In a game that featured what will arguably be considered among the greatest plays in Bridgeport High School football history, six second half touchdowns and plenty of offense in the final two periods, it was defense that carried the day for the Indians. And it is defense that has the Tribe heading back to Wheeling to compete for their third straight Class AA state championship.

 

Bridgeport stood up to its biggest challenge of the year and managed to withstand it in what turned out to be a 28-20  win against Fairmont Senior in the ‘AA’ semifinals tonight at Jamison Field. BHS will now face Tolsia, a 22-0 winner over Mingo Central, next week at Wheeling Island Stadium.

 

Getting back to Wheeling, however, was far from easy. Instead of coasting north looking to earn a shot at defending their title, the Tribe battled nearly every single minute of every quarter. Bridgeport earned the right to go back despite giving up a season-high 356 yards of offense and being outgained by nearly 40 yards.

 

That, of course, may lead one to wonder just how the Indians’ defense won the game. As the defense has done multiple times this year by not only bending and not breaking, but by coming up with game-changing plays.

 

Of their 28 points, two scores came courtesy of the defense. Without those scores, it could be the Polar Bears that would be looking for a state title next week.

 

“Our defense won it for us in ways a lot of people didn’t see and some big ways they did see. The defense put 14 points on the board for us in a game where our offense only gets 14,” said BHS Coach Josh Nicewarner. “ … It’s a testament to our kids making the big plays, particularly on defense, when we had to.”

 

Certainly, few plays were bigger defensively than the one made by Elijah Drummond with 4:46 to play in the contest and Bridgeport clinging to a 21-14 lead. With Fairmont starting deep in its own territory, a Bridgeport sack on first down put the Polar Bears in an even bigger hole at their own 3-yard line. With a pass play appearing to be coming, Drummond stepped in front of a FSHS pass and went untouched 15 yards for a pick six and what appeared to be a safe 28-14 lead – following the final of four Koby Kiefer point-after kicks – with less than five minutes to play.

 

“We had been preparing for that play all week and had a play set up for that,” said Drummond. “That’s all on (defensive) Coach Jason (Nicewarner). The coaches had me in the right spot at the right time and I just took it in for the touchdown. We knew they had a tendency in that situation to go to the sticks and I sat there and the ball game right to me.”

 

As they had done the entire game, Fairmont Senior showed resiliency. The visitors needed 10 plays to cover 54 yards to pull to within 28-20 with 2:53 still left on the clock following a missed point-after kick. Dom Smith hit Bryson Gilbert out of the backfield for an eight-yard scoring strike and Polar Bears were still alive.

 

The death of the Bears’ football season, though, was only postponed. Following a cleanly fielded kickoff by Hunter Haddix, Bridgeport iced the game when Zack Spurlock managed to rip off a 15-yard run on a third-and-six play to allow the Tribe to finish out the game in the victory formation.

 

“That game was tough from start to finish,” said Nicewarner. “Quite frankly, if it’s not for the determination of our kids I don’t think we get back (to Wheeling). We did some big things when we needed it most.”

 

None, however, may have been bigger than what happened at the end of the first half. In fact, with the second period winding to a close the Indians turned in a play that will be talked about for years, if not decades to come.

 

In what had become a grind-it-out scoreless first half, it appeared that at worst Fairmont Senior would be heading into the locker room at 0-0 against the Indians. The worst, however, was about to come and it was about to come in the form of Dylan Tonkery.

 

Bridgeport got the ball back late in the second quarter by way of a punt and with 3:47 showing on the clock before halftime. Considering the Tribe’s offense was less than potent, things weren’t looking positive as the Bears’ defense, field position and the clock didn’t have things in the Tribe’s favor.

 

Still, the Indians methodically worked the ball to midfield when everything pointed to a stalled drive. Facing a third-and-nine at its own 49 and with the clock under 30 seconds, Bridgeport lined up for a pass play. The play was supposed to go to J.T. Harris or Mackenzie Holmes in the flat, but FSHS had the play snuffed out. 

 

To compound matters, the Polar Bears also managed to bring incredible pressure and force quarterback Spurlock to spin away from the attack pouring down on him. Just as the visitors were set to pounce, Spurlock flipped it to Tonkery near midfield and what happened next left one side in stunned silence and the other side of Jamison Field in jubilation.

Tonkery took the pass in front of the Tribe’s bench and quickly maneuvered past a few defenders and began to work toward midfield. Once there, his speed outdistanced several others before a juke of a FSHS defender in space seemed to give Tonkery a shot at scoring. That shot then became more than just possible when Seth Friel barreled down the field and de-cleated one of the few Fairmont Senior defenders back and then Tonkery outraced everyone else to the end zone for the 51-yard passing play.

 

“I knew Spur was about to get sacked so, even though I was supposed to be blocking, I put my hands up and he tossed it to me and turned around and was able to squirm away from a few guys,” said Tonkery. “After that, I looked up and saw what looked like the whole team coming down the right side and I got behind a lot of them.  There were some good blocks, particularly the one by Seth Friel, which set me free for the touchdown. I saw (Friel) in my peripheral vision and waited a second and he just knocked the guy completely out of the way and it was wide open after that.”

 

What probably makes the play even harder for FSHS to swallow as it was simply designed to get the Indians out of the half. And it never materialized as designed.

 

“We knew Senior saw that play and we weren’t trying to surprise them. I just wanted to get out of the half with a play that looked like a screen, but wasn’t meant to be a screen,” the coach said. “ … Spur, Dylan and the other nine guys didn’t give up on it and that play showed our will to win.”

 

The score came with just 8.7 seconds left in the half. Kiefer’s point-after kick made it 7-0 as the team’s headed into the halftime break.

 

Bridgeport finished with 170 yards of offense in the first half, but only threatened seriously one other time. And that came on the game’s first drive.

 

Following a strong Mackenzie Holmes return to the BHS 42 to start the game, Bridgeport went to work with what has been a hallmark of the program – a pounding, grind-it-out drive. BHS used eight plays to get to the Fairmont 22-yard line before facing a fourth-and-one. On the play, Spurlock kept the ball and the Polar Bears’ Dante’ Stills sniffed it out ending the threat.

 

Fairmont didn’t score in the opening half, but found itself literally within inches of the Bridgeport goal line. Starting at their own 41, Fairmont Senior would find itself getting all the way inside the Indians’ one-yard-line when misfortune made an unwelcome visit.

 

On a third-and-goal play on the one foot line, Fairmont jumped off sides. Bridgeport then was called for a hold to make it third-and-goal at the 3-yard-line. With FSHS back in its shotgun formation after altering to the I-formation inside the one, the snap back to Smith was never handled properly. As Smith tried to gather it in the ball squirted loose and Matt Dillon pounced on it for the Tribe at the Bridgeport seven to end the threat.

 

“That stop that we made down there was just huge. You can’t measure how big that was,” said Nicewarner.

 

The game was a struggle throughout the first half. Bridgeport had just 170 yards on 28 plays – 51 of which came on the scoring pass. Tonkery also added 55 yards rushing on 11 carries.

 

Fairmont finished the half with 102 yards on 21 plays. Smith completed 7-of-12 passes for 86 yards to lead the attack.

 

The numbers in no way indicated what was about to come in the second half. And it was coming in a hurry once the final two period got under way.

 

The hope for Bridgeport was that the play would not only give it the momentum in the second half, but dash the hopes – or at least put doubt in the minds – of the visiting Polar Bears. If Tonkery’s play didn’t do it, then Luke Southern certainly added to it early in the third period.

 

After Fairmont Senior converted on a fourth down play at its own 38, the celebrating would be short lived. On the very next play from scrimmage, a pass to the right side sailed and Southern, as he’s done much of the year, broke perfectly on the ball and hauled it in. Southern then went untouched 47 yards for the pick six and the Kiefer point-after made it 14-0 with 10:41 to play.

 

“I’ve been practicing that particular play all week and the coaches had the defense ready for it,” said Southern. “I just read it right and came up and was able to make the play. Once I got it I saw nothing but green in front of me.”

 

The doubt anticipated from the two-score deficit never materialized and the Polar Bears responded. And they responded in Bridgeport fashion with a long, time-consuming drive.

 

Fairmont used 14 plays and went 79 yards to finally get on the board. The Polar Bears were a perfect four-for-four on third down conversions on the drive. The most crucial of which came on a third-and-goal from the eight.

 

After two straight incompletions, Smith showed why he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the state. Smith shook off the two bad passes, took advantage of good protection and found Gilbert circling out of the backfield and wide open for an eight-yard scoring strike. David Childers’ point-after kick made it 14-7 with 6:36 showing on the clock.

 

The good news for Bridgeport was that it still had the lead. The bad news was that the Indians wouldn’t hold it for long.

 

After Bridgeport’s next drive stalled near midfield, Fairmont seemed to be in trouble once again as – after getting a big play to get out of the hole – it faced a third-and-10 at its own 33. The yardage wouldn’t be a problem as Smith stepped up and hit Nick Davisson in stride with J.T. Harris blanketing him. Once Davisson got the ball, he broke free and went the remaining distance all alone for what would eventually lead to a tie score from 67 yards out with 1:59 showing on the third period clock.

 

Despite the huge momentum swing, Bridgeport finally put together its only penalty free and sustained drive of the game once it got the ball back. Tonkery started and ended the drive in strong fashion as he kicked off a seven-play, 63-yard scoring drive with a 32-yard run and ended it with a five-yard score with 11:32 to play. The touchdown and point-after put BHS up for good at 21-14 despite each team scoring one more time.

 

Tonkery finished the game with 109 yards on 17 carries. Spurlock added 82 yards on 17 runs. BHS ran the ball 52 times for 267 yards.

 

“Fairmont Senior had a lot to do with the struggles we had offensively,” said Nicewarner. “The good news is that we didn’t give up and created some of our own luck.”

 

The Indians hurt themselves continually with penalties as well. Bridgeport had 10 penalties, including four five-yard infractions on first down.

 

“How many times did we shoot ourselves in the foot on first down? This isn’t the type of team that can play against that caliber of opponent and be in first-and-15 constantly,” said Nicewarner. “Stupid penalties … the offense isn’t helping this team win the playoffs.”

 

Smith finished the game with 302 yards passing. He completed 20-of-37 passes with Davisson hauling in four for 114 yards and Joseph Leon getting seven receptions for 112 yards.

 

The state championship game is set for next Friday at Wheeling Island Stadium. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live on WAJR 103.3 FM.

 

Travis Jones will do the play by play and will be joined by Fred Persinger on color. Chris Lawrence will be the sideline reporter for the MetroNews broadcast.

 

Editor's Note: Photos by www.benqueenphotography.com.