Bridgeport Middle School Principal Dave Mazza has been around long enough that when he says looking out for the best interests of the students is top priority it is not hyperbole. The same, he will tell, holds true for student-athletes at BMS.

 

Like a minor league team feeding the major league team, the athletic program is doing what it should be doing at Bridgeport Middle School. It is preparing the student-athletes for the next stop on their athletic journey at the high school just down Johnson Avenue.

 

“Anything we do athletically we do with looking toward what is best for our student-athletes,” he said. “That is why we made this move.”

 

The move is a big one. And it is one Mazza believes will help out the students in grades sixth through eighth at BMS and one that will eventually benefit the athletic programs at Bridgeport High School.

 

Starting during the 2022-23 school year, Bridgeport Middle School – with the exception of football – will once again be a member of a conference. Mazza said they are charter members of the soon-to-be-in-place Mid Mountain 10 Athletic Conference.

 

They will have company. Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School, East Fairmont Middle School, Elkins Middle School, Lincoln Middle School, Mountaineer Middle School, Notre Dame Middle School, Robert L. Bland Middle School, Taylor County Middle School, and Washington Irving Middle School.

 

This is the first conference affiliation in an all-sports league since Bridgeport Middle School – along with South Harrison Middle School – left the Mid-8 Conference. SHMS went to the Little Kanawha Conference and Bridgeport became an independent with everything but football.

 

The Braves will continue to compete in the North Central West Virginia Seven for football. That league includes University Middle School, Morgantown Middle School, Fairmont West Middle School, East Fairmont Middle School, North Marion Middle School, and Preston Middle School.

 

“It was more in line with who the high school was playing in football,” said Mazza. “We left the Mid-8 to be in a more competitive league to play schools more line with what the student-athletes could expect when they got to the high school.

 

“One example is when our kids would be playing freshman football they would be opening up against Wheeling Park and it would be the same pretty much every game,” he continued. “Wheeling would have 30 kids and we’d have 18 and we weren’t getting as prepared as we needed in the Mid-8, which is why we made the switch and why we we’ll stay in our existing conference for football.”

 

Of course, Mazza and those involved with sport decisions at the school could have remained status quo. However, with a new league potentially forming with a whole lot of teams they played and that could have forced them into a situation where they may have struggled to find games to fill schedules.

 

“There was a chance we could have been left out, so I made a few calls,” said Mazza. “Certainly, you want to play teams in Harrison County, so we set up a meeting to discuss getting involved.”

 

The meeting was held at Bridgeport Middle School. Mazza said athletic directions, principals and other key parties were there. From that, the official concept of the Mid Mountain Conference came to fruition.

 

“It’s an all-athletic conference, excluding football where we’ll still be in our regular conference,” said Mazza. “This is going to be great for our programs and the programs of all the member schools.”

 

The programs are almost exclusively local and range in size from Buckhannon-Upshur being the largest to Notre Dame Middle School being the smallest. The schools will participate in league championships in sports they have.

 

As for having a Harrison County championship, Mazza said that will still occur in the danceline. He said the goal is to try and have one for boys’ and girls’ basketball teams as well.

 

“It’s going to be good because it keeps us close for most of our games, with Elkins being the furthest away, and we’re not alone. It helps the other schools to in avoiding constant long trips on weeknights. We’ll still have games outside of our conference in many sports, but the bulk of our games will be against teams nearby,” said Mazza. “We’re fortunate to have flexibility and have a secure schedule at the same time.”

 

One other thing will be in place for the new conference. There are designated sites for league championships – and they are either at a high school or college venue.

 

Next year, the volleyball championship will be held at Grafton High School. Boys’ and girls’ soccer championships will be at Bridgeport High School. Cross country will be on the campus of Davis & Elkins College, while cheerleading will be held at Robert C. Byrd High school. In basketball for boys and girls, Lincoln High School will serve as the hosts. Wrestling will take place at East Fairmont High School, while softball will be playing the league championship at Buckhannon-Upshur High School. Track and field conference bragging rights will be determined at Liberty High School.

 

“Those sites are locked in to make sure we had a place to play so we secured the sites early,” said Mazza. “They are locked in right now, but there is the possibility to change the sites in the future if needed.”

 

Mazza said the bigger league will provide more competition than county championships. He said that is just based on numbers.

 

“You’re looking at a field of nine or ten in most everything,” said Mazza. “I know our cheerleaders have competed in a field of four and now it may be a field of 10. That just makes you better and makes you better for the next level. We’re here to prepare these kids to compete academically and athletically at the next level and this move helps a lot to achieve that.”

 

It is good news for Bridgeport Middle School. It should be good news for the athletic programs at Bridgeport High School as well.