What do Bridgeport High School Principal Matt DeMotto, football Coach John Cole and the late actor Burt Reynolds and the movie Smokey and the Bandit have in common?

 

The best that I can tell, considering DeMotto and Cole don’t have moustaches like Reynolds and neither drive a Trans-Am, there’s not much. No, this isn’t part of a bad joke.

 

What you’re about to read is the origin of a theme song that came out prior to the 2018 Class AA playoffs and carried on into the 2019 season and playoffs as well. It’s a song that probably left a whole lot of adults in the audience scratching their heads and most of the players trying to figure out what on earth was coming over the sound system.

 

The song blaring is East Bound and Down. The root of that song has nothing to do with HBO series of the same name that came out in 2009.

 

You must rewind back to 1977. At that time Jerry Reed, who starred in the movie with Reynolds, released it as part of the Smokey and the Bandit soundtrack.

 

The song was good then. In fact, it spent 16 weeks on the country music charts and topped out at number two.

 

So, what does it have to do with the Indians and their football program? It goes back to the 2018 season just prior to the start of the playoffs.

 

“I remember myself, (BHS Principal) Mr. (Matt) DeMotto and (Assistant Principal) Mr. (Mark) Jones were driving to Parkersburg on a Sunday for the playoffs pairings meeting when it happened,” said Indians Coach John Cole. “We’re talking and Matt was joking around saying it’s time to quit work and just hit the road. He said he was going to get on a big rig and go across the country.”

 

DeMotto recalls the conversation as well, and why the statement came up.

 

“We were just talking about frustrations of people, particularly coaches, having their work put on display for people who have no idea what they’re talking that openly criticize individuals,” said DeMotto. “When you’re a coach your work is display for anyone that wants to watch. When you’re in a job like an accountant, your work is only on display to your client.”

 

“That’s when I said when I retired, I just want to get into a truck and go east bound and down,” DeMotto said. “… I’d make sure I’d have my Yosemite Sam mud flaps that say, ‘back off’ as well.”

 

Cole, not one to let an opportunity pass by, looked up the old song on his phone. A few minutes later, it was playing and DeMotto had his window down, elbow out as his truck exited the roadway to get to the meeting with the WVSSAC.

 

“It was pretty funny. For whatever reason, we decided to play that during the playoffs that year,” said Cole. “I never really picked up on the lyrics. I just thought it was comical.”

 

DeMotto thought it was good too.

 

“I was up in the press box when it was playing that first year and the fans right in front of the window were telling the guys running the system to turn it down. “I knew the story behind it and told them to turn it up,” said DeMotto. “I told them that because of the story, I liked the song and it goes back to the 80s or earlier. Add to that how it evolved and it’s pretty unique.”

 

What evolved was the words in the song delivering a message Cole tried to get to his team in 2018 and what turned out to be the state title run of 2019. The words were prophetic.

 

After the main line, “East bound and down, loaded up and truckin,’” comes the line that Cole said was the message he wanted to get to the team. The line is simple: “We’re going to do what they say can’t be done.”

 

As DeMotto pointed out, the Indians were 6-1 with the song being used in the playoffs.

 

In 2018, it didn’t work for a title. In 2019, it did.

 

“What was really great about the song is that part of the main lyrics matched word for word what we wanted our boys to know,” said Cole.

 

During both seasons, Bridgeport was told it didn’t have a chance to win. Ironically, both years it was against Bluefield. Even more ironic was that they were given less of a chance by folks beyond the BHS circle during the year they made it to the state championship.

 

The reason? The Indians’ only loss this past year was to Fairmont Senior – and it was a one-sided setback – and the Polar Bears got rolled by Bluefield in the Class AA semifinals.

 

The consensus among armchair quarterbacks, message boards and even members of the media was the state title game was going to be played in the semifinals. After Bridgeport won its semifinal to advance to play the Beavers, Cole wasted no time in letting his team know they were told they had no chance. And he emphasized that they not only had a chance, they were going to win.

 

Turns out both he and Jerry Reed were right. They did what everyone said couldn’t be done, and walked away with their 10th state football title as a result.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Coach John Cole moments after capturing the state title against Bluefield, while he's shown telling his team they're going to prove everyone wrong in the post-game huddle following the semifinal win against Oak Glen. Bottom photo shows BHS Principal Matt DeMotto, left, the "Voice of the Indians" Travis Jones, middle, and Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Mark Jones. It's not known if DeMotto and Mark Jones were telling their friend of the story behind the song or if today is it's first public unveiling. Photos by Ben Queen Photography.