It wasn’t the picture perfect start Bridgeport wanted to the 2015 high school football season. However, there was more than enough focus for the Indians to steamroll their way past Buckhannon-Upshur at Freal “Red” Crites Memorial Stadium this evening.

 

Despite a pair of early turnovers, the Indians more than made up for it offensively and saw their defense looking strong once again in a 50-13 win by the Tribe. It was the 10^th straight win by the Indians over Buckhannon-Upshur.

 

While the winning streak and strong start was something Coach Josh Nicewarner was looking for, he was pleased with the overall performance of the team looking to start their quest for a third straight state title.

 

“We played well, but the three turnovers were a little hard to swallow,” said Nicewarner. “Those are things we can fix because we just got a little lazy with the football.

 

“Offensively, it went well, but we’ve got some things to shore up because we had missed assignments. Those are the types of things you see in week one with some new guys out there,” he continued. “I thought the defense played great. They were aggressive and we bounced things like we wanted to do and shut them down.”

 

The Indians finished with 356 yards of offense with Dante Bonamico leading the way with 127 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Dylan Tonkery was right behind with 93 yards on just 10 carries. He did not run the ball in the second half after tweaking his ankle. Quarterback Zack Spurlock finished on a solid rushing hat trick with 58 yards and two scores on just four runs.

 

The offensive total – 344 yards of which came on the ground on 38 carries – was good news for the Indians as the Tribe lost several starters from the offensive line. It was the one big area of concern for the visitors and after week one the line passed the test.

 

“I thought they played great too. We picked up some things we saw live that was pretty good, but we missed some things, some assignments, too,” said Nicewarner. “You’re going to have that early on, but we want to clean that up before next week.”

 

Next week, the Indians will face Wheeling Park. The Patriots, the only team to beat BHS the last two years, are considered one of the top teams in Class AAA.

 

While that game figures to once again come down to the wire, this game was over by half time as Bridgeport led 36-0. And any hopes of B-U making a game out of it were erased by the feet of Bonamico.

 

Bonamico scored two touchdowns early in the third period to put the game away. The senior scored on a six-yard run and a four-yard scamper to put the final nails in the coffin.

 

After the second score by Bonamico with 5:30 to play in the third, the already freely substituting Indians went with wholesale substitutions as many fans headed to the exits. And as bad as the third period was for B-U, the start of the game – with just a few exceptions – wasn’t much better.

 

After winning the toss, Bridgeport took the opening kickoff and thanks to Tonkery started at midfield. It appeared the Indians would put together a season-opening and game-opening scoring drive as they used four plays to get to the B-U 36 before a fumble by Spurlock gave the Buccaneers the ball and snuff out the early threat.

 

Bridgeport returned the favor three plays later when Luke Southern picked off a B-U pass, returned it 26 yards and put the Indians back in business at the host’s 34-yard line. Four plays later, Spurlock atoned for the fumble as he rode down the line with the football in Tonkery’s gut before the defense end committed.  Once he did, Spurlock pulled the ball back and was off to the races for a 17-yard score.

 

After the first of three point-after kicks by Koby Kiefer – he would miss one – the Indians were up 7-0 with 5:47 to play in the first. After that, even with another key miscue by the visitors, the offensive flood gates were opened.

 

On the Tribe’s next possession, they took advantage of good field position for a quick two-play, 41-yard drive. This time, Spurlock kept the ball in the hands of Dante Bonamico before the end committed and this time the ploy worked for a 34-yard touchdown run and a 14-0 lead with 2:32 in the first period.

 

Bridgeport’s next score came after B-U fumbled the ball and Elijah Drummond pounced on it deep in Buckhannon-Upshur territory. Starting at the Buccaneers 14, Bridgeport would need just two plays before Tonkery scored the first of his three first half touchdowns – this one from five yards out – for the 20-0 score with 49 seconds in the first period.

In the second, Bridgeport’s defense continued its strong play to match the offense. With Buckhannon down three scores, the home team rolled the dice on a 4^th-and-2 play at their own 40 and J.T. Harris got a hit on standout Marcus Lofton that slowed him down enough that he couldn’t make it past the line of scrimmage.

 

Bridgeport appeared to capitalize on the first play following the stop as Bonamico ripped off what initially seemed like a touchdown run of 40 yards, but the senior fullback was ruled out at the 1-yard line. Unfortunately for the Tribe, they would fumble on the next play and B-U recovered inside the one.

 

The good fortune only lasted a few plays as Bridgeport’s defense managed to put some points on the board. On a third down play from the 3-yard line, the defensive line’s push forced a tackle in the end zone for a safety and a 22-0 lead with 7:57 to go.

 

Bridgeport was not finished. After getting the ball back, the Indians needed eight plays to cover 49 yards and go up 29-0. Tonkery did the honors with a 17-yard run to the right behind a convoy of blockers with 4:06 to play.

 

Tonkery would score again before the half was over. Harris forced a fumble by B-U and Jared Ebright recovered to give the ball back to Bridgeport with plenty of time and at the Buckhannon 40-yard line. Two plays later Tonkery got behind a block of Jacob Griffith, did a jump cut and shrugged off several defenders trying to tackle him by the jersey for the final score of the half with 2:27 to play.

 

Bridgeport dominated the half with 238 yards of offense, which included 226 yards rushing on 23 carries. Tonkery led the way with 93 yards on 10 carries, Bonamico had 66 yards on seven rushes and Spurlock finished with 58 yards on four carries.

 

“They did what they were supposed to do,” said Nicewarner of the top rushers. “It’s a chore with us to pass the wealth around. Short of the turnovers, I was pleased with how those three ran and how the entire offense produced.”

 

Buckhannon-Upshur had 71 yards of offense and most of that came courtesy of fullback Chase Lewellyn. He had 11 carries for 46 yards, but as a team the Bucs had just 63 yards on 22 carries.

 

B-U did get a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns after the Indians had gone to wholesale defensive substitutions. Jack Garcia scored from seven yards out and Cameron Payne scored from 55 yards out with 2:30 left in the game. B-U managed to get a successful point-after kick on its final touchdown of the game.

 

Editor's Note: All photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.

 

Buckhannon finished with 229 yards of offense. The number is a bit deceiving as much of it came after the Indians put in their second team defense.