Bridgeport Blasts Buckhannon-Upshur in Season Opener
By Michael Minnich on August 28, 2026
BRIDGEPORT – Bridgeport captains Tristin Noble, Gabe Martin, Graham Vincent and Gavin Williams and the referees had to work their way through the band formation to get to midfield for the opening coin toss.
Maybe the saxophonist should put on pads, because that was about the toughest obstacle the Tribe faced in a 68-0 win over the Buckhannon-Upshur Buccaneers in their season opener on Friday night at Wayne Jamison Field.
“I was happy with the kids, happy with their effort,” Bridgeport coach Tyler Phares said. “We’ve got a lot to improve on. We were a little sloppy at times, but it’s first-game jitters.”
The Tribe’s starting backfield only played one half, but did plenty of damage, led by 10 carries, 199 yards and two touchdowns from Gabe Martin and eight totes for 142 yards and three scores by Gavin Williams, who also intercepted a pass.
Hindered by a 16-yard loss on a bad snap, B-U went three-and-out on its first possession.
Starting from the Bucs 27, Bridgeport snapped to Gabe Martin for 15 yards, Gavin Williams for seven yards, Eli Knight for a stripe and Williams for the final five.
Bridgeport led, 7-0, with 9:18 left in the first quarter after Jaylen Brown’s PAT.
Buckhannon-Upshur again did not move the chains, but a 67-yard punt by Brody McDaniels backed the Tribe’s starting field position back to their own 9.
No problem: Aiden Gorby ran for 14, Willams for 15, Martin for 11 and 13, then Graham Vincent connected with a wide-open Brody Jeran for a 38-yard TD with 5:30 left in the first quarter: Bridgeport 14, Buckhannon-Upshur 0.
B-U again failed to move the chains and again got a long roll on a McDaniels punt to pin Bridgeport at their own 1.
Take the pin out: Martin for 13, Knight for 21, Williams for the final 65.
With 2:20 left in the first quarter, it was 21-0.
B-U, returning a kickoff for the first time after multiple Williams touchbacks, fumbled at the 21, with Gabe Miller recovering for the Tribe.
Martin finished from there: 28-0, 2:05 on the clock.
The Bucs fumbled on their first snap of the next drive, with Sean Veltri recovering at the B-U 17.
Knight capped the drive from the 3: 35-0 with 23 seconds left in the first quarter.
Bridgeport ran 16 offensive plays in the first quarter with 13 resulting in a first down or a touchdown.
The Buccaneers gained a first down before punting.
Martin had a 24-yard run, Vincent carried for 38, then Vincent got the call again for the final 10 yards.
It was 42-0 with 8:20 left in the second quarter.
Williams scored on a 34-yard rush with 2:39 on the clock: 49-0 after Jaylen Brown’s PAT.
A Williams interception with 52 seconds left in the half set up a 52-yard Martin TD run on the next play: 56-0, 40 seconds to go.
Bridgeport amassed 466 yards of first-half offense while holding B-U to 26 passing yards and -4 rushing yards.
“The biggest thing that stuck out to me was, when the ball was in the air, I saw a bunch of red hats run to it, which was exciting,” Phares said of his pass defense. “We’re going to give up a big play here and there, but if we’re continuously sprinting to the football and trying to cause turnovers, good things are good to happen.”
With a running clock in effect in the second half, Troy Jackson finished the Tribe’s first drive of the half from 2 yards away.
The kick failed with 5:02 left, still 62-0.
After a B-U punt, Zach Hickman finished off the subsequent Bridgeport drive from a yard out.
The try failed, keeping it a 68-0 game with 8:28 remaining in the fourth.
Buckhannon-Upshur turned the ball over on downs with 4:42 left.
Bridgeport had a 30-yard Trey Spatafore TD nullified by a hold and then let the clock run out.
Buckhannon-Upshur (0-1) visits Philip Barbour next week at 7 p.m.
Bridgeport (1-0) remains home to play Martinsburg next Friday at 7 p.m.
“We’ve got a lot to improve on come Monday,” Phares said. “We’re going to play as hard as we can, no matter who shows up. It’s going to be a marquee matchup in the state. We’re excited to see it, but we’re excited to see how our kids compete and go after people.”
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