On the morning of 11/22/25, the Bridgeport Indians woke up 11-0 and had a 25-game win streak stretching back to the loss they suffered in Princeton on 11/24/23. Two years of winning, and not just winning but 4th-quarter running-clock winning. Starters sitting on the bench sometime early in the third quarter, kind of winning.
For the '25 team, Fort Hill and Heritage were supposed to challenge them. It was the same outcome: a 2nd half running clock on Fort Hill with a 49-14 victory and a lightning-shortened 33-14 win against Heritage that was on its way to a 4th quarter running clock. Sixteen- to seventeen-year-old boys are very human, without experience to remind them that any team can beat another if they are not ready to battle and play at their best.
That's what happened: Chapmanville came to Wayne Jamison Field ready to fight their hardest to win. They punched Bridgeport in the mouth; they didn't fold down 21-13 at half; they kept on fighting, something Bridgeport had not experienced in two years.
Gabe Martin, emotional leader of the team the last two years, who was injured and unable to play against Chapmanville last year, said, "I think we took them lightly; we came out thinking we were going to walk through the game, and they were going to lay down like every other team we had faced, but that wasn't the case. They showed up and played, and we did not".
Coach Tyler Phares echoed those thoughts about not responding, "It was an eye-opener for a bunch of kids because it hadn't happened in their high school careers at any point. It's why playing a tough schedule this year was important so that when you do face some adversity, you learn to battle back. You want to see some resiliency; you saw it in Martinsburg, you saw it in Fort Hill, things weren't going well at points, and you learn to fix it, and not get that deer-in-the-headlights kind of look".
About Chapmanville, the coach said they are similar to last year, "they are 50/50 run pass, their quarterback is back, he's talented, he spreads the ball around the field, can throw the deep ball, and he's a good runner. The majority of the line is back; they have four returners, one they moved to a tight end/H back, so they have two new faces on the line".
As far as the keys to winning the game, Phares said they are like any football game: "Take care of what you can control, can't be sloppy with penalties, win the turnover battle, sprint to the football and make tackles. Be the more physical football team".
Bridgeport has an opportunity to make amends for last year's shocking loss and to advance in the playoffs towards the goal of the 12th state football championship. But if we learned one thing from last year's Chapmanville game, nothing is guaranteed, and the team that wants it more Saturday night at 7 pm will get it.
DOUG MARQETTTE IS A GUEST BLOGGER AND A MEMBER OF THE ALL SPORTS BOOSTERS.
