There have been battles in recent years. There have been plenty of battles in the past.

 

Most of the battles in the past were do or die. Some of the more recent ones didn’t always have that tagline on it, but consequences were still in place.

 

At times the showdowns were in Class AAA. In most cases, it was under the Class AA banner.

 

The matchup to which I refer is the sectional battles Bridgeport and Robert C. Byrd in boys’ basketball. While the games haven’t always been masterpieces, the stakes and the intensity were almost always high. And at times, the games were hardcore court warfare of the highest level from the opening tip until the final horn.

 

They’ve been battling it out for bragging rights and a chance to get to the state tournament since RCB came onto the scene in the mid-1990s. While they don’t always meet in the sectional championship, it’s more the norm than the exception and has led to a matchup that’s arguably among the most anticipated in the region and perhaps the state.

 

The series all started off like most games have been in the past. In the 1995-96 season, BHS won the first-ever meeting by a 50-46 score. The Eagles would win the next game by a 48-46 score - both regular season contests as Bridgdeport was Class AA that year.

 

When the teams met for the first time in the postseason during the following season, the Eagles completed a near season sweep by winning two regular season games (the Tribe took a 46-44 Christmas tournament win). In fact, Robert C. Byrd won a 'AAA' sectional by a 53-34 score in one of the few lopsided affairs over the years.

 

Why am I bringing all of this up, particularly knowing there’s no guarantee the two will even meet this year in the postseason? It’s simple.

 

For those hoping the two teams meet in a sectional championship game once again, you should know it’s not going to happen again for quite a while. For that matter, this may officially be the end of potential postseason basketball encounters between the two schools.

 

Starting next year, with the new four-classification alignment, Bridgeport will be Class AAAA. Robert C. Byrd will be Class AAA. For those wanting a taste of the rivalry, the only stakes will be regular season bragging rights.

 

I, for one, will miss the possibility of the two teams playing. I’m sure I’m not alone. Count now retired Coach Mike Robey among the mix.

 

Robey has a unique perspective. He coached for years as an assistant to current RCB Coach Billy Bennett and then spent several years as the head coach of the Indians going up against Bennett and the Eagles before retiring last year.

 

“It’s sad to see to it end,” said Robey. “If not for the (WV)SSAC the possibility of it happening for a while longer would still be there.”

 

Robey is referring to the pilot project for the next couple of seasons of the previously mentioned four classifications in basketball. Robey doesn’t like the entire setup or how Bridgeport got bumped to Class AAAA using a formula not based entirely on enrollment.

 

“Let me say that the SSAC is a complete joke and you can print that,” said Robey. “I hate the AAAA proposal and how some of proposed realignments are potentially splitting up rivalries among schools staying in the same classification. You have Morgantown and University in different sections? That doesn't make any sense.

 

“Part of the fun of the postseason is getting those final bragging rights among rivals,” he continued.  “First off, you have Bridgeport up in Quad A in basketball based on a formula created, I’m assuming, by people smarter than me, and it just doesn’t make sense. It’s disgraceful. The entire proposal is simply an easy way out for the WVSSAC to handle other complaints. Even if it’s a fair formula, the reason for it is wrong.”

 

Robey spent his head coaching time at Bridgeport where a loss in a sectional championship didn’t mean the end of the season. It meant you still had life.

 

“Part of the rivalry was tempered when they changed the format to not being eliminated at the sectional final because if you lost in the sectional final to Byrd you still could get to the state tournament,” said Robey. “Add to that my relationship with Coach Bennet, heck he’s family to me, and the rivalry wasn’t quite as fierce.

 

“Don’t get me wrong, every player wanted to win and Billy and I both wanted to win, but it was still a good, fun rivalry,” he continued. “The animosity, a true hatred, just wasn’t and still isn’t there because these kids are almost all friends and a lot play with each other in the offseason.”

 

Because of that new sectional alignment, in recent years teams that featured Nick Greely, Logan Smith and Dante Bonamico would make it to the state tournament the same year that those with Justin Noble, Luke Dyer and Devonti Birch would also make it. In many years, particularly the years when BHS and RCB were both in Class AAA the stakes were higher.

 

“It was definitely a bigger deal then. If you lost you went home,” said Robey. “There were no second chances.”

 

Some games were classics. A 2006 game I remember at Lincoln High School saw the Indians – on their way to a 20-4 season – get a last-second victory when Patrick Oliverio scored on what turned into a 65-64 nail biter. Honestly, both teams were good enough to go.

 

The next season was the same. The Indians won the sectional title 48-43 and had arguably one of the best ‘AAA’ teams in the state – outside of Huntington who no one could beat. Yet, in both seasons, RCB saw its season end despite being one of the top teams in West Virginia.

 

If the new format existed then, it’s likely both teams would have made it. It did, as Robey said, make those games a bigger deal. There’s only one more chance for it to happen, and that’s on March 6. Bridgeport will have to beat Lincoln to get the opportunity and the Eagles will have to get past Elkins or Liberty.

 

Ironically, this year’s game will see Dave Marshall, who has served as Bill Bennett’s assistant more than once for the Eagles, as the new face on the rivalry. If he gets there, he’ll have one time to see what it’s like on both sides of the fence.

 

After this year, it’s likely everyone will have to settle between a pair of regular season matchups. If it brings us an Andrew Denny 3-point buzzer beater for RCB to top the Tribe or a Nick Carbacio halfcourt heave to see the Indians topple the Eagles, it won’t be as hard to swallow.

 

Whether it’s right or wrong, I just hate to see the always anticipated round three matchup no longer possible for the immediate and probably permanent future.

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Please feel free to comment below about your favorite game, moment or player from the rivalry.

 

EDITOR’S NOTE II:  The top photo shows Nick Greely in the middle during a game from 2015, while Michael Stumpo looks to pass out of the RCB defense in a photo from the first game ever played between the two schools in the second photo. In the third picture, two of the fiercest competitors to lace the shoes up for both programs - BHS's Dante  Bonamico and RCB's Luke  Dyer - go at it, while in the fourth photo a rare line out the door before a sectional game between the two teams is shown. In the bottom photo, RCB's Cody Gilmore inbounds the ball against the defense of Josh Marshall. Second and bottom photos from the Ki-Cu-Wa yearbooks and courtesy of the BHS Journalism Department. All other photos by Ben Queen Photography.