For the second straight time against Fairmont Senior, Bridgeport is going to have to look back and wonder what could have been on the football field.

 

The Indians went from being on the brink of putting the game away to falling by a 14-10 score to the Polar Bears at Wayne Jamison Field this evening.

 

The setback was the second straight in the series dominated by the Indians; last year’s 22-21 overtime loss in the Class AA semifinal the one prior to tonight’s game. In that outing, the Tribe was also in prime position to win the contest late before the Bears responded and ended Bridgeport’s season.

 

BHS falls to 3-1 with the loss. Fairmont Senior remains perfect at 4-0.

 

The Indians led 10-7 and had the ball with 6:55 to go following a missed 31 yard field goal by Fairmont Senior. The Tribe, starting at their own 20, began to slowly and methodically march down the field. BHS had a second-and-six from the Fairmont 35 with 3:07 to play and all the momentum.

 

Things would change. And they would change in a hurry.

 

At that time, Fairmont took a timeout as the Indians were in position to salt it away. Unfortunately on the same play, center Noah Drummond was injured. Drummond, who had to sit out a play, saw his backup deliver a bad snap that BHS was able to recover. Unfortunately, it resulted in a 26-yard loss and a third-and-32 play.

 

“Our center came out and I’ve been working with a few kids and one kid didn’t practice so we went with another kid and snapped it a little too hard and a little too high,” said Bridgeport Coach John Cole.

 

Following a two-yard gain, Bridgeport punted away. And this is where things really went south for the home team.

 

FSHS senior standout Bryson Gilbert fielded the ball and, for the first time in the game, had open field in front of him. He made the most of it as he cut to his left and made it to the edge. It wasn’t until 69 yards later that he was tackled from behind and Fairmont was in business at Bridgeport's 19.

 

“Our gunners were actually down there. Maybe it was a situation that (Koby) Koby hit (the punt) too far. I don’t know. I’ll have to watch the film,” said Cole.

 

Bridgeport’s defense seemed to be ready to weather the storm and almost forced a turnover. In fact, Jimmy Allison’s bull rush saw him put pressure on quarterback Connor Neal and his pass was nearly picked off by Brent Sinsel.

 

After a four-yard run set up a third-and-six from the 15, Bridgeport had a chance at forcing a field goal try if they could hold the Bears. Neal, however, had other ideas.

 

With the pocket collapsing, Neal did what he did several times on the evening – and that was come up big. He nailed a strike to Antonio Parsons at the goal line, who absorbed hits in traffic, with 1:26 to play for the score. The point-after kick by Frankie Smith would prove to be the final point of the game.

 

“It wasn’t only the pass. It was the catch. That kid make a heck of a play. It’s the way it goes some times,” said Cole. “We shouldn’t have put our defense in that position … We almost made a play a few plays before that (with Sinsel). They ended up making the play and we didn’t.”

 

Fairmont would finish with 193 yards of offense on 44 plays. The majority of that came in the second half and Neal led the way completing 12-of-23 passes for 124 yards with one passing and one running touchdown.

 

The Bears had just 69 yards rushing on 21 carries.

 

Bridgeport would finish the game with 246 yards on 50 plays. Merica led the way with 123 yards rushing on 18 carries, while Bowen finished with 82 yards on 13 runs. Merica also completed 1-of-2 passes – the Tribe’s first completion of the year – for 19 yards.

 

After a lackluster first half on offense, Fairmont finally woke up on its second drive of the third period. The Bears would use 11 plays to cover 86 yards to tie the game up with 3:43 at 7-7. Neal did the honors with a seven-yard keeper on second and goal after being flushed out of the pocket.

 

(Neal) had a little bit extra time and we had been playing defense a lot. When you play defense a lot, especially against a team like that, you try to get pressure with your front four … Eventually, it hurt us,” said Cole.

 

The Indians responded immediately. Starting at their own 40, the Tribe finally scored on play number eleven. And it was courtesy of Kiefer.

 

Kiefer lined up for a 43-yard field goal try and it didn’t start out good. The snap back was off target and sophomore holder Devin Vandergrift was able to get the ball lined up. Kiefer, who hesitated, then showed his leg strength by splitting the uprights with a few yards to spar.

 

“That was a heck of a play by a sophomore. He did a good job,” said Cole of the hold. “ … It was a game situation and we had to do (the field goal), but to be honest Koby hadn’t been that great in practice. We know he can do because he’s an athlete. He was cool as ice.”

 

Unfortunately for the Indians, it would be their final points of the game.

 

What that BHS series didn’t produce was the final penalty of the game. Bridgeport had 10 penalties for 60 yards, but they had nine false start penalties that all came from the same line judge. The Bears had three penalties for 22 yards.

 

“We couldn’t get a call when we needed it. Those are the most penalty flags,” said Cole, as he paused for a second. “I’ve coached football for 25 years and I’ve never seen anything like that. It is unbelievable to me.  If we’re that bad, if it’s something that we’re doing, why didn’t it happen in the other three games … They said we were leaning and I teach my kids to get off on the snap count.”

 

The Indians seemed poised to score several times in the first half. However, at halftime all the hosts had was a 7-0 advantage.

 

Although Bridgeport was able to get yardage in the first two periods, the fact the Indians were generally working against a long field and making critical mistakes left them off the board. That would change late in the second quarter when the Tribe finally started with good field position.

 

Beginning at Fairmont Senior’s 46, Bridgeport would need three plays to find the end zone. After a first down run netted two years, the Indians had one of what would turn out to one of the nine false start penalties in the game – all called by the same line judge - that put them behind the sticks.

 

Facing a second-and-13, Jake Bowen put BHS in a manageable situation with a nine-yard run on the second down play that set up a third-and-four at the FSHS 47. The play would prove to be critical.

 

What started as a simple off tackle play to the left became the first half’s only touchdown. With a Fairmont defender flying past him in the backfield, Bowen shook off minimal contact near the first down stick, raced to the left and found daylight outside. After that, Bowen outraced the Polar Bear defense for the 47-yard score.

 

“That was something we practiced this week; it was a little bit of a read,” said Cole. “The line blocked it and John made a good read with the handoff and Jake made a heck of a play.”

 

Kiefer came on and kicked the extra point – made five yards longer due to another false start – and BHS led 7-0 with 2:48 left.

 

Bridgeport was able to get the ball in Fairmont territory thanks to the defense that was stout throughout the first two periods. On the drive prior to the score by the Indians, a holding penalty on the Bears was followed by a Chapin Murphy sack and an intentional grounding call that set up a fourth-and-27.

 

The defense nearly gave BHS another shot just before the half.  After the Tribe scored, Bridgeport’s defense forced another three-and-out that saw the visitors facing a fourth-and-20 at their own 10 after a huge hit on first down by Trey Pancake and a second down sack by Josh Osborn to help put FSHS in the hole.

 

Unfortunately for the Tribe, the last 1:11 left didn’t matter. The Tribe’s offense stalled, thanks partially to another false start, and the hosts settled for the 7-0 lead going into the half.

 

Bridgeport’s defense was more than just solid in the first half. Fairmont Senior ran 20 plays and had 46 yards. Neal was 5-of-11 passing for 45 yards, while the ground game had just one yard on nine carries.

 

“We played really, really good defense, particularly in the first half. Coach (Adam) King and the rest of the coaching staff did a hell of a job and the kids executed for the most part what we asked of them,” said Cole.

 

Fairmont Senior only had the ball past the 50-yard line on one possession, which was the Bears first possession of the game. It ended at the Bridgeport 45-yard line.

 

The hosts finished with 162 yards of offense on 25 plays in the first two periods, but had just the seven points to show for it. The Indians’ second drive of the game appeared to be heading for, at worst, a Kiefer field goal try. A Merica 41-yard quarterback option keep gave the Indians the ball well inside FSHS territory.

 

Bridgeport made it to the 19 and faced a third-and-three when disaster struck. The snap back to Merica couldn’t be handled and the Bears pounced on the ball at their own 24 to keep the game scoreless in the first.

 

The Indians had another long drive halted in the second period. A nine-play drive that started on their own 26-yard line ended when the Tribe couldn’t convert on a fourth-and-one play at Fairmont’s 39 as the Bears’ defense swarmed to the ball for a no-gain on the play.

 

Merica led Bridgeport’s first half ground game with 80 yards on 11 carries. Bowen added 72 yards on seven carries.

 

The loss was the first regular season loss to a Class AA opponent and a Big 10 Conference foe since September of 2010. Bridgeport lost to Robert C. Byrd that year.

 

Bridgeport returns to action next Friday. The Indians will visit Harrison County rival Robert C. Byrd at 7 p.m.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows BHS's Jimmy Allison going man to man with Fairmont Senior's Dante Stills in the trenches, while Senior quarterback Connor Neal winds up for a pass in the second photo. In the third picture and fourth pictures, the BHS defense swarms to make tackles. John Merica is shown in the fifth photo going for some of his 123 yards, while Jake Bowen breaks free on his 47-yard touchdown run in the sixth photo. Josh Osborn believes he forces a fumble in the seventh picture that Chapin Murphy learns in the next picture that the pass had been ruled incomplete. In the bottom photo, BHS Coach John Cole and assistant Brett Hathaway react to one of nine false start penalties in the game. Photos by Ben Queen and Joey Signorelli of www.benqueenphotography.com.