Class AAA No. 1 Bridgeport Welcomes Philip Barbour to Wayne Jamison Field for Homecoming
By Chris Johnson on September 19, 2025
It’s homecoming for the Class AAA defending state champions as the Indians will be at Wayne Jamison Field tonight to take on Philip Barbour for the first time since 2019.
Bridgeport is 3-0, riding a 17-game win streak and were No. 1 in the first batch of WVSSAC playoff ratings released earlier this week. The Colts (2-1) are coming off a 20-13 loss to North Marion and tonight marks the fourth consecutive game for the Class AA school against an opponent in a higher classification.
The Indians lead the all-time series with Philip Babour, 40-6.
Kickoff for tonight’s game with be 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Bridgeport Indians Radio Network (103.3 FM WKMZ) and can also be accessed on the Bridgeport Sports Radio app as well as the official website for Bridgeport athletics at www.bridgeportindians.com
The “Voice of the Indians” Travis Jones will once again be on play-by-play with color analysis from Chris George and sideline reports from Brent Kimble.
“They are going to be excited to come here and play us and give us their best shot,” said BHS coach Tyler Phares who notched his 50th career win as a head coach last week and a win tonight would be his 50th as head coach at BHS. “They probably feel like they let one get away from them last week against North Mairon.”
As a program, Philip Barbour is in a lot better shape than the 2019 game against Bridgeport which it lost 48-0.
The Colts are coming off back-to-back nine-win seasons in which they won a playoff game for the first time in school history in 2023 and hosted a playoff game for the first time in school history last year.
Offensively, Philip Barbour can come at you in a lot of ways with sophomore quarterback Robbie Jones leading the way. He has a trio of talented receives to work with in Malachi Poling, Cam Bennett and Patrick Webster.
Mason Jones and Landyn Carpenter are the primary running backs with Tyler Vance at the up back spot. The offensive line is experienced with 6-foot-4, 280-pound Malachi Cross leading the way at right tackle.
The Colts have been stingy on defense through three games giving up 10 points per game. Vance leads the way as a returning Class AA first-team all-state linebacker.
“They have ran 123 plays and used 31 different formations this year,” Phares said. “We have to make sure we line up right, play fast, know our reads and fly to the football.”
The Indians have met every challenge thus far on the defensive end as they enter tonight’s game giving up 14 point per contest. They have been especially stout against the run, surrendering just 18 yards per game.
“We want to take away the run and force teams to throw against us,” Phares said.
As a team, Bridgeport has 22 tackles for a loss through the first three games and five different players have at least two, including defensive linemen Bryson Lowther and Noah West who have four and 3.5, respectively.
Brody Jeran is the leading tackler on the team with 14 stops. Gavin Williams and Gabe Martin each have 11 and John Knight has 10.
Offensively, the duo of Williams and Martin leads the single wing attack. Martin has 433 rushing yards on 34 attempts (12.7 per carry) and 10 touchdowns. Williams has 359 yards on 25 attempts (14.4 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. He’s also thrown a touchdown pass and has made 16-of-17 PAT kicks.
Eli Knight adds 127 rushing yards on 15 carries and three touchdowns.
Editor's Note: Top photo of Martin, middle photo of West and bottom photo of Williams by Joe LaRocca.
