Dominant Play by Defensive Line Sets Early Tone for Bridgeport which Crushes B-U in Opener, 77-0
By Chris Johnson on August 30, 2024
Buckhannon-Upshur’s offensive line could not keep Bridgeport defensive tackle Wes Brown out of the backfield in the first quarter of Friday’s season opener at Wayne Jamison Field.
In fact, the Bucs also struggled to block Colton Miller and Bear Metheney and Carter Zuliani and Noah West too.
The Indians’ defensive line was downright dominant to the point it was offensive as the Tribe rolled over the Buccaneers, 77-0. The 77 points are the most ever in a single game for Bridgeport, eclipsing the 74 points scored in a 2021 playoff game against Jefferson.
“It felt good because the D-line is a big emphasis on everything we do,” Brown said. “D-Line, O-line, it all starts up front. We know if we can stop them without our defensive backs, linebackers having to make a tackle, it’s a win.”
Bridgeport had built a 49-0 lead by the midway point of the second quarter when it began subsituting freely. Up to that point, the BHS defense had surrendered 4 yards on seven B-U possessions and nothing anywhere close to a first down.
As a result, the BHS offense was constatnly in good field position and they made the Bucs pay by scoring on seven of the 12 plays ran from scrimmage in the first half.
B-U received the opening kickoff but It didn’t take long for the Indians to get going. Brown had a tackle for loss on the first play, the next resulted in a fumble recovery for Metheney to give the BHS offense the ball at the 15.
Josh Love was into the end zone on the next snap and BHS was off to the races.
“Our defensive line is a strength for us for sure,” BHS coach Tyler Phares said. “Those kids have worked their tails off in the weight room over the years. It’s tough to make a play if you are a backer and you don’t get very many opportunities. Those guys up front did a great job, flying to the ball, defeating blocks, all that stuff.”
Possession two for B-U resulted in a three-and-out, the big play being a sack by BHS defensive end Colton Miller. Bridgeport took over at the Bucs’ 40. After a pickup of 6 on a Timmy Jeffress run, Love was in the end zone again with a 34-yard run. Sam Goodwin added a two-point conversion run to make it 14-0.
Brown had back-to-back tackles for a loss and Metheney followed with a sack to force another B-U punt.
The Indians then took to the air as Jack Spatafore threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Donnie Williams. Gavin Williams booted his first of nine PAT kicks to make it 21-0. Graham Vincent added one PAT kick late in the game.
Brown again had back-to-back tackles during the next BHS stand, coming up with another stop in the backfield and one right at the line of scrimmage. The Bucs would eventually turn the ball over on downs leading directly to a 23-yard touchdown run from Alex Moses.
It was Zuliani’s turn to shine on the next defensive stand as he had a sack and batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage. Another B-U punt led to another Love TD run and a 35-0 lead with 1:38 still to play in the first quarter.
Brown sat out the next defensive series for the Tribe and West filled the void with back-to-back tackles. On B-U’s next possession, West had a TFL, Metheney had a TFL and Zuliani swatted down another pass.
Those two possessions led to Spatafore TD runs of 27 yards and 44 yards.
Bridgeport added four touchdowns in a second half that was played with a running clock. Luke Rohrig had a 53-yard touchdown run, Sawyer Culicerto scored on a 26-yard touchdown run and Aidan Gorby had two fumble recoveries in the end zone following muffed punts.
There wasn’t much drop off after the first-team defense had called it a night for the Tribe as B-U finished the game with just 4 yards of total offense and four turnovers.
“That’s something we take a lot of pride in,” Phares said. “Those young guys come in there isn’t a lot of drop off. That’s the type of depth we want as a program.”
Bridgeport finished with 333 yards of total offense on just 21 total plays. Eleven different players had a rushing attempt but nobody had more than three. Spatafore had a team-high 71 yards on two carries and Love finished with 61 on three attempts and all five of their combined attempts were touchdown runs.
Spatafore’s TD pass to Williams was the only pass attempt for the Indians. It marked the sixth touchdown catch of Williams’ career.
The Indians return to action next Friday with a Week 2 visit to Pony Lewis Field and Morgantown.
Editor's Note: Top photo shows Brown (77) celebrating after making a play on defense, Josh Love (14) is off to the end zone in photo two and in bottom photo, Alex Moses (12) gets into the end zone.
