Martinsburg Holds off Bridgeport, 35-21, In Battle of Highly-Ranked Foes
By Michael Minnich on September 04, 2026
The Class AAAA No. 2 Martinsburg Bulldogs created two late turnovers in the red zone to deny the Class AAA No. 1 Bridgeport Indians’ potential game-tying drives, added an insurance TD and claimed a 35-21 win at Wayne Jamison Field on Friday night.
Gavin Williams ran for two TDs and Gabe Martin accounted for the other for the Tribe, who lost for the first time in the regular season since September 1, 2023, a run of 29 games.
"We've got a lot of fight," Bridgeport coach Tyler Phares said. "We've got a bunch of tough, hard-nosed kids. I'm proud of the effort they put in. We made a few mistakes, but it's early in the season. We expected that, but man, they're fighters and they go after people."
Brian Dick ran for two touchdowns and passed for two more for Martinsburg, while Boston Todd had a passing score and a receiving one.
Bridgeport took the opening kickoff and marched methodically, getting first-down runs of 7 yards from Gavin Williams, 9 from Gabe Martin and 8 from Williams to set up a 32-yard TD run by Gabe Martin through the line and up the left side: 7-0, Bridgeport, after Jaylen Brown’s PAT with 6:36 left in the first quarter.
Martinsburg quarterback Brian Dick ripped off 50 yards on the Bulldogs’ opening play, with Williams the last man back to save a TD, but the Tribe stopped Boston Todd for a 2-yard loss and Williams broke up a pass attempt into the end zone.
Martinsburg took a timeout before third-and-12 and it appeared the Tribe had a vital stop after Dick’s throw into the end zone fell incomplete, but a roughing the passer call handed Martinsburg a first down.
Dick kept it two plays later for the 4-yard TD: 7-all after with Andrew Bean’s boot with 4:51 left in the first quarter.
A 74-yard kickoff return by Wiliams gave Bridgeport a short field and he finished the job on third-and-4 from the 18-yard line with 3:02 left in the first quarter: 14-7.
After a kickoff out of bounds, Martinsburg again worked quickly, getting a 31-yard pass from Dick to Todd, a 15-yard penalty and a 15-yard TD toss from Dick to Todd to tie the score at 14 with 1:45 left in the quarter.
Bridgeport failed to score on its next trip and Martinsburg converted on fourth-and-very-long-to-goal as Todd, throwing instead of receiving, found Christian Irving in a postage-stamp-sized space in the front left corner of the end zone for the 28-yard touchdown: 21-14 with 5:54 on the second-quarter clock.
The other way, Martin converted a third-and-short across midfield, but Williams was stopped just short on a sweep on fourth down.
The Bulldogs took over at their own 38 with 2:17 remaining in the half, but Bridgeport’s defense got a quick 3-and-out.
Bridgeport had 36 seconds left in the half to go 96 yards and despite a solid run from Martin, ran out of time.
They quickly took that possession back, though, when Williams recovered his own onside kick, then darted 35 yards on the subsequent drive to paydirt.
The PAT tied the score at 21 with 9:51 left in the third quarter.
"I felt we were able to move them off the ball a little better than in previous years," Phares said. "Our offensive line really came to work tonight and did a really good job."
Dick flicked the ball to Zane Whipf at the Martinsburg 45 for a first down on third-and-long, then made a tremendous play to dodge two sack attempts and scramble for a gain of 10 on third-and-15.
He called his own number again on fourth down to move the chains, but a bad snap two plays later brought up third-and-37.
But Dick went short on a screen to Todd and he romped down to the Tribe 9.
"They get their guys in space. It was tough for us to rally and tackle there. Third-and-long killed us tonight," Phares said. "But they're a good football team."
Dick finished from there on the next play and the lead went back to Martinsburg, 28-21, with 3:43 left in the third quarter.
Williams bit off 24 yards down to the Martinsburg 27, then carried the ball into the red zone.
Martin moved the chains with a hard-nosed run up the middle, then Bridgeport faced a second-and-3 from the Bulldogs’ 6-yard line to open the fourth quarter.
Williams navigated the ball to the 2 for a fresh set of downs, but Martin, trying to get over the pile, fumbled the ball and Martinsburg recovered in the end zone.
"I thought we were doing a good job of wearing them down there, just shot ourselves in the foot a few times," Phares said. "But they're a really good football team and they push you to the limit."
Martinsburg moved across midfield behind Todd and Dick, but Graham Vincent intercepted a Dick pass at his own 15 with 10:17 on the clock.
"It was great. It's a kid making a big play. He could have had one earlier, but he jumped it a little bit too early. Great momentum swing," Phares said.
Williams gained 12, then Martin pushed the pigskin up to the BHS 40 two plays later.
Vincent nearly busted one down the right side, but a diving tackle stopped the momentum at the Martinsburg 40.
Aiden Gorby’s first touch of the night was a successful one, gaining another first down at the MHS 30.
Martinsburg’s defense put up a wall on the next three snaps, though, and Bridgeport burned a timeout facing fourth-and-11 with 5:01 left.
Williams lined up out wide, Vincent threw it his way and a pass interference flag sustained the drive.
A flag for a false start backed Bridgeport behind the sticks and on a third-down throw, Colby Walker was there to intercept Vincent with 3 minutes left.
"Not coming up with points there was big. We got behind the sticks, got a penalty, got a dropped snap, that's what led to that. And then you get a little bit desperate towards the end. Simple mistakes that can be fixed and will be fixed. These kids have a lot of pride and they will get better," Phares said.
Whipf’s 74-yard TD with 1:17 left added insurance.
"This is why you schedule the team. It's going to be a knock-down, drag-out kind of game. Both sides played extremely hard," Phares said. "Everybody was cramping on both sides. That just comes from straining. I'm really happy with the effort."
Martinsburg (2-0) has a bye next week before hosting Canisius (N.Y.) on September 19.
Bridgeport (1-1) remains home to play East Fairmont next Friday at 7 p.m.
"It's easy to get frustrated, but you know the kids that were there making the mistakes are the same kids I want to have with the ball in their hands in November and December," Phares said. "It's going to be great to learn from this and get back to the drawing board on Monday."
.jpg)
