Any hopes of Bridgeport strolling to a victory this evening against Big 10 rival Elkins was gone by halftime. Any hopes of Elkins pulling off an upset was erased thanks to the Indians’ defense throughout and the big second half by Jake Bowen.

 

Bridgeport’s refused to give up much of anything and Bowen had a career rushing night as the Tribe moved to 7-1 on the year after a 21- 3 win on the road at Wimer Field.

 

The BHS defense, outside of an early drive and a few missed tackles, took the Tigers’ single-wing offense and broke it. By game’s end, the hosts had just 99 yards of offense on 42 plays. All of the yardage came by way of the ground game.

“We bent, we didn’t tackle well at times, we had to make some changes there at times, but they only got three points on the scoreboard,” said Bridgeport Coach John Cole. “That’s a good thing. Any time the defense can do that, that’s what we want. It was a hard-hitting game.”

 

With the defense playing steady, the offense finally took advantage of things in the second half to move away from a 7-3 score at the half. And it was Bowen that led the way.

 

The Tigers had managed to pack the box for most of the night with nine men. For the majority of the evening – and particularly in the first two quarters – it paid off in spades.  When the Tribe got the ball late in the second half, they made the Tigers pay for it.

 

“It was tough going in there. They loaded it up,” said Cole of Elkins’ defense. “ … Our guys up front, our backs, they didn’t do their jobs. The yards were tough.”

 

Bridgeport was able to get itself some breathing room in the third period after finally getting itself some good field position to start a drive. A punt was fielded by D’Andre Holloway after a couple of bounces and he returned it 15 yards to the Elkins’ 49-yard line with 2:33 to play in the frame.

 

Ten seconds later, the game would essentially be put on ice. Bowen took the handoff and busted loose off the left side after breaking through the line. After that, he outraced two EHS defenders to the goal line and the Indians, following the second of three successful point-after kicks by Koby Kiefer, were up 14-3.

 

“I was finally able to breathe a bit,” said Cole.

 

If that score allowed Cole and the Indians to take a breath, the next series would allow the Tribe to exhale heavily. However, getting to that point didn’t seem possible as Bridgeport faced a third-and-21 at its own nine-yard line early in the fourth period.

 

That would change thanks to Bowen as he turned in what may have been his biggest run of the game. The junior tailback broke to the short side of the field on the third down play and plowed ahead. Although contact was made short of the lead stick for a first down, Bowen put his head down and managed to gain 22 yards and give the visitors a fresh set of downs.

 

“He’s not been hit in his career like he was hit tonight and I think he’d tell you that if you asked him,” said Cole of Bowen. “For him to want to get the hard yards even though he broke that run, having the mind to know how much we needed and dipping and lifting and getting every yard he could was really good to see. That was what the team needed.”

 

Three plays later, Bowen officially put the game in the books. On a third-and-four play from the BHS 37, Bowen again got past the first wave of defenders piled up near the line of scrimmage and easily went 63 yards for the game’s final touchdown and a 21-3 lead with 9:20 to play.

 

The run by Bowen would help set the stage for a career night on the ground. He would finish the game with 192 yards on 21 carries.

 

“In the second half, I don’t know if they got a little bit tired. We didn’t change much,” said Cole of the two scores in the final two quarters. “I think our kids responded to what happened in the first half and did what they needed to do to win.”

 

For the contest, Bridgeport would have 338 yards on 51 plays. Quarterback John Merica would also crack 100 yards rushing as he finished with 117 yards on 17 carries.

 

Unlike the past three weeks where the final score wasn’t indicative of how much Bridgeport had dominated, this week’s game was exactly indicative of how the game was – close throughout. During the last three weeks – against Robert C. Byrd, Buckhannon-Upshur and North Marion – the Tribe was up by five touchdowns at intermissions.

 

Elkins decided that it wasn’t going to be part of a fourth straight game of BHS determining the outcome by halftime. The Tigers started the game strong and didn’t let up for the first 24 minutes of the game.

 

In fact, Bridgeport was able to get its only points in the first two quarters courtesy of what would be the Tigers’ only first half turnover. After the hosts forced a quick three-and-out on the Tribe’s first series, a Kiefer punt seemed harmless as the Tigers’ returner called for the fair catch.

 

Unfortunately for the home team, the punt was muffed. Although it appeared Elkins was going to recover it, a hustling Brent Sinsel managed to battle for the ball and recover for the Indians at the Tigers’ 30 where the visitors would go to work.

 

Bridgeport would need six plays to get the game’s first points. Merica did the honors with a five-yard run on a third-and-goal play for six. Kiefer’s point-after kick with 6:47 showing on the first period clock put the Tribe up 7-0.

 

The score would stay the same until the first play of the second period as the Tigers took the possession after the Tribe’s touchdown and went to work. The Indians allowed several big runs out of the single-wing offense and Elkins made it all the way to the Tribe’s 28-yard line before the surge stalled as the first quarter came to a close.

 

Fortunately for the Tigers, George Triplett was ready to bail the team out. The senior kicker drilled a rope that split the uprights and was good for a 45-yard field goal with 11:56 showing on the second quarter clock. The kick proved to be the longest field goal in the history of Elkins High School football.

 

Triplett would figure prominently in thwarting the Indians on their final two possessions of the first half. Following the field goal, Triplett had his second touchback of the opening half and forced the Indians to go from their own 20 in order to get back on the board.

 

BHS put together a 10-play drive, but it came up empty. The Elkins’ defense stiffened on a fourth down play and held the Tribe on downs at the Tigers’ 33-yard line. 

 

Bridgeport would get the ball again, but thanks to misjudging a Triplett high and spiraling punt bad field position greeted the Tribe with just over five minutes to go before halftime. The punt would roll all the way to the four-yard line as Triplett completed a 68-yard kick.

 

Despite the bad field position, BHS went to work.  The Indians went from their own four to the Elkins 10 on 13 plays. With seven seconds left before halftime, Bridgeport was in position to get a field goal. Unfortunately for the guests, the Kiefer field goal try from 27 yards out sailed wide right and the score remained 7-3 at the half.

 

“You’ve got to give (Elkins) credit … They played hard,” said Cole.  “They got underneath us in the first half and our kids didn’t respond when things weren’t going too good. Hopefully, we learned a lesson tonight with a little bit of an adversity.”

 

The Tribe finished the first half with 159 yards on 32 plays. Merica led the offense with 81 yards on 11 carries.

 

Bridgeport’s defense was up to the task in the first two frames. Elkins managed just 47 yards on 16 plays with all of it coming on 15 running plays.

 

Although no Elkins’ player rushed for more than 48 yards and no passes were completed, Triplett was dominant with his kicking. His two kickoffs both resulted in touchbacks, while he punted four times for an average of 58.25 yards, including two punts of more than 60 yards.

 

“Their special teams are really good with him,” said Cole of Triplett.

 

Elkins returns to action Friday with a visit to Harrison County. The Tigers will take on Lincoln in Shinnston.

 

Bridgeport will host this coming Friday. Keyser dropped a 49-21 decision to Allegany (Md.) this evening. The Golden Tornado is now 5-2 and will need a win over BHS to help secure a chance of hosting a postseason game.

 

Kickoff next Friday at Jamison Field is set for 7 p.m.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Jake Bowen looking for first half yardage, while the defensive front gets ready to set up after breaking from their huddle in the second picture. The third photo shows John Merica heading upfield as Brian Henderson leads the way and in the fourth photo Trey Pancake upends an EHS player. In the next photo, Brent Sinsel is shown recovering a fumbled punt, while Coach John Cole ponders his next move in the bottom picture. Photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.