From the Bench: A Problem for BHS Football for 2026
By Jeff Toquinto on September 28, 2025 from Sports Blog
Teams dropping Bridgeport High School from their football schedule is not necessarily a new trend. For as long as I can remember, putting a schedule together has been a tall task for every athletic director at the school along Johnson Avenue.
Some teams drop them because of a scheduling conflict. Some teams drop them because of joining a conference. Some teams, well, would just prefer to travel a lot longer and not play BHS, or for any other number of reasons.
Mark Jones dealt with it. Matt DeMotto and Mark DeFazio did during their runs as the school’s AD. Tom Sears, the school’s assistant 
principal, and current athletic director, knows all too well of the task of putting together a schedule reasonable to the program and fair on mileage for the fans.
principal, and current athletic director, knows all too well of the task of putting together a schedule reasonable to the program and fair on mileage for the fans.
While he often works on the schedule during the school year, most of the time that is done knowing a contract is about to come up and the football season is in the rearview mirror. Not too often do athletic directors find out during the actual football season and immediately after a game that someone has opted to drop them for the next agreed upon contest.
Unfortunately, Sears and the Indians program is in that rare situation right now. Even rarer is that Sears not only understands the reason that a team has put the 2026 schedule with a hole in it, but fully agrees with it.
For those that do not know, back on Sept. 5, the Indians – for only the second time in school history – played an out-of-state opponent. Heritage High School out of Virginia, which is considered a Class AAAA foe, had agreed to a two-game series with the Indians for 2025 and 2026. Both games were to be played at Wayne Jamison Field.
Not long after the 33-14 lighting-shortened win by the Tribe, Sears got word that Heritage was going to drop the contest. Before we talk about why, Sears briefly talked about how happy he was that Heritage arrived.
“We appreciate them coming to Bridgeport and participating in the game. We felt strongly that they were a solid opponent, and we still feel that way,” said Sears. “We all just wish, administrators and coaches, that they were closer.”
While Heritage came in knowing the travel time of five-plus hours would be extensive, they did not know how hard it would be on all involved. As it turned out, Sears said it was nearly a six-hour trip to get to BHS.
Once in Bridgeport, things did not get better – and that is not counting the loss.
“The cost of them coming here proved not only not to be feasible, but it put a hardship on the families trying to make the trip as well,” said
Sears. “It just doesn’t work out for them logistically, and we certainly understand that.”
Sears. “It just doesn’t work out for them logistically, and we certainly understand that.”
If the travel time and cost getting to Bridgeport, the lightning delay, and setback did not put a bad taste in the mouth of the guests from Virginia, then the trip home did. Sears said Heritage had to make arrangements to switch bus drivers due to the original driver having too much time behind the wheel. Add to that there was a bus mishap where a window blew out while driving home and the trip back to Virginia late at night became one that ended about 6 a.m. that Saturday morning.
“It should have been a great and fun evening, but it turned into something else,” said Sears. “The whole thing turned into a hardship situation, which we certainly would not want to see happen to anyone, let alone a team traveling hundreds of miles to come here.”
That, of course, leads to who fills the spot. Sears is already working on it.
“We have week two open, and we have been actively working on it,” said Sears.
Had Heritage remained, Bridgeport would have had six home games next year. Having the ability to open a new series on the road is beneficial, he said.
“It provides more flexibility, but we would love to stick to having it at home for the obvious reasons of being easier for the team, the parents, the fans, and it’s even better financially,” said Sears. “But we’ll do what we have to do to make it work next year.”
The same reason Heritage is not coming back is one of the reasons Sears knows it will not be a layup to find a team. Teams’ schedules must line up, Sears does not want to bus the program for hours, and you want a challenging schedule, but you do not want to over 
schedule.
schedule.
So, who could fill the spot? No possibilities were given, but Sears said he is confident they will know something in the months ahead.
“We always have irons in the fire, so to speak,” said Sears. “At the same time, I’m realistic. I know teams are playing right now and most ADs are not thinking about it. They may think about it by late October and into November, but right now, it’s unlikely too many athletic directors are working on schedules for football.”
The good news is that I know from past conversations with Sears about schedules that he has worked the phones statewide and, as Heritage showed us, beyond the state. It is a process he inherited from his predecessors.
“I will say scheduling football in high school is challenging and those preceding me here I’m confident would say the same. It’s possible, and always gets done, but it doesn’t come easy,” he said. “We’re also not just looking for anyone, but someone that fits into our idea of what a good week two game would be.
“I do not know who it will be,” he continued. “I do know every option is on the table.”
The best option would be to have easily filled the spot shortly after Heritage’s decision. That, however, is something Sears knew would not happen.
“Honestly, I would have liked to have had it ironed out yesterday,” Sears said. “The next best thing is getting it ironed out in a quick fashion tomorrow.”
Editor's Note: Top photo of Tom Sears and bottom photos of Bridgeport action against Heritage by Joe LaRocca.
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