After five years of coaching, the one thing most know they’ll get from Bridgeport High School Josh Nicewarner is an honest answer – even if you have to ask him what he means. Such was the case when Nicewarner was asked about tonight’s 2014 Homecoming contest against Robert C. Byrd.

 

“It’s exciting and sickening at the same time,” said Nicewarner.

 

The exciting part seemed obvious. And it was.

 

]“Well, it’s the Byrd game and everyone looks forward to that,” said Nicewarner.

 

As for the sickening part, that was quickly explained.

 

“We could certainly be healthier,” said Nicewarner. “Don’t get me wrong, that’s never an excuse in football, but I know both sides would like to go into this game at 100 percent. They’re banged up and we’re banged up so it’s about what you expect when you get into the third week of the season.”

 

When the No. 7 and 2-1 Indians meet the No. 11 and 2-1 Eagles at Jamison Field at 7:30 p.m. this evening, both teams will be facing that injury bug. Just who plays is likely going to be a game-time decision for many players.

 

In last week’s 14-7 win over Lewis County, two-way standout Dante Bonamico was injured early in the game. Although he finished the contest and scored a game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter, he’s battling a serious ankle injury and also has problems with his Achilles tendon in the same foot.

 

“It’s a cliché but he’s day to day. We’ll know more Friday and we certainly hope to have him,” said Nicewarner. “What it comes down to is preparation and we’re preparing as if he’s not going to play. If he is able to play that’s great and it’s status quo. But if he doesn’t play, it’s no secret that he allows us to do certain things that we can’t count on doing if he’s not out there.”

 

And the Indians want him out there.  Offensively, he leads the team with 341 yards on 56 carries (6.1 yards per carry) and also paces the team with seven scores.

 

The Indians are expected to have the services of talented two-way sophomore Mackenzie Holmes. Holmes has been out since the Wheeling Park game and provides much needed depth as a starter on both sides of the ball.

 

“Outside of that, we’re relatively healthy, but that could change on the first series. It is what it is and I know (RCB Coach) Bruce (Carey) isn’t making excuses about who he may or may not have,” Nicewarner said.

 

The Eagles had multiple players banged up in their 27-21 double overtime loss at Frankfort last week. Most notable was running back Ben D’Annunzio who leads the team with 291 yards rushing on 27 carries for an impressive 10.8 yards per carry. He also had four touchdowns.

 

RCB has several other weapons in its backfield. Juwan Jones-Wright has carried the ball 36 times for 221 yards and a team-high five touchdowns, while Elias Grant has carried it 31 times for 182 yards and a score.

 

The Eagles, however, are the most diversified offensive team the Tribe will face this year. Quarterback Julian Marino has completed 26 of 48 passes for 359 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. His main target is teammate and cousin Alex Banko, who has hauled in 13 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Justin Noble has five receptions for 91 yards

 

“Having Bryan (Fisher) heading up their offense brings a different dynamic and you have to worry about what he’s going to prepare. At the same time, I usually tend to worry more about a team that does just one thing because that’s when they can get you,” said Nicewarner. “It’s not as much as a surprise when a team is closer to 50-50 like Byrd, but quite frankly it doesn’t make it any easier for us to defend.”

 

Bridgeport also has weapons beyond Bonamico, but are once again almost exclusively using the run. Dylan Tonkery is finally getting back to full health and has compiled 198 yards on 47 carries (5.7 ypc). Quarterback Zack Spurlock is the third leading rusher with 148 yards on 26carries (5.7 ypc). He also has completed 7-of-9 passes for 68 yards.

 

The question isn’t whether BHS has options on offense, it’s whether they’ll stay in the power pistol or go back to the stick-I offense. After rolling past Buckhannon-Uphsur in week one with the pistol, the Indians switched to the stick-I in the second half to nearly comeback in a 14-10 setback to Wheeling Park and also in what turned out to be a 14-7 win last week against Lewis County.

 

“Absolutely I’m coming out in the pistol. It’s really about perspective and you only have to look back to last year to know what I mean. We weren’t exclusive pistol until the third or fourth week of the season,” said Nicewarner. “We’re not panicked, but we’ve reached a point to where we are considering the option of splitting the practice duties for both types of offense. We need our defense to play big.”

 

The defense has been solid in all three games. The team has yielded just 231 yards rushing over three games, including an impressive minus-10 yard total last week in the win over Lewis County.  The defense is also allowing just 9.3 points per game; the second best total in Class AA.

 

Mitchell Winkie leads the defense with 17 tackles, while Noah Markley is second with 15 stops. John Wilfong and Michael Gray both have 13 tackles, while Zach Bombardiere has 11 and Brandon Hartz 10.

 

“You know what, Byrd is Byrd. It doesn’t matter the record. It doesn’t matter who they have. It doesn’t matter who they don’t have,” said Nicewarner. “No matter what the circumstances, it generally turns into an interesting game.”

 

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: Top photo of Dante Bonamico in last Friday's win against Morgantown, while RCB's talented Juwan Jones-Wrigth is shown battling or yardage earlier this year. In the bottom photo, Dylan Tonkery dots the stick-I in the second half against Lewis County. All photos by Tyler Maxwell of www.benqueenphotography.com.