Bridgeport Notches Third Consecutive Shutout with Convincing 50-0 Victory Against East Fairmont
By Chris Johnson on September 13, 2024
Through the first two games of the season, about the only thing the Bridgeport offense hadn't accomplished yet was to find a way to get Timmy Jeffress into the end zone.
The Indians remedied that in a hurry in Game 3 as the senior wing back broke loose on the first play from scrimmage for a 75-yard yard touchdown run and the Indians were off and running en route to a 50-0 victory against East Fairmont on Friday at Wayne Jamison Field.
With the victory, BHS improves to 3-0. East Fairmont falls to 1-2.
It also marked the third consecutive shutout to start the season for the Indians, who have now outscored their opposition, 176-0, through 12 quarters. The last BHS team to notch three consecutive shutouts was the 2013 Class AAA state championship team.
The touchdown on the initial play of the game was just the start of a big night for Jeffress who added a 13-yard touchdown run on his only other carry of the night. A third touchdown nearly came through the air as he reeled in a 49-yard pass from Jack Spatafore that put the ball on the East Fairmont 2.
“I wouldn’t have done it without my line,” Jeffress said. “But it feels good to get my first two touchdowns of the year and hopefully there is plenty more to come.”
Spatafore finished off that drive with his fourth touchdown on the ground this year. Alex Moses added touchdown runs of 4 and 23 yards. Josh Love had a team-high 100 rushing yards on six carries and a 74-yard touchdown run.
Bridgeport finished with 486 total yards, 375 on the ground and 111 through the air as Spatafore completed all four of his passing attempts. Spatafore also had a two-point conversion run following Jeffress’ first TD run.
“It’s a lot of fun right now on offense because they don’t know what’s going to happen and we are really diverse,” Spatafore said.
As impressive as the offense was for the third straight week, the defense was dominant once again. The Indians limited East Fairmont to 107 yards of total offense, 27 on the ground and 80 through the air.
The Bees did however become the first team to advance the ball into the red zone against the Indians this year. They got as far as the BHS 15 on the opening drive of the third quarter before a holding penalty, and two incomplete passes gave the ball back to the Indians at their own 25.
Four plays later, Gavin Williams was in the end zone for the final TD of the game and first of the sophomore’s career, covering 47 yards. He had previously in the game booted five PAT kicks. Jaylen Brown converted the kick after Williams’ TD to account for the 50th point of the game.
The defensive effort of the Indians in the first half was a series of big play after big play from all 11 spots. Donovan Williams had a one stand where he made all three plays to force an East Fairmont punt. He broke up a pass attempt on first down, made an open field tackle on Adrian Fleming on second down and then tackled Gavin Murphy for a 2-yard loss after a reception from Rowen Cramer.
“Donnie is such a big playmaker for us,” BHS coach Tyler Phares said. “And he’s just one of them out there on defense. That’s been the thing with this defense, it’s not just one guy. It’s everybody flying to the ball and making plays.
“The kids deserve all the credit in the world. They work their tails off and they came out and did what they had to do again tonight.”
The Indians will return to action in Week 4 with a game against Linsly which will be played at West Liberty University.
BHS sported camouflage jerseys as a National Guard Gridiron Series representative on Friday.
Editor's Note: Top photo shows Jeffress on the way to the end zone on his 75-yard touchdown run. Middle photo shows Spatafore looking to complete one of his four passes and in the bottom photo, Bridgeport's Josh Love (left) and Donovan Williams (4) help bring down an East Fairmont player. Photos by Tom Mellott. Check back on Saturday with Connect-Bridgeport for a photo gallery of Friday's action by Mellott.
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