One play. One inch. One point.

 

It came down to that and all of it, by the slimmest of margins, went the way of Fairmont Senior in what turned into a 22-21 double overtime classic win against Bridgeport in a Class AA semifinal contest tonight at Wayne Jamison Field. The setback denied BHS a shot at a fourth straight state title.

 

The win moves the No. 5 Polar Bears into the ‘AA’ title game next week at Wheeling Island Stadium. They will play the winner of Saturday’s Mingo Central home game with James Monroe.

 

Perhaps the fact that he game ended with Fairmont Senior rolling the dice in the second overtime after scoring a touchdown that made the score 21-20 shouldn’t have been unexpected. After all, FSHS had beaten the odds a play earlier just to get a chance to either tie it or win in the second extra session.

 

With Bridgeport leading 21-14 following a John Merica six-yard touchdown run and a Koby Kiefer point-after kick to start the second OT, the hosts seemed to have everything they wanted. A first down bad snap by Fairmont that led to a four-yard loss and a second down holding in the backfield put Fairmont in a second-and-31 at the 41-yard line.

 

The game seemed to be Bridgeport’s for the taking. Quarterback Jake Abbott of Fairmont Senior, who had done it all night, had other ideas. Instead of waving the white flag, he lofted a high pass down the right sideline and Bryson Gilbert hauled it in with the BHS defense on him for a 41-yard score that put the Bears within a point.

 

“I can’t imagine that (defensive back) John (Merica) was anything but exhausted the way we rode him in the second half. It just wasn’t meant to be,” said BHS Coach Josh Nicewarner of the play and of Mercia, who bailed out a struggling Tribe offense in the game’s latter stages.

 

Fairmont called timeout and the die was cast for the do or die situation with everything at stake. The Bears came out in an empty set and Abbott took the snap from the three.

 

“I was shocked with the empty backfield. To be honest, I didn’t think they’d rest their season on a pass, but with an empty backfield I didn’t think they’d run it,” said Nicewarner.

 

The pass never came. Instead, Abbott took the ball, darted to the right and plowed into a mound of defenders. The last play, even after it was over, was not to be decided for several seconds as the officials ran in and no signal was made. BHS waved no good, the Polar Bears signaled touchdown.

 

In the end, only one signal mattered and that was the officials’ and when their arms went up, the game was over. It capped an incredible season that saw Bridgeport go 12-1 and spend most of the year as the state’s top-ranked Class AA squad.

 

Bridgeport appeared to be set to continue its season despite finding itself behind the eight ball multiple times. In fact, in the first extra period, the Bears took the ball to start things and Abbott’s first carry went 16 yards and got the ball down to the four. His second carry nearly turned everything around to the BHS ledger as the pigskin popped loose. Fortunately for the guests, Michael Toothman saved the day by pouncing on it at the one-yard line.

 

“You could tell it wasn’t meant to be. We forced that ball to come out of their hands and we can’t get on it,” said Nicewarner. “We crawled our way back into the game, but they made one more play than we did to win it.”

 

On third down, Abbott again dove into the teeth of the Bridgeport defense and again was stopped – this time with the nose of the ball literally an inch from the goal line to set up a fourth-and-goal.

 

With their season perhaps at stake, Abbott would get the score. BHS coaches and players pleaded that ball was fumbled, but the officials ruled the ball as going over the goal line and the Polar Bears would soon be up 14-7 when David Childers drilled what would be a 37-yard point-after try following a pair of penalties.

 

Bridgeport responded, but it wasn’t without its moments. In fact, The Tribe faced a fourth-and-four from their own 14 when Merica broke free for a nine-yard gain and new life with a first-and-goal at the five.

 

The hosts got themselves into a third-and-goal from a foot away when the game nearly ended. The Indians fumbled the handoff and during the scrum, Seth Friel picked the loose ball up and the officials ruled him in for six as Fairmont voiced its concerns that Friel was down before scoring. Again, it didn’t matter and when Kiefer nailed the point-after the game was set for the second overtime and the heart-stopping finish.

 

The excitement of the overtime with a few scores each way was in contrast to the first four quarters of action, which was nothing short of a slugfest. Bridgeport, despite having just 58 yards of first half offense, began to show life in the second half.

 

After trailing 7-0 going into the third period, Bridgeport took over at its own 49 with 9:51 to play. The Indians would put together their best drive of regulation with an 11-play, 51-yard surge that included a fourth down conversion and a third-down conversion along with Chapin Murphy taking his first carry of the game over for a three-yard score with 4:01 to play. Kiefer’s point-after was true and the stage was set for overtime.

 

Bridgeport would finish with 199 yards of offense. Merica would lead the way with 24 carries for 103 yards. Mackenzie Holmes had 10 runs for 41 yards.

 

Fairmont Senior finished with 190 yards of offense. Abbott was 7-for-11 for 111 yards, while he led the team with 62 yards on 24 carries. The Bears carried the ball 35 times for 79 yards in the game. Jacob Pittman hauled in three first half passes for a team-high 48 yards.

 

The Indians, however, will look at several huge missed opportunities where they could have scored. On the first drive of the second half, the Indians began to move the ball by starting off with a 10-yard run and a 16-yard run to get to Fairmont’s side of the field. Then, a chop block took the life out of the drive, but did give the Indians the ability to flip field position.

 

On the final drive of the third period, the Indians would start at the Fairmont 30-yard line when J.T. Harris returned a punt for 17 yards. This time, the Indians made it to the 16-yard line when a bad snap resulted in a 17-yard loss. Eventually, Kiefer would be called on to try a 42-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth period.  Even that didn’t go smoothly as a false start made it a try from 47 and the kick never had a chance. Those opportunities lost would prove deadly.

 

“You look back on those things and it would be one thing if it was the first time it had happened. It was a common theme for us this season,” said Nicewarner. “We found 12 ways to still win football games and this was one that we didn’t. Officiating aside, it was a great football game. Officials sure as heck don’t decide football games.”

 

While Bridgeport scored the only points of the second half, the visitors scored the only points of the first half. Those points stung as Bridgeport appeared to be in position to go into the half in a scoreless game. The Polar Bears started what would be their final possession at their own 40-yard line with 2:50 showing and saw a holding penalty immediately put them in a first-and-19 hole.

 

Then, things slowly began going Fairmont Senior’s way.  An offside penalty and then a huge play where Abbott broke several tackles and bulled his way for 19 yards breathed life into what had been to that point a somewhat lethargic Fairmont Senior offense.

 

Abbott followed that up with a 10-yard pass and a seven-yard keeper to get the ball to the Bridgeport 28. On the next play, he found a wide open Pitman for 23 yards to the Indians’ five. And Abbott and the Bears wasted no time taking advantage of the field position.

 

On the first play, Abbott took the direct snap and – after getting his jersey grabbed from behind – bulled his way into the end zone from five yards out and the only touchdown of the first half. Childers’ point-after kick then made it 7-0 with 51.1 seconds to go before halftime.

 

Fairmont Senior got 60 of its 119 yards of first half offense on the six-play drive. Abbott hit on 6-of-8 passes for 70 yards and also ran the ball nine times for 40 yards in the first half as he was responsible for all but nine yards of the offense.

 

Prior to the score, Bridgeport’s defense had held the Bears’ offense in check. In fact, the furthest Fairmont advanced was the Indians’ 47-yard line.

 

Bridgeport had just 58 yards of offense in the first half on only 20 plays.

 

“The first half was a nightmare, especially with them defensively … We just couldn’t block (Dante’ and Darius) Stills, let’s be honest. We made some adjustments at halftime, changed the blocking up a little bit and it paid off obviously in the second half,” said Nicewarner.

 

Even with that, the Tribe’s second drive of the game seemed appeared headed for success – or at least a chance at it. The Indians started at their own 38 and got to the Polar Bears’ 31 where they faced a fourth down and a short three yards.

 

Unfortunately for the Indians, a delay of game penalty ended up costing the Tribe five yards. The subsequent fourth-and-eight play resulted in a completed pass between Gordon Swiger and Harris lined up wide, but it was for a two-yard loss and Fairmont dodged the only serious threat of the first half.

 

Perhaps lost in the setback was the monster game by junior defensive end Murphy. Murphy had two and a half sacks and three times the Polar Bears were called for holding on him as he was a disruptive force all night long.

 

Murphy will return next year. Nicewarner, however, had to say goodbye to a talented senior class – many of whom had a big part in the previous three state titles.

 

“All good things are going to come to an end and you never want to be the team or the senior group, but it’s life. I may not be very old, but I’m old enough to know, or experienced enough to know that the sun will come up tomorrow even though it doesn’t feel like it,” said Nicewarner. “ … What they were part of, a big part of, they should be proud of. I know they will understand it one day. They may not be able to hoist a championship trophy, but they were part of something special.”

 

Click HERE for a photo gallery from the game.

 

Editor's Note: Photos courtesy of www.benqueenphotography.com.