Bridgeport High School football Coach Josh Nicewarner has a few words of advice for those who predict or bet on any level of football game based on scores against one common opponent. And if you like to pick games, it’s not what you want to hear.

 

“If they do it, they’re probably going to lose money,” said Nicewarner.

 

At the same time, that doesn’t mean Nicewarner is going to bet against his Indians for Saturday’s Class AA semifinal game with Wayne at Wayne Jamison Field. Kickoff for the rematch of last year’s 14-13 win by BHS in the state title game is set for 1:30 p.m.

 

What it means is that if anyone thinks the Pioneers’ come-from-behind 43-40 win over Fairmont Senior in the opening round – the same team the Indians manhandled 37-14 on Oct. 4 – Nicewarner thinks they’re misguided.

 

“I’ve heard people say that makes us the favorites. Quite frankly, that doesn’t mean anything. If that was the case, you’d think that Ravenswood would be playing because they beat Bluefield in the opening round and Bluefield beat Wayne to end the season,” said Nicewarner. “Our type of play and Fairmont’s type of play are completely different and that’s why you play games. I’m a firm believer that stats and scores don’t mean a hill of beans.”

 

What does mean something is the fact that the Indians have home field advantage thanks to their 11-1 record and Class AA No. 1 ranking. While Nicewarner doesn’t think that means Wayne doesn’t have a shot, he does know it’s always better to go with the routine that the home field provides you.

 

“It’s huge for us, but I don’t think it’s detrimental to them, which is why calling it a strategic advantage is a stretch. At this point, though, you take what you can get,” said Nicewarner. “For them, it’s just about unfamiliarity of not being at home and making a trip. What is familiar is that they’re a whole heckuva lot like us in that their goal is that they expect to be here this late in the season.  They’ve been here, they’ve got experience and to get past them you have to earn it. At 1:30 p.m. Saturday, where the game is at just won’t matter.”

 

Wayne, 10-2 and ranked No. 5, has been a force for several years in Class AA. And they’ve got plenty of familiar names and faces back on this year’s team.

 

Like Bridgeport, the Pioneers have several individuals that help them in averaging a robust 239.6 rushing yards per game. Like the Indians, WHS also doesn’t have a 1,000-yard rusher this season.

 

Junior Logan Queen leads Wayne with 745 yards on 137 carries with 13 touchdowns. Senior Mason Hodge has 102 carries for 673 yards and eight scores, while junior Cody Stiltner has run the ball 87 times for 664 yards and a pair of scores.

 

Where the Indians differ is in the passing game. Wayne averages 127.3 yards per game behind senior quarterback Grant Ferguson. Ferguson has completed 73-of-21 passes for 1,428 yards with 17 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Stiltner is his top target with 37 receptions for 727 yards and seven scores, while junior Kyler Adkins is the second with 22 catches and 376 yards.

 

“The name everyone knows is Hodge, and he’s certainly talented, but if you focus on him, then a guy like Stiltner, Queen or Ferguson will hurt you,” said Nicewarner. “We’ve watched the film. They can hurt you in a lot of ways and if you shut the run down, which is what we always try to do, they’ll throw it.”

 

The Indians are holding foes to an amazing total of just 64.8 yards per game rushing. Five times this year, the Tribe’s opposition has finished the game with negative rushing yards and that number would likely be higher if not for the club often pulling their first string defense in many games after the first half.

 

The defense this year has been dominant as no team has scored more than 14 points and only one – last weeks against RCB – has managed to score more than seven in the first half. A big reason for that is the one-two punch of Mitchell Winkie and Michael Gray.  Winkie leads the team with 56 tackles and Gray is right behind with 52. Between them, the pair has 31 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks.

 

The Indians have several other players with solid numbers as well. Brandon Hartz (47 tackles), Noah Markley (46), John Wilfong (41), Justin Massie (39), Mackenzie Holmes (30) and Zach Bombardiere (30) have all created havoc this year at times.  

 

“We have all the confidence in the world in our defense and we’ve been preaching this week that we’ve relied on our defense sometimes too much. From an offensive standpoint, there have been entirely too many times where we haven’t done our defense any favors. This far into the playoffs against a team the caliber of Wayne we have to be on target in all three phases,” said Nicewarner. “I just didn’t feel the offense was effective against RCB and we’ve made some adjustments.”

 

Those adjustments won’t likely be the type of adjustments that will give the Indians a look similar to what Fairmont Senior did against Wayne. Although Nicewarner said Bridgeport may add new wrinkles for each foe, the Indians always stay true to their game plan.

 

“Fairmont Senior completely spread them out because Fairmont Senior could throw the ball consistently. We’ve got talent to pass, but that’s not something we can put in in five days of practice,” said Nicewarner.

 

The Indians attempted just one pass last week. However, Zack Spurlock is effective in his limited opportunities this year. He’s completed 20-of-31 passes for 397 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception. Zach Bombardiere (four catches for 121 yards and two scores) is his top target.

 

Bridgeport will do what it’s done for decades – rely on its ground game. This year, the Tribe is averaging 303.8 yards per game on the ground. The one two-punch of Dylan Tonkery and Dante Bonamico leads the way and with good outings, both could cross the 1,000-yard mark against Wayne.

 

Tonkery is coming off a career game against RCB and now has 986 yards rushing on 140 attempts with 10 touchdowns. Bonamico has 945 yards rushing on 146 carries with 16 touchdowns.

 

BHS, like Wayne, has other options. Spurlock has amassed 585 yards on 90 rushes and has nine scores to his credit. Elijah Drummond is the team’s fourth leading rusher with 52 carries for 275 yards.

 

“I can tell you this is the type of game you don’t want to blink because you may miss something important. I really think that’s going to be true,” said Nicewarner. “What isn’t true is that everyone thinks Wayne and Bridgeport have a long-standing history. Quite frankly, the history we have is just in big games because this is only the third time we’ve played them in 15 years. This is the first time we haven’t met in a title game.”

 

BHS beat Wayne 14-6 in the 2000 title game along with last year’s win. This year’s winner will earn a trip to Wheeling Island to battle for a state championship this coming Friday at 7:30 p.m.

 

You can follow in-game updates on Twitter by going to @connectBP. You can also listen to live coverage of the game on 103.3 WAJR FM. Listen to the play by play call of Travis Jones with plenty of analysis from Tim Brady and Ryan Nicewarner.

 

Editor's Note: All photos, including those of Wayne's Grant Ferguson and Coach Tom Harmon, by www.benqueenphotography.com.