Class AAA No. 2 Bridgeport Welcomes Brooke to Wayne Jamison Field for First Time
By Chris Johnson on October 04, 2024
Class AAA No. 2 Bridgeport will play its second consecutive home game as Brooke visits Wayne Jamison Field for a 7 p.m. kickoff tonight.
The Indians are 5-0 while the Bruins are 1-4 but are coming off their first win last week, defeating Lincoln County.
This will mark the first-ever game at Wayne Jamison Field for the Bruins and just the second-ever meeting between the two schools. A year ago, Bridgeport traveled to Brooke and won 59-14.
Last week, the Indians notched their fourth shutout of the season, defeating Robert C. Byrd, 58-0. Through five games, the Indians have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 288-8. Last week’s victory also secured the program’s 57th consecutive non-losing season, which is a running state record.
The Bruins have a first-year coach Casey Goff and Ty Sperringer is Brooke’s quarterback and he is a dual-threat player that the Indians saw a year ago.
“He’s a good player,” BHS coach Tyler Phares said. “They utilize him well in the run and pass game. They do a lot of RPO and that’s something we haven’t seen a lot of.
“They know what they want to be and what they want to do.”
In addition to Sperringer, the running attack is led by Tristan Stevens and Marcus Reed. Sperringer spreads the wealth to a talented group of receivers including Owen Haught, Ethan Fisher, Darion Hilton and Noah Alexander.
On defense, the Bruins are expected to use a six-man front led by linemen Zac O’Mary, Rylan Friggs and Brayden Clutter as well as linebackers Garrett Moore and Cory Maynard.
In addition to surrendering only eight points in five games, the BHS defense is giving up 81.6 yards of total offense per game and has only allowed 112 total rushing yards.
The success of the defense is led by a balanced effort where everyone on the field is contributing. Sixteen different players have double digit tackles and the first-team defense is yet to see substantial playing time past the second quarter.
Four players have at least 20 tackles with John Knight leading the team with 24, followed by Gabe Martin at 23, Josh Love at 21 and Donovan Williams at 20.
As a team, the Indians have posted 42 tackles for a loss, including 10 sacks and have forced 11 turnovers.
The balance is just as impressive on the other side of the ball where the Indians are averaging 422.6 yard of total offense, 343 on the ground and 79.6 through the air. BHS is averaging roughly 14 yards per play thus far.
Ten different players are averaging double-digits per rushing attempt and no player has more than Love with 38. Love also has team-best totals of 555 yards and 11 touchdowns. Love now has 1,860 career rushing yards which puts him at No. 15 on the school’s all-time list in the modern era (dating back to 1997).
Tim Jeffress adds 241 yards on 15 carries with three touchdowns. Alex Moses has 200 yards on 12 carries and six TDs. Jack Spatafore comes in with 198 rushing yards on 16 carries and seven TDs.
Spatafore has also thrown for 340 yards and four touchdowns. Blocking back Cam Martin threw a touchdown pass last week against RCB.
Donovan Williams is the team’s leading receiver with eight catches for 261 yards and four TDs. Jeffress also has a TD reception.
Tonight’s game will be broadcast live on the Indians Radio Network (103.3 FM WKMZ) and can also be accessed on the Bridgeport Sports Radio App and the official website for Bridgeport Athletics
Providing play by play for the game will be the “Voice of the Indians” Travis Jones with Chris George serving as color analysist and Brent Kimble reporting from the sideline.
Editor's Note: Top photo features Tim Jeffress (23) and Carter Zuliani (24), middle photo is of Josh Love (14) picking up yardage in the open field and bottom photo is of Gabe Martin (21) making a tackle. Photos by Joe LaRocca.
