Instead, it got several in a decisive third period that saw a tight game become a 45-14 dismantling of Lincoln in the quarterfinal round of the Class AA playoffs at Wayne Jamison Field this evening. The win moves the Class AA No. 1 Indians into next week’s semifinals with a 12-0 record.

 

The Cougars end the year with an impressive 9-3 mark. Two of the setbacks came to Bridgeport.

 

“In the third quarter our defense showed up,” said Nicewarner.

 

The arrival of the Tribe’s defense put a lid on a spectacular year by LHS. And the defense started with a big special teams play on the very first play of the second half.

 

With Bridgeport up 13-6 and kicking off, the Cougars began the return before the Tribe forced the ball free. John Mercia, who missed a tackle deep on the kick, didn’t give up on the play and pounced on the loose ball to give the Indians possession at the LHS 33-yard line.

 

“That was huge,” said Nicewarner. “We went in (to halftime) feeling we should have had three touchdowns on the board and we needed our defense to make a statement and right out of the gate that happened on special teams.”

 

Seven plays later, Bridgeport began to get what would prove to be a chokehold on the game’s momentum. J.T. Harris, who had yet another monster outing on the ground, took the pitch to his right, used a huge block from Mackenzie Holmes on the edge and then cut back twice for six points and what would prove to be a 20-6 lead.

 

“Our offense was able to capitalize on the turnover and do what we needed to do,” the BHS coach said.

 

The score came with 8:30 remaining in the third and ended with Koby Kiefer hitting on one of his four extra points in the game.

 

Lincoln, as it did in the first half, didn’t falter. The Cougars managed to get the ball to midfield when what may have been the defensive play of the game took place.

 

The guests opted to go for it on a fourth-and-two from their own 49. Chapin Murphy, who was a handful all night long from his defensive end spot, wrestled the Lincoln quarterback to the ground for a sack and the Indians were back in business at their foe’s 48-yard line.

 

Although Bridgeport wouldn’t get a touchdown, it did get points. Kiefer capped an eight-play drive by connecting on a 36-yard field goal with 1:34 left.

 

The kick made it 23-6 and it appeared Lincoln and its quick strike offense still had life. Unfortunately, the game was about to change before the third quarter would even come to an end.

 

On a third-and-18 play at their own seven, the Cougars couldn’t stop what appeared to be about five Indians – led by Murphy and Andrew Barker – getting to the quarterback and forcing a fumble. Tackle Zach Osborn pounced on it with 22.1 seconds to go and the Indians were now up 30-6.

 

For those on the bleachers opposite of the press box, the problems weren’t over. On the Cougars’ very next play from scrimmage, one of the Indians’ linemen tipped a pass and it went directly into the arms of Holmes who raced untouched 23 yards for the touchdown with 6.5 seconds left in the third period and what would turn into a 35-6 advantage.

 

Incredibly, the BHS defense yielded just 26 yards of offense in the critical third. That total came after giving up more than 200 yards in the first half to the Cougars.

 

Nicewarner sang the praises of his front four for their efforts. In particular, he was pleased with the play of his ends.

 

“What more can you say about Chapin and Andrew … Chapin battled through it all night and I think all of their holding penalties were because of him and he was still out there making plays,” said Nicewarner. “Our interior, too, was phenomenal. We were able to keep five men in the box and shut down their run game.”

 

Both squads would add fourth quarter scores, but the icing was already on the playoff cake for the home team. Chase Riley would cap a brilliant career with a 25-yard pass from Kobie Carpenter with 6:00 on the fourth period clock and a two-point conversion from Carpenter to Dustin Marks made it 37-14. BHS then won the battle of the reserves as David Snodgrass scored from 38 yards out and Brian Henderson added a two-point conversion with 3:15 left for the game’s final points.

 

Bridgeport would finish with 343 yards rushing on 60 carries, which consisted of all of its offense. Harris, again, was the catalyst as he finished with 21 carries for 143 yards and two scores. Holmes added 63 yards on 12 carries with one touchdown.

 

“It’s like a different kid,” said Nicewarner of Harris, who went over 1,000 yards on the season. “Best way I can describe it is that it’s like Dylan Tonkery his junior year. Just all of the sudden, boom, he’s rushing for big yards. He’s seeing the field and looks comfortable, but the blocking he had tonight was just phenomenal.”

 

Lincoln finished with 332 yards of offense, including 216 in the first half. Carpenter finished 15-of-28 for 286 yards with a score and an interception. The Cougars managed just 46 yards on 22 rushes.

 

Riley led the receiving corps with six catches for 102 yards. He added to his total as Harrison County’s all-time leader in receptions.

 

On the game’s very first drive, Bridgeport took advantage of excellent field position as the Cougars opted to pooch kick as opposed to kicking deep to Harris or Merica. While it stopped a long runback, the short kick gave the Indians’ the ball at their own 43-yard line.

 

Then, as the first half would dictate throughout, the Indians would start a time-consuming drive on the ground. The Tribe would use a 12-play, 57-yard surge that saw five first downs and three third down conversions to set the hosts up for the game’s first score.

 

Holmes did the honors for Bridgeport as he took a handoff from the four-yard line on a third-and-two play and scored easily. The score that came at the 6:52 mark was tempered when the point-after kick hit the right upright and left the Indians up 6-0.

 

Any hopes that the early, clock draining drive would impact the Cougars was erased once the guests got the ball. And it was erased in a hurry.

 

The Cougars needed just two plays – a 45-yard pass from Kobie Carpenter to Anthony Kellar followed by a 30-yard strike to Dustin Marks – to go from their own 20 to the Bridgeport five. It was here that the Indians’ defense flexed up as they managed to get Lincoln into a fourth-and-goal from the one. On the decisive play, tackle John Thomas blew up the left side of the line and Lincoln’s big early drive came up empty.

 

Bridgeport, however was faced with a first-and-10 from its own 1. The dilemma appeared to be ready to go into deadly for Lincoln as Bridgeport used 14 plays to get to the Lincoln 15 when disaster struck on the fourteenth play. The Tribe fumbled the ball away and LHS pounced on it at its own 2-yard line.

 

“That was a costly turnover in the first half. I thought it was a huge momentum swing after we gave up those big plays and had a huge goal line stand,” said Nicewarner. “You couldn’t have scripted it any better, then we have the turnover.”

 

Like Bridgeport, the Cougars’ second drive faced a lot of real estate. Like Bridgeport, it didn’t seem to matter. The only difference was that the visitors from Shinnston didn’t make any miscues before getting into the end zone.

 

Lincoln would need nine plays to get from its own 2 to the other end of the field. Once again, the Cougars found themselves in a fourth-and-goal from the one and this time the Tribe didn’t have the answer. Kellar took the handoff and dove in off the right side and the game was tied at 6-6 with 5:47 to go before halftime.

 

There was one more similarity between Lincoln’s second drive and Bridgeport’s. Unfortunately, it involved a missed extra point and the two teams were deadlocked.

 

When the Indians got the ball back, it was more of the same by way of the ground. This time, a pooch kick was fielded by Holmes who returned it to the Lincoln 48. It didn’t take long for Bridgeport to take advantage of starting on the LHS side of the field.

 

On this drive, eight plays were needed – including a Gordon Swiger three-yard run on a fourth-and-one at the Lincoln 28 – to regain the lead. The score came on a third-and-seven play when Harris took the handoff and raced through a hole to his right. The senior tailback made two cuts and was off for 22 yards and the score. Kiefer’s second point-after try was true and the Indians had the lead at 13-6 with 2:14 to play.

 

LHS did get the ball back and managed to get near midfield. However, the Indians’ defense finally held up as Brice Haines ended the half with a sack at the Lincoln 40 to set up a fourth down as the game clock expired.

 

Bridgeport had 194 yards of offense in the first half with all of it on the ground. Harris led the way with 122 yards on 16 carries.

 

“Without turnovers, they don’t stop us,” said Nicewarner, frustrated at missed opportunities in the first half. “ … My concern at halftime was what were they going to change. Our offense was stellar. We weren’t flat. We were methodically driving the ball down the field.”

 

Lincoln, who had 20 plays to Bridgeport’s 34, outgained the Tribe with 216 yards – 185 of it through the air.  Carpenter was credited with all the yardage as he hit on 7-of-11 passes in the first half.

 

“They made plays … That’s what they’ve done all year; the scrambling plays,” said Nicewarner.

 

Kellar, Jonathan Leep, and Marks all had two catches, while Riley had the other reception. All four receivers had 40 or more yards with Leep’s two catches for 55 yards leading the way.