New Bridgeport High School head football Coach Tyler Phares is not a native of Bridgeport. For that matter, he is not a native of Harrison County or even West Virginia for that matter.

 

He is native to the most important thing – the game of football. And that, more than anything, is why Phares is now the 19^th head coach in Bridgeport’s long and storied history of the sport.

 

“My love for football goes back a long way,” said Phares who was born in Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. “I was actually a water boy and a ball boy at the school where my dad was principal (Staunton River High School). From the time I’ve been able to stand by myself, I’ve been on the sidelines.”

 

If he was not the water boy or ball boy, it was as a player. Like many from this area, Phares found himself playing in the youth leagues such as pee wee to Pop Warner. And during those early playing years before hitting high school, he did one thing that benefitted him tremendously.

 

“I never really had one position. I’ve played just about every position on the field at some point,” said Phares.

 

The position on the field became a position on a West Virginia field during his freshman year in high school. He moved to Randolph County in the early 2000s where he played for the Tigers up until the 2004 season where he graduated in 2005.

 

At the time, Elkins was a member of the now defunct North Central Athletic Conference. The Tigers were also Class AAA and the Indians were Class AA.

 

“We never played against Bridgeport. It was likely because of our classification and likely because we were in the NCAC,” said Phares. “That doesn’t mean I didn’t know about Bridgeport.”

 

In this state, even in the pre-everyone has a cellphone, texting, and whatever takes place today, most players knew about Bridgeport High School’s football program.

 

“Actually, the first thing I knew about was the baseball team. My senior year, the baseball team I can remember being fantastic,” said Phares. “As for the football team, I knew about the program. You just heard about the dominant running attack that usually beat teams in the Big 10 and their opponents in Class AA. You would be watching the news, and you could see them just pounding teams into submission with the running game. It was impressive to see.”

 

After the playing career was over, Phares earned a degree from West Virginia Wesleyan. When he was finished, he returned to his alma mater where he coached under Greg Hott. And it was there he met the man he would succeed, Coach John Cole, back in 2010.

 

“I met him during scrimmages against Bridgeport in 2010 and 2011. After those scrimmages, we would do 7-on-7 drills and the lines would work against one another,” said Phares. “Coach Cole was coaching the lineman like I was, and I’d pick his ear on anything about the line because of the success the running game had. You don’t run like that program was running the ball without a line that knows what it’s doing.

 

“I got to know him a bit and it was a few years later, when I came back to coach at Morgantown High School with the offensive line, that I saw him again at a scrimmage,” Phares continued. “We talked a little bit, I listened to any advice he had, and we became friends.”

 

That friendship provided benefits. A few years ago, when Bridgeport had an assistant job come open, one of the people Cole called to gauge their interest was Tyler Phares.

 

“He called to see if I was interested in applying, even though he couldn’t guarantee anything,” said Phares. “I can tell you it didn’t take long to decide. It was not a long phone conversation because I knew I wanted to be there.”

 

He arrived in Bridgeport in April of 2018 as the offensive coordinator. And things have gone fairly well. There has been a Class AA semifinal appearance, a Class AA state championship, and a Class AAA runner-up spot – albeit a unique finish in the COVID-19-squashed season.

 

It was Phares who was the key individual on the coaching staff that switched Bridgeport’s offense from the power pistol to the single-wing attack that saw a 40-plus point per game average. And it is Phares who understand already that the emphasis will always be on running the ball when it comes to Bridgeport.

 

“Anyone worried about me changing the tradition of running the ball, that is not going to happen,” said Phares with a laugh. “The power pistol was a variation of the single wing and the stick-I. The single wing blockings schemes are the same up front and with our personnel it gave us a better opportunity to win with faster, smaller kids.

 

“When you have a bigger kid like a Carson Winkie or a Brett Hathaway, downhill power runners, that is when you use those same schemes, but in the stick-I,” Phares continued. “The base will be the same and we’ll look at how we adjust each year because even though the names of the offense are different, how we block, and the philosophy is still the same.”

 

One other thing will be the same if Phares has his way. His predecessor will be back on the sidelines filling a spot on the coaching staff.

 

“I would absolutely love to have him back,” said Phares of Cole, who has indicated he would be happy to return as an assistant. “The first business call I make will be to ask him to come back.”

 

As for his first business with the team in his new role, that will take place Feb. 15. And it will take place at 3 p.m.

 

On that day, at that time, it will be the first day athletes are allowed to life and work on speed and agility. Phares is looking forward to it – and for all the right reasons.

 

“I’m happy to be the new coach, but this is not about me, nor should it be,” said Phares. “The hiring is a way to keep things on track with as little change as possible, and to continue what I’ve been blessed to be part of since I got here. What’s been going on here has been going on for decades, and I have all intentions of that continuing.”

 

Editor's Note: Photos showing Tyler Phares coaching with Bridgeport are by Ben Queen Photography. Photo of Phares as a player with Elkins High School and during his time coaching in Virginia are courtesy of Tyler Phares.