Although it was – and still is – a contest that was for amusement and fun only, a lot of individuals wanted to have their say on who they believed was the best state championship team in Bridgeport High School football history. In fact, nearly 1,000 votes were tallied in the two weeks the poll was up.

 

As it turned out, it became a three-horse race. What was interesting is that the three teams represented the most recent state title teams, the teams from the 1970s and even the oldest state championship team.

 

When all was complete, the 1979 team ended up capturing the largest amount of votes. The squad included some of the top players in Bridgeport High School. In the end, the team finished the year 13-0 and captured the Class AAA state title with a 20-7 win against St. Albans.

 

What made the team, coached by Wayne Jamison, unique was that they were officially Class AA in enrollment and opted to compete in Class AAA. And they also pulled off one of the biggest upsets in playoff history by toppling Parkersburg by a 7-6 score in the Class AAA semifinals in a game that was played in front of a capacity crowd at Hite Field.

 

Here are the game by game results for the 1979 squad:

 

W – BHS 42, Elkins 7

W – BHS 46, Grafton 0

W – BHS 20, Liberty 0

W – BHS 26, East Fairmont 0

W – BHS 26, Lincoln 8

W – BHS 39, Washington Irving 0

W – BHS 27, Lewis County 8

W – BHS 50, Philip Barbour 0

W – BHS 28, Fairmont Senior 0

W – BHS 14, Buckhannon-Upshur 0

W – BHS 35, Lincoln 0

W – BHS 7, Parkersburg 6

W – BHS 20, St. Albans 7

 

While the 1979 team was the one receiving the most votes, the battle for second and third place was decided by one vote. The 2015 team’s most recent championship resonated with the voters as the club captured 21.6 percent of the vote compared to the third place unit – the 1955 squad – that was one vote shy and managed to haul in 21.5 percent of the vote.

 

The 2015 squad, coached by Josh Nicewarner, finished the year 13-0-1. It was the third straight Class AA state championship for the Indians and concluded with a 39-0 win against Tolsia in the title game. It was the only shutout in nine state title wins by BHS.

 

John Murphy’s 1955 team won the Class A championship (the classifications were different in 1955) with a 9-1 record. The school’s first even championship season ended at 9-1 and with a 39-13 win against Webster Springs in the state title game.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows a gang tackle in the Class AAA semifinal game vs. Parkersburg, while Brad Minetree is shown with his famous catch in the second photo. Photo below shows quarterback Robert Marra on a scramble.