Princeton Defeats Bridgeport in Class AAA Semifinals to Advance to Wheeling for State Title Game
By Chris Johnson on November 24, 2023
Princeton's first-ever semifinal playoff game was a memorable one.
The No. 8 Tigers defeated No. 5 Bridgeport, 73-70, Friday at Hunnicutt Stadium in Princeton to earn a spot in the Super Six at Wheeling Island Stadium. 
The Tigers, now 12-1, will face the winner of Saturday's semifinal clash between No. 2 Huntington and No. 3 Martinsburg.
It was a game nobody in attendance will likely forget anytime soon and in a game that featured 143 combined points, well over 1,000 yards of total offense and numerous Class AAA preliminary round playoff records, it was a defensive play that changed everything.
Actually, two defensive plays.
On third-and-one from the Princeton 33, Bridgeport's Jack Spatafore connected with Donovan Williams for a 32-yard pass down to the 1, a touchdown-saving tackle coming from Dom Collins.
The next play from scrimmage saw Bridgeport fumble for the first time since its Oct. 13 game against Preston and the Tigers' Hezekiah Burnette scooped up the loose ball and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown.
"My speed really helps me," Collins said of his tackle of Williams at the 1. "I saw him get behind me and I just can't give up on a play."
Speed is most definitely a word that should be menitoned everytime Collins' name is. He accounted for five touchdowns and had nearly 400 yards of total offense himself. He caught nine passes for 331 yards and had TD catches of 66, 89, 52 and 87 yards. He also scored on a 40-yard run.
"He's a heck of a football player," BHS coach Tyler Phares said. "We tried to bracket him, we tried to contain him, he just made plays."
Princeton sophomore quarterback Chance Bartker completed 16-of-20 passes for 488 yards and a Class AAA playoff record eight touchdowns. In addition to the four to Collins, he hooked up with Marquel Lowe twice and Brad Mosser twice. Lowe also had a rushing touchdown.
The Indians had no shortage of fireworks on offense as they set a AAA preliminary round record for most total yards with 814 (626 on the fround and 188 through the air), breaking the mark of 717 they against Jefferson in 2021.
Tim Jeffress had 266 yards on 16 carries with four touchdowns. Josh Love finished with 165 yards on 22 carries and Zach Rohrig had 105 yards on 14 carries. Alex Moses added 74 yards on seven carries.
Spatafore ran for 16 yards and threw for 188 yards. Williams caught four passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns.
Down 27-7 at halftime, the Indians got a 32-yard kick return from Moses and a 40-yard touchdown run by Jeffress to start the third quarter.
Princeton countered with a 24-yard TD pass from Barker to Lowe but the Indians bounced right back with a 40-yard TD run from Rohrig, showing they were not going to go away easy.
"That's what our kids do," Phares said. "They battle, they fight to the end. That's in their DNA, they are not going to quit.
It was one of the games where you feel bad for the defenses because they are out there trying to make plays
Mosser caught a 51-yard TD catch to put the Tigers up 40-21 before Spatafore hooked up with Williams for a 27-yard TD.
Collins and Jeffress traded off touchown runs, Lowe caught a 52-yard scoring pass from Barker. Jeffress pulled the Tribe within 11 at 54-43 with an 82-yard TD run and still 9:35 left on clock.
Collins caught a 52-yard touchdown pass. The Indians answered with a 59-yard TD catch by Williams that made it 60-50 with 8 minutes to go.
Mosser and Collins scored again, while Bridgeport got two rushing TDs from Love and another from Jeffress. The second of Love's made it a three-point game but the Tigers were able to recover an onside kick and run out the clock to secure the victory and the trip to Wheeling.
