There’s a pretty good chance that had Robert C. Byrd been told that it would hold Bridgeport tailback J.T. Harris and quarterback Gordon Swiger to a combined 114 yards rushing on 24 carries, the Eagles would have liked their chances at a win tonight.

 

Unfortunately for RCB, the game proved to be a case for the defense. As has been the case all year, that suited Bridgeport just fine.

 

BHS’s first team defense yielded just 40 total yards through two and a half periods of play and one first down in what turned in to a 41-7 dismantling of Robert C. Byrd this evening at Wayne Jamison Field.

 

The win was the ninth straight by Bridgeport against its Harrison County and Big 10 opponent. The Tribe moves to 4-0 with the victory, while RCB drops to 1-3.

 

For the fourth straight week, the Indians’ first team defense was more than the opposition could handle. Coach Josh Nicewarner was more than aware of that fact.

 

“It’s the story every week. I’m running out of things to say,” Nicewarner said when asked about the defensive showing. “The good news was that I think the offense was better. I think we finally learned some things, which was invaluable.”

 

The ability to stop the Eagles and score more than enough points – thanks to the defense and incredible field position throughout – was pivotal because the Indians at times struggled to get huge amounts of yardage early on.

 

BHS would finish with 329 yards of offense, including a season-high 87 yards passing to make the early defense by the Eagles a wash. In the end, the RCB defense didn’t matter simply because Bridgeport’s defense overshadowed what the Eagles were doing on that side of the ball.

 

Just how strong was the defense in week four?

 

When the first half came to a close, the Indians were up 27-0 and had the defense primarily to thank for it. Incredibly,  Bridgeport held the Eagles to 39 yards of total offense and just one first down on six first half possessions.  Of that total, RCB managed 28 yards rushing on 16 carries.

 

Even more impressive was that when Nicewarner began wholesale substitution on defense with 6:54 in the third period, the defensive stat line told the tale. Even when the second team came in, the Eagles didn’t fare much better and finished with just 98 total yards of offense.

 

“It’s what we do (on defense) week in and week out,” said Nicewarner. “We count on our guys beating the man across from them a lot … We’re tackling  well and forcing turnovers and like I said if we keep playing defense like that we’re going to have a chance in every game.”

 

Even with the defense shutting the door, it was Bridgeport’s ability to force turnovers that made the difference in the first half and what they were doing on defense even more deadly. Twice the Eagles fumbled deep in their own territory and twice the Indians made them pay.

 

The second and final first half scores were set up by turnovers. Before that, the Indians were having some difficulty getting a lot of offense of their own as the Eagles were stacking as many as 10 men in the box and sending their linebackers flying into the gaps. Eventually, the hosts made them pay for the strategy.

 

Midway through the first period, Gordon Swiger hit Harris on a bubble screen to the left side. Harris hauled in the ball and burst around the edge and went 31-yards for the score. The first of three successful point-after kicks by Koby Kiefer made it 7-0 BHS with 5:53 to play in the first quarter.

 

“Absolutely,” said Nicewarner when asked if the pass play was the result of what RCB was doing. “That, I guess, is where my job comes in. When things aren’t working with the run we’ve got to be able to do something … We’ve got to see these teams play us more honestly and when you see that you’ll see a vast improvement with our offense.”

 

The score remained 7-0 early into the second period after the Eagles’ defense again appeared to asserting itself. However, once the visitors got the ball back on their own 12-yard line, disaster struck on first down as the RCB running back fumbled the ball and the Indians’ John Thomas pounced on it at the 16.

 

Three plays later, BHS had a two touchdown cushion. This time, Harris closed a short drive with a three-yard run that eventually put the Indians up 14-0 with 9:26 before halftime.

 

Bridgeport, which controlled field position in the first two periods as well, took advantage of a great start on its next possession. The Indians would only need three plays on the next series to find the end zone after starting with the ball on the RCB 39-yard line.

 

Swiger would do the honors himself this time on a quarterback keeper. Not only did he score from 25 yards out, but he broke a few tackles along the way before scoring to make it 21-0 with 6:01 to go before halftime.

 

If the Eagles thought the damage was done, they were mistaken. Again, they would have the Bridgeport defense to blame. On a third-and-16 play deep in their own territory, the ball was stripped by the BHS defense and Mackenzie Holmes pounced on it at the RCB 11.

 

The recovery came with 4:16 on the clock. The Indians’ next score would come with 4:10 showing before halftime.

 

On first down, Swiger found Seth Friel out of the backfield on a fullback pass play and Friel went 11 yards for six. The only downside of the possession was a bad snap led to a failed two-point conversion attempt at Bridgeport was up 27-0.

 

Bridgeport has ran the play to Friel three times this year. All three times it has resulted in touchdowns.

 

“It always seems like I call (that play to Friel) in the red zone. It’s not that it’s intentional as it is just teams getting more aggressive down there and that’s when things like that can happen,” said Nicewarner. “It’s really just a two-man route. In order for teams to defense that, they’re going to have to give up something else.”

 

The only highlight for RCB came with 2:32 to play in the opening half. At that time, Malcom Johnson bust up the middle for an 11-yard gain – the longest play of the first half for the Eagles – that would prove to be the team’s initial first down.

 

Bridgeport went up 33-0 after its first drive of the third period. Swiger scored his second rushing touchdown of the game – this time from four yards out – to put the game on ice with 6:54 to in the third quarter.

 

Swiger finished 2-for-2 passing – both touchdowns – for 42 yards. John Merica hit Brent Sinsel for a 45-yard pass play late in the second half as the BHS passing attack was five-for-five.

 

“Gordon running the offense was a question mark at the beginning of the season. There’s no doubt about it, he’s the guy to run that offense,” said Nicewarner.

 

Johnson scored a fourth quarter touchdown with 7:05 to play and Theo Frick’s extra point made it 33-7. Bridgeport’s reserves answered with what proved to the Indians longest drive of the game – 80 yards – that ended with an Austin Sponaugle one-yard run. David Snodgrass added a two-point conversion run with 15 seconds left for the game’s final points.

 

As important as the defense was in setting up BHS with a short field, the defense holding RCB deep in its own territory was also a problem. To make matters worse, the Indians’ return unit of Harris and Merica in particular made it worse with big returns.

 

Outside of the game’s final drive that was for 80 yards, Bridgeport’s next longest drive covered 54 yards. In fact, the other four drivers were from 16, 39, 11 and 25 yards; not exactly starting points that will allow you to have big offensive numbers.

 

“Our return game is huge. From a statistical standpoint that will hurt us, but you know me well enough to know I don’t give a crap about stats,” said Nicewarner. “Our special teams are putting us in these short fields and turnovers are putting us in short fields.”

 

Swiger had 64 yards on 11 runs, while Harris finished the game with 50 yards on 11 carries. Snodgrass led the Indians with 73 yards on just six carries.

 

Robert C. Byrd would finish the game with four first downs. Johnson led the RCB attack with 73 yards on 22 carries.

 

Bridgeport had 141 yards of offense in the half, including 23 rushes for just 99 yards.

 

The Indians are back in action next week facing Lincoln. The game in Shinnston will kick off at 7:30 p.m. The Cougars beat East Fairmont 38-0.

 

Editor's Note: Photos are by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.

 

Editor's