despite the dominating defense, getting the win proved to be a battle from start to finish. And the Indians would need three huge fourth down conversions in the second half after going back to the stick-I to get the win.

 

The most critical of those second half conversions came late in the final quarter after the Tribe forced a Lewis County punt early in the fourth with the score knotted at 7 and began a patented time consuming drive. Starting at their own 24, the Indians would use 12 plays and cover 76 yards to take the lead late. But the game-winning drive didn’t come without anxiety.

 

After moving into Lewis County territory, the Indians’ offense sputtered and faced a fourth-and-three from the Minutemen’s 30-yard line. BHS Coach Josh Nicewarner put the ball in the hands of perhaps the team’s biggest big-game player in Dante Bonamico and he delivered. Bonamico got six yards and kept the drive alive.

 

The drive again stalled; this time at the 15 where BHS faced a fourth-and-one. Following a Lewis County timeout, Nicewarner again opted to hand the ball to Bonamico and this time he came through with more than just a first down. Bonamico exploded for what would prove to be the game-winning touchdown run with 2:42 to play. The second of two Nick Strogen point-after kicks made it 14-7 and gave the Minutemen little hope to rally.

 

And once the Minutemen got the ball back, the Tribe simply did what it did all night long – stopped their opponent cold. The big play came on second down when lineman Noah Markley got his second sack of the game and forced LCHS into a position from which it could not recover. Eventually, the Tribe took over and ran out the clock to get the win.

 

After one of the most dominating defensive halves of football by Bridgeport through two periods, Lewis County’s first drive in the third period began like every other drive had in the first half. And that was with BHS clogging up the line and stopping the Minutemen for practically nothing on a first down play.

 

The second play, however, proved to be something that the Indians weren’t prepared for. Veteran Lewis County Coach Eddie Vincent went into his bag of tricks and managed to pull a rabbit, or in this case a touchdown, out of his hat.

 

Lewis County used a flea flicker with quarterback Brandon White getting the ball tossed back to him and finding a wide open Brandon Moneypenny for a 68-yard touchdown pass. With 9:12 showing on the third period clock and following a successful point-after kick, the Indians appeared to be in serious trouble down 7-0.

 

It was at this point, following a three-and-out on the first series on offense, that Nicewarner went to the stick-I. Although the results weren’t immediately positive, the yardage was.

 

On the first drive, Bridgeport managed to go from its own 20 all the way down inside the Lewis County 10-yard line before calling on Strogen to try a 27-yard field goal. The kick would prove to be off the mark, but all it did was turn the game back over into the hands of a now upset BHS defense.

 

After a first down play that netted just one yard, the Tribe’s Michael Gray made a huge play by sacking and stripping White of the ball. Brandon Hartz did the honor of falling on the loose ball and Bridgeport was right back in business at the Lewis County 17-yard line.

 

Despite the field position, the Indians would have to earn their first score. Following an eight-yard run by Dylan Tonkery on first down that had a face mask penalty – the first Lewis penalty of the game for the guests – tacked on to put the ball at the Lewis five-yard line, Bridgeport’s offense again struggled against a Lewis County defense that proved to be equally nasty at times.

 

After getting down to the two-yard line, Tonkery was stuffed for a two-yard loss on third down. Now, facing a fourth-and-goal from the four-yard line, Nicewarner decided to go for it. The move paid off as Tonkery looked to be heading outside, and then cut back, met a defender near the goal line and scored the TD that would lead to a tie score with 15 seconds showing on the third period clock.

 

For the game, Tonkery was the workhorse. He finished with 130 yards rushing on 32 carries. That proved valuable as Bonamico – who finished with 67 yards on 17 carries – injured his Achilles tendon in the first half, according to the Indians Radio football crew.

 

Bridgeport would finish with 260 yards of offense on 64 plays. Zack Spurlock completed all three of his passes for 48 yards. Mitchell Winkie caught two passes for 41 yards in the game.

 

As for the first half, it ended in a dead heat. Unlike last week where Bridgeport struggled against Wheeling Park in the opening periods due to the Patriots’ athleticism, this week the Indians were simply stifled by an old-school, smash mouth Minutemen defense. BHS couldn’t take advantage of early field position and also managed to itself in the foot on more than one occasion.

 

Perhaps the biggest miscue in the first half came in the first quarter. The Tribe’s second possession of the game began at midfield and three plays later the hosts were able to get their initial first down of the game to set up a first-and-10 at the 40. And two plays later Bonamico took a handoff and was off to the races.

 

Bonamico managed to get past an aggressive group of Lewis County linebackers that wreaked havoc in the first two periods and went 39 yards for a touchdown – or at least that’s what it appeared to be. Unfortunately, a holding call at the 27 brought the ball back and kept points off the board.

 

The only good news after the hold was that the Indians being forced to eventually punt was going to keep the Tribe with the upper hand in field position. That advantage would fly out the window as a snap issue resulted in punter Hunter Haddix being unable to bring the ball in. After he chased it down, the punt was blocked and the Minutemen took over at Bridgeport’s 39.

 

Although Lewis County would get one first down, Bridgeport’s defense wouldn’t let its foe get past its own 28-yard line. On fourth down, a Lewis pass fell incomplete and the Indians dodged a bullet.

 

The Tribe then began a lengthy drive from their own 28. BHS used 14 plays and got inside the Minutemen 30 before the surge – aided by a successful fake punt conversion by Bonamico – ended.

 

Later in the drive another fourth down play proved disastrous. As BHS went for it on a fourth-and-seven play at the Lewis 29, Spurlock was sacked and a personal foul penalty on the Indians flipped the field once again.

 

Fortunately, the Indians’ defense was up to the task once again. Lewis County started at the 43 of Bridgeport and gained one yard before punting and pinning the Tribe back inside their own 10-yard line with 3:04 to play.

 

Bridgeport would manage to move the ball past midfield and got its largest play of the first half – a 22-yard pass from Spurlock to Winkie – before the clock ran out. While the offense was ineffective for BHS, the defense was spectacular.

 

Lewis County had just one first down in the first 24 minutes of play. That, however, wasn’t even the best statistic. The Minutemen had just four yards of offense on 16 plays, including 0 yards on 12 carries.

 

Bridgeport wasn’t shut out offensively, but it was on the scoreboard. The Tribe finished with 114 yards on 31 plays. The Indians got 85 yards rushing on 29 carries with Tonkery had a team-high 45 yards on 14 carries.

 

The Indians, now 2-1, will face nemesis Robert C. Byrd next week at Jamison Field. The Eagles, now 2-1, lost a double overtime game on the road to Frankfort by a 27-21 score.

Game time next week is 7:30 p.m.

 

Click HERE to read a story on last week's game.

 

Click HERE for a Ben Queen photo gallery from the contest.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Noah Markley getting the first of two sacks in the game, while the second photo is of Dante Bonamico seconds after scoring the game-winning touchdown. Dylan Tonkery looks for room to run in the third photo, while Brandon Moneypenny hauls in the 68-yard flea flicker touchdown pass for Lewis in the third period in the fourth photo. Brandon Hartz applies the defensive pressure in the fifth picture, while the Lewis defense blocks a first half punt in the sixth photo. Coach Josh Nicewarner is shown making a point in the bottom photo. All photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.