Are you ready for some (Thursday) football? If you’re a traveling fan of the Bridgeport High School team you’re going to need to become one for at least one game this coming season.

 

For those who didn’t look closely at the dates on the 2014 season, you probably didn’t notice the Oct. 2 game at Elkins. However, if you look at that date and the calendar you’ll see that the game falls on a Thursday night as opposed to a standard Friday night affair.

 

It’s not a typographical error. Bridgeport will make the trek to Randolph County to play the Tigers in the Forest Festival Bowl at Wimer Field.  BHS Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Matt DeMotto said the game is usually played on Thursday in conjunction with the Festival as school is closed on Friday.

 

While it’s not the first time Bridgeport has played a game away from Friday in a regular season affair, it’s not something fourth-year Coach Josh Nicewarner is a fan of. All things being equal, he would prefer the game be played on Friday, and for the most basic of reasons.

“I’m definitely not a fan of the time change only because you hate to get out of the routine, but I’m not going to complain about because it is what it is,” said Nicewarner.

 

In recent years, Bridgeport has played a pair of Thursday night games to accommodate games being shown live on WDTV. The Indians played Robert C. Byrd and Lewis County on Thursday for television purposes. The Tribe also played a pair of Saturday games against the Eagles when issues involving vandalism – among others – at a Friday night game led administrators to move the game to an afternoon setting. BHS also traveled to Preston County one year to take on the Knights on a Monday when a hurricane forced the contest to be postponed.

 

“Here’s the thing with this or any other game whether it’s a Friday night or a Thursday night and whether it’s against Robert C. Byrd or anyone  else, if you can’t get jacked up to play a game as a member of this team there’s no special song or speech that’s going to help,” said Nicewarner. “You go out and play hard because that’s what you’re supposed to do and you don’t do it because of the date on the calendar.

 

“When you get down to it, the concerns are the routine being broken, losing a jayvee game and not getting that extra day of rest before your next game,” he continued. “It’s the same thing with rest in the playoffs when you have a Saturday game so, to be honest, we’re just going to go out and play and not give the date a second thought.”

 

Editor's Note: Coach Josh Nicewarner, center, talks with assistants John Cole, left and Jason Nicewarner during a practice session this past week.