Bridgeport Strikes Early, Often in 56-0 Victory Against Robert C. Byrd; No. 8 Indians Improve to 4-1
By Chris Johnson on September 22, 2023
Class AAA No. 8 Bridgeport was equally dominant on both sides of the ball in a 56-0 vicotry against Robert C. Byrd, marking the the biggest margin of victory in the rivalry between the two biggest schools in Harirson County.
On offense, the Indians finished with 516 rushing yards and completed their first pass of the season to finish with 548 yards of total offense. Six different players had at least 57 yards rushing. Five different players had at least one rushing touchdown. Cam Martin led the way with an ever-so-efficent 160 yards on two carries and two touchdowns.
Zach Rohrig finished with 69 yards on six carries and a touchdown. Josh Love had 68 yards on five carries and three TDs. Tanner Hathaway had 64 yards on two attempts and a score. Landen Gillum and Alex Moses added 58 and 57 yards, respectively and Gillum scored once.
“We saw tonight what some of the other backs can do,” BHS coach Tyler Phares said. “We see it all the time in practice, they are just behind some really good backs when it comes to the games. We knew at some point they were going to be counted upon.”
Defensively, things were just as impressive for the Indians as they held the Eagles to 53 yards of total offense, 50 on the ground and 3 through the air and once again was around double digits in tackles for a loss.
“We’re pretty stout against the run, that’s for sure,” Phares said. “Kudos to our defensive line, sticking their nose in there, fighting their reads and doing a good job tackling when the ball came their way.”
The Indians wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, needing just three plays to grab a 7-0 lead. Rohrig picked up 4, Hathaway gained 10 and Love finished things off with a 39-yard TD run, his sixth of the season. Avery Williams added his first of eight PATs.
Possession number two was even shorter. The Tribe defense forced a three and out and two snaps later, Rohrig scored on a 64-yard touchdown run.
Rohrig had a 56-yard TD run called back on a holding penalty on drive number three but the it just slowed down the Indians momentarily as Hathaway found his way into the end zone with a 56-yard TD run to make it 21-0 with 3:37 left in the first quarter.
Drive number four saw the Indians complete their first pass of the season as Donovan Williams made a leaping grab of a Rohrig pass for a gain of 32. Love capped things off with a 2-yard TD run to extend the lead to 28-0.
Following Bridgeport’s fourth TD, the power went out at Byrd Stadium. It was announced that an auto accident on Rt. 98 near the school caused the lights to go out for roughly 20 minutes.
Not even the power outage could slow down the BHS offense. After the delay, the Indians quickly forced another three and out on defense.
Alex Moses got the call on the first play of the ensuing drive and broke of a 45-yard run. Timmy Jefffress followed with a 12-yard pickup and Love finished things off with his third TD of the game, this one from 9 yards out and Bridgeport led 35-0.
Beau Ford and Wes Brown teamed up for a sack to force another RCB punt. Cam Martin promptly followed with a 73-yard touchdown run to make it 42-0.
“That was my first real good long run of the season, it felt good,” Martin said. “I got to give credit to the line though, they played great, they opened things up and I just turned up field and ran.”
The Eagles picked up their initial first down with 3:07 left in the first half. The BHs defense however followed with three straight plays that resulted in lost yardage for the Eagles. Martin and Grant Lively brought down Rylan Rock for a 2-yard loss on a completed pass from Junior Smith. Jon Bender followed by tackling Smith in the backield for a loss and then sacked the RCB quarterback on third down to end the half.
Martin would add an explosive 87-yard TD run in the second half and Gillum tacked on a 41-yard touchdown run to account for the final points of the game.
The Indians return to action next week on the road at Brooke in what will mark the first-ever meeting betweent the two schools.
Editor's Note: Top photo shows Josh Love (14) following a block from teammate Ryan Jones (78). Cam Martin (8) and Wes Brown (77) join forces to bring down RCB's Latrell Jones. In the bottom photo, Donovan Williams (21) goes up to nab Bridgeport's first completed pass of the season.
