If Bridgeport football Coach John Cole was worried about how his team would respond following last week’s heartbreaking loss to Fairmont Senior, he didn’t have to wait long for his answer.

 

The Indians scored early and often and rolled to a 34-20 win in a game that wasn’t nearly that close. Bridgeport led 34-0 at the intermission as the Eagles finished strong in the final two periods going up primarily against the Indians’ reserves.

 

BHS is now 4-1 on the season. RCB falls to 2-3.

 

“You better believe I was concerned about how we would start this game off,” said Cole. “This team had to come overcome a lot of adversity because they lost a game they had a real good chance to win  (last week), we had breakdowns late that led to a bad taste in your mouth and on top of that we’ve got kids that were banged up and injured.

 

“We were more disciplined, but we’re not there yet. We had a lot of adversity to overcome and we overcame it,” Cole continued. “They did wonderful … that team (RCB) came out hard so I was proud of our effort.”

 

Just how fast of a start did the Indians get off to?

 

After the opening kickoff that D’Andre Holloway returned 17 yards to the Eagles’ 35-yard line, the Indians turned things over to Jake Bowen. And Bowen was more than happy to deliver for his team.

 

On the game’s first play, Bowen took the handoff and found a gaping hole in the middle of the line. Once Bowen found the second level, he was off to the races for a 65-yard score. Following Koby Kiefer’s point-after kick it was 7-0 Tribe with 11:43 still showing on the first period game clock.

 

After a quick three-and-out  forced by the BHS defense, the Indians would need more time to score – but not much. On the second play of the second series, Bowen would strike again.

 

This time, the junior tailback, found another hole and used a jump cut once there to avoid the lone RCB defender. As he found the second level, there was no safety help deep and Bowen sprinted 58 yards for the Tribe’s second touchdown on just three plays.

 

“He had pretty good reads, but at times he doesn’t,” said Cole. “Obviously there were some holes and Jake can do that. He should do that.”

 

About the only thing that went wrong was that Kiefer would miss the point-after kick. Still, BHS led 13-0 and there was 9:31 to go in the first period.

 

Bridgeport wasn’t finished in the opening frame as its third drive also resulted in six points. This time the drive wasn’t quick, but it likely was just as demoralizing to the RCB faithful.

 

The Indians used eight plays to cover 94 yards for the game’s third score. This time, it was Brice Haines doing the damage at the end of the drive to eventually add to the Indians’ lead. Haines carried the ball the last three plays, the first of which covered 48 yards, and then needed two final runs to get the remaining six yards and help put his team up 20-0 with 2:15 in the first after Kiefer’s point-after kick.

 

“We haven’t been doing that, which goes back to the discipline thing,” said Cole of the long drive that is usually a hallmark of the Indians’ offense. “We need to be disciplined and not make mistakes if we’re going to get better. The good thing is that the effort has always been there.

 

“We’ll take scores when we can get them,” Cole continued talking about the early quick touchdowns. “(Long drives) are our game. That makes us more disciplined.”

 

Bridgeport would start the second quarter largely the same way it began the first. On the initial play of the period, the Indians ran a rollback screen play and quarterback John Merica hit a wide open Haines. Haines bobbled the pass, but regained it at the line of scrimmage, broke free from a tackle and sprinted down the right sideline 25 yards for the score.

 

Kiefer’s point-after kick made it 27-0 with 11:51 to go before halftime.

 

The Indians would bookend the quarter with a score on the final play of the first half. Merica again did the honors and again did it from the air.

 

Merica rolled to his left and found a wide open Caleb Strakel in the left flat. The score, that came as time expired, was on fourth down and from 32 yards out. Kiefer’s kick made it 34-0 at the half.  

 

“Sometimes (passing) is bad in close games, but in a game like that (Merica) needs that experience.  Even though we try it in practice it’s tough,” said Cole of the passing. “Sooner or later you’re going to need that and John can do that.”

 

Bridgeport finished with 320 yards on 28 plays in the first half and the Tribe got some of that as Cole mixed in a few reserves with the first unit. Bowen led the way with 168 yards on 12 carries, which was a career high. Haines added 55 yards on seven carries.

 

Merica hit on 3-of-4 passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns. Merica had only thrown three passes – completing one – coming into tonight’s game.

 

None of the team leaders added to their offensive totals in the second half. Cole rested his starters and Bridgeport finished with 361 yards on 46 total plays for the game.

 

The Eagles had just 57 yards in the first half – 53 of those yards came in the first period. Ghovan Davidson was the catalyst as the bruising junior back had 57 yards on nine carries.

 

Robert C. Byrd wouldn’t be shut out in the game. In fact, the Eagles scored three times in the final two periods and the most impressive of those scoring drives was the first of the second half.

 

The hosts used 20 plays to cover 80 yards and eat up 9:57 on the third period clock to get their first score of the game. The drive also saw the Eagles convert on three fourth down plays.

 

Davidson did the honors with a two-yard run with 2:03 in the third. Theo Frick’s extra point kick  made it 34-7.

 

The Eagles’ next score came in the fourth period and courtesy of a Bridgeport fumble following a Holloway interception at the Tribe’s two-yard line. Two plays after the pick, the Indians fumbled the ball right back and Davidson scored on the first play after that as he barreled in from two yards out. A missed point-after left it 34-13 with 8:47 to play.

 

Robert C. Byrd’s final score came when Xavier Lopez hooked up with Andrew Sponaugle for a 41-yard scoring strike in the game’s waning moments. BHS then ran out the close to secure the win.

 

The hosts would finish with 258 yards of offense on 47 plays; 201 of that in the final two frames.  Davidson led the way with 111 yards on 21 carries.  Lopez looked sharp in the second half and finished with 141 yards on 10-of-18 passing with one touchdown and one interception.

 

BHS is now 20-5 in the series. The Indians last loss at RCB game in 2007 with a 20-16 setback.

 

Bridgeport returns to action next week against Buckhannon-Upshur.  B-U won 25-23 at Greenbrier East this evening.

 

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Wayne Jamison Field.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Jake Bowen breaking free for a touchdown on the game's first offensive play, while Bowen tries to bottle up his backfield counterpart for RCB in Ghovan Davidson in the second photo. In the third picture, Brice Haines breaks free for a huge run to the RCB six-yard line before Tre Junkins tracked him down from behind. John Merica, in the fourth photo, tosses one of his four passes in the game, while John Thomas is shown in the next photo taking direction from the coaching staff. In the bottom photo, Josh Osborn nearly gets an interception, but Junkins comes back to bat it down. Photos by Ben Queen and Joey Signorelli of www.benqueenphotography.com.