In each of Bridgeport High School’s three football games this year, junior Cam Cole has established a new career high in rushing yards. His latest effort may be difficult to top.

 

On just 20 attempts, Cole ran for 238 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead the Class AAA No. 5 Indians past Class AA No. 3 Robert C. Byrd, 58-21, on Friday night at Wayne Jamison Field.

 

The win keeps the Indians undefeated at 3-0 heading into next week’s game at Parkersburg South.

 

“Yeah, 238 that’s pretty good,” Cole said. “I love this new offense. With the lead snap I can get out of my stance quicker and get out to the edge faster and use my speed. Our offensive line is great this year. We are whooping everybody up front.

 

“We have a lot of guys that can carry the ball, it’s not just me. We are very versatile in this offense.”

 

More like versatile, explosive and record-setting all rolled into one dose of single-wing magic.

 

The Indians finished with 542 rushing yards against the Eagles, their most productive outing in the modern era dating back to at least 1997. The previous best mark was 504 in 2015 against Elkins.

 

The 58 points scored against the Eagles are the most in the history of the series. A series now that the Tribe has won every meeting since 2010.

 

Through three games the Indians have already put up 1,340 rushing yards on 149 attempts – an average of 9 yards per carry. They are also averaging 55 points per game.

 

Friday’s game began with what many would consider a “traditional” Bridgeport drive.

 

It was a 14-play drive that covered 80 yards and ended with an 18-yard touchdown run by Cole. The drive also took nearly 8 minutes off the clock as Cole’s fourth TD of the year came at the 4:10 mark.

 

“It’s nice to see we can do that,” Bridgeport coach John Cole. “We can take some time off the clock and run between the tackles when that’s what we need to do.”

 

Scoring drive No. 2 didn’t take nearly as long. On RCB’s second snap, the Tribe’s J.T. Muller hit the Eagles’ Jeremiah King right at the line of scrimmage and forced a fumble – the team’s seventh fumble recovery of the year.

 

Two plays later, Cole was in the end zone again, this time with a 21-yard TD run that fooled virtually everybody inside Wayne Jamison Field. It was basically a hidden ball trick from baseball combined with a behind-the-back pass in basketball, as Cole faked a hand off and went around wide right untouched across the goal line.

 

“That’s a new play we put in where when he comes around in motion, I keep it and put it behind my back,” Cole said. “They had no idea where the ball was.”

 

The Eagles turned the tables on the Indians by taking advantage of the first BHS turnover in 2020.

 

Derek Starkey fumbled a punt return and the Eagles took over on the BHS 38. Finding it difficult to run on its first two possessions, RCB went to a quick, short passing game. Xavier Lopez completed passes to five different receivers to advance the ball to the 5 where King then punched it in on for his 11^th TD run of the season.

 

It would be one of the few highlights for King, a first-team all-state running back and considered by many as one of the premier offensive threats in all of West Virginia. The BHS defense held him to 7 yards on five carries.

 

The Eagles finished with just 40 total yards on the ground. Lopez did however throw for 280 yards on 29-of-43 passing with one touchdown and one interception. Bryson Lucas led RCB in receiving with nine catches for 111 yards.

 

“If someone tells you before the game that (Jeremiah King) is going to have 7 yards on five carries, I think you take that,” Cole said. “To their credit though, they saw it wasn’t working and they have a quarterback that can throw it pretty well.

 

“That’s what we wanted them to do, we wanted them to have to pass to try and beat us.”

 

The Indians answered King’s touchdown with a five-play drive that saw Cole and Muller each have long runs before Trent Haines made it 21-7 with a 15-yard touchdown run.

 

RCB made it one-possession game following a 13-play drive – all through the air – capped by a 20-yard touchdown pass from Lopez to Nick Edwards.

 

Hayden Moore put the Tribe up by two scores again with a 32-yard touchdown run late in the first half. Bridgeport actually had a chance to put more points on the scoreboard as it quickly forced a four-and-out on defense with less than a minute left in the second quarter.

Moore got the Tribe past midfield with a gain of 30 yards. Cole moved them inside the red zone with a 32-yard gain with 29 seconds still on the clock.

 

A procedure penalty and a rare loss on a run play took a late TD out of the plans but left enough time for Austin Springer to attempt a 29-yard field goal. It however, bounced off the right upright and the Indians settled for a 28-14 halftime lead.

 

Springer was perfect on his PAT kicks in his return to the lineup after missing the Fairmont Senior game with a minor injury. Springer had six PATs against RCB, while Taylor Thomas also had two.

 

The Indians’ first possession of the second half resulted in another fumble. RCB couldn’t capitalize a second time though, eventually turning the ball over on downs with defensive end Tanner Saltis coming up with a huge tackle for loss for the Tribe on fourth down.

Cole’s third touchdown run, this one a 4-yarder, made it 35-14 in favor for Bridgeport.

 

The Eagles wouldn’t quite go away just yet though as John Crites found the end zone on a 1-yard run to again make it a two-possession game.

 

BHS however delivered the knockout blow with a 53-yard TD run by Muller, a safety set up by two more huge defensive plays by Muller and Saltis, and Moore’s 11-yard touchdown run. It went from 35-21 to 51-21 in roughly 2 minutes.

 

In the closing moments, the Indians picked up their first interception of the year, by Ryan Hall. Cam Hess tacked on the final TD with a 41-yard run.

 

In addition to Cole’s 238-yard, three-touchdown night, Muller topped 100 for the first time in his career, finishing with 127 on just seven carries. Moore nearly reached the 100-yard mark as well, finishing with 93 on eight carries to go along with two more touchdowns, giving him seven for the season (six on the ground, one receiving).

 

Click HERE to view the complete photo gallery from game night.

 

Editor's Note: Top two photos feature Cam Cole on offense, third is of Tanner Saltis making a play on defense. Fourth photo features RCB receiver Bryson Lucas making a tough catch. Fifth photo is of Trent Haines finding the end zone and bottom photo is of J.T. Muller bringing down RCB quarterback Xavier Lopez with a sack.