From the Bench: Venue where One of BHS's Greatest Playoff Football Plays Ever Took Place May be Done
By Jeff Toquinto on May 18, 2025 from Sports Blog
In the history of Bridgeport High School football, there have been many great plays. Plenty of them, when you have as many state titles as Bridgeport has, have been produced in the postseason.
It would be hard to argue the pass from Pete Curry to Gary Lhotsky on a fake extra-point try in overtime number four against Winfield to win the Class AA state championship 29-28 over Winfield at Mountaineer Field is not number one on the list. And there are certainly plenty of others worthy of mentioning.
Anthony Bonamico’s defensive tip of a hail Mary against Wayne at the goal line to secure the Indians’ 14-13 win on the Class AA state title game in Wheeling’s final play in 2013 is up there. Dylan Tonkery’s 51-yard touchdown pass reception on what was essentially a busted
play just seconds before halftime in what was a 0-0 game against Fairmont Senior in a Class AA 2015 semifinal won 28-20 by BHS at Wayne Jamison Field is another.
play just seconds before halftime in what was a 0-0 game against Fairmont Senior in a Class AA 2015 semifinal won 28-20 by BHS at Wayne Jamison Field is another.
In all of those cases, the fields – like the memories – are still in place. As for memories of another of the greatest plays ever in postseason history, it is likely the venue may be finished.
The play in question came during the 1979 Class AAA playoffs against powerhouse Parkersburg. The venue? It was Clarksburg’s Hite Field.
Bridgeport would win the game 7-6 in a muddy mess of a contest. It was also, as BHS football super fan Mark Trippett said, a packed house.
“You could argue that was the biggest crowd, and definitely among the biggest, for a Bridgeport football game. Both sides were full, the horseshoe was 
jampacked and it was several people deep and standing room only along the fence,” said Trippett.
jampacked and it was several people deep and standing room only along the fence,” said Trippett.
Trippett, it should be noted, is no casual fan. He’s been attending almost every single game since 1970. From 1971 to 1981, until he missed a game, and then again from 1981 to 1991, he never missed a contest. Since the early 1970s, Trippett has been to well over 90 percent of the games, only recently missing a few each year.
That said, many remember the play this blog centers around. It involved a pass play that, essentially, put BHS in position to win against a Parkersburg team many felt would roll the Indians. The fact that a pass play, under run-at-all-cost football coaching legend Wayne Jamison, makes it even better.
“I’m sure it had to be third down. We only threw on third down,” then quarterback Bobby Marra said when talking about the critical play back in 2012.
To only call it critical would not do justice. In the muck and mire at Hite Field on a cold fall day, the Indians found themselves down 6-0 to Parkersburg. PHS not only came into the game as one of the biggest Class AAA schools in the state but were facing a BHS team that had opted to play up a class as opposed to playing in AA, where they belonged. Bridgeport was the smallest Class AAA school in the state that season.
The throw was from Marra. Brad Minetree made the catch. Minetree’s catch came late in the second half, and it came after the Indians had apparently recovered a fumble and the officials ruled such was not the case. And the catch certainly came after two unsportsmanlike penalties made Bridgeport’s situation go from frustrating to troublesome.
Yet, after the call didn’t go their way and the penalties put Parkersburg in position to extend its lead, the Indians stiffened. In fact, once BHS got the ball back it went to work on what would prove to be a drive for the ages. And in a drive where the game and a state championship berth were on the line, Minetree produced one of the biggest catches in BHS history.
“I believe it was a post flag pattern, and I remember the field just a muddy mess. I threw it up and, honestly, it wasn’t the best of passes I’ve ever had,” Marra said. “Brad just went up and reached over the defender and pulled it down. It was just a great catch.
Minetree’s reception put the ball down deep in Parkersburg territory. A few plays later, Marra ran it in from one yard away. After that, Jon Pinti booted in the game-winning extra point.
“We actually beat Lincoln at Hite Field before beating Parkersburg. In 1978 we beat George Washington and then lost to Parkersburg, both at Hite Field,” said Trippett. “I’m pretty sure those were the only four playoff games Bridgeport hosted at Hite Field.”
Why at Hite Field?
“Bridgeport’s field didn’t meet the WVSSAC standards to host; I think it was capacity,” said Trippett. “It still had small wooden bleachers on 
both sides.”
both sides.”
So, why are we talking about Hite Field?
For those who do not know, Hite Field next year will no longer have any public school calling it home. At the high school level alone, it has hosted as many as four schools at a time including schools such as Washington Irving, Liberty, Roosevelt-Wilson, Notre Dame, and Victory.
In recent weeks, the field has remained but the bleachers that were set up for a few thousand people are gone. Not some of the bleachers, but all of the bleachers from the horseshoe to the sidelines where the press box still stands.
Recently, Exterior Property Maintenance was hired to demolish the bleachers. Their work is done. Understand, the bleachers were not removed to be relocated or to allow for new ones.
“Bleachers are something we’ve always had inspected, but now they require it annually. All the facilities were inspected and some required small repairs and there were no issues with the integrity of the structures,” said Harrison County Superintendent of Schools Dora Stutler. “Hite Field was different. There were all kinds of issues relating to the height of railing to rust underneath. The bleachers were condemned in their entirety.”
The condemnation came from Barber & Hoffman, Inc., an engineering firm out of Ohio. Michael R. Miller, P.E., inspected Hite Field’s bleachers.
With no bleachers, and no teams utilizing it in 2025-26 on the public-school front, what is next? The answer is not clear.
“There have been some discussions by the Board (of Education),” said Stutler of the elected body. “Right now, we don’t know what to do 
with the property. The only approval was for the removal of the bleachers.”
with the property. The only approval was for the removal of the bleachers.”
Stutler said one of the problems with replacing the bleachers and maintaining the property is cost – bleacher replacement is an extremely expensive proposition. Stutler said the fact Hite Field is not set to be utilized by, or attached to a, public school limits avenues to get funding.
“We cannot go after funding for improvements from the SBA or put our own money into with schools not using it,” she said. “We do know that is a very nice piece of property and the discussion has mentioned a future community use on the athletic front, but nothing is definitive.
“The board will make a decision on it, but it’s going to be a difficult one,” she continued. “There’s a lot of nostalgia with Hite Field. The community has many fond memories there.”
One of those memories involves one of the greatest plays in Bridgeport High School football playoff history. The bleachers may be gone, and the venue may fade, but Marra to Minetree is a memory that will last into eternity.
Editor's Note: Top photo shows Brad Minetree pulling down "the catch" against Parkersburg, while the second photo shows quarterback Bobby Marra and Coach Wayne Jamison. Both photos provided previously by former educator Alice Rowe and the BHS Journalism Department. Third photo shows debris from the bleachers going unceremoniously into a dumpster, while items are being picked up in the fourth photo. The aerial shot in the fifth image show Exterior Property Management of Parkersburg putting the finishing touches on the bleacher removal, while the photo after that show the remains of the bleachers that sat in the area known as the horseshoe at Hite Field. Aerial below shows the field minus all the bleachers. Aerial images courtesy of Exterior Property Management and Brandon Parsons.
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