Bridgeport prepares for Cabell Midland

The Tribe hopes to be 3-0 all-time at the conclusion of Friday’s Class AAA road quarterfinal. Both teams enter the 7:30 kickoff Friday at 10-1 on the year.

The Bridgeport-Cabell Midland victor will face the winner of Friday’s 7:30 p.m. game between No. 13 Parkersburg and No. 5 Princeton.

“They’re a different team this year,” Bridgeport coach Tyler Phares said of Cabell Midland. “They’re a very good football team. They have a lot of talent on that (offensive) side. We’re going to have to play our best game to win.”

To date, Bridgeport running back Zach Rohrig has rushed 202 times for 1,609 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Josh Love has 104 carries for 937 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Cameron Martin has 25 carries for 334 yards.

And Tim Jeffress has 33 carries for 269 yards and five touchdowns.

“It’s huge,” Love said. “It’s a great opportunity. We have a great opportunity to go to the state championship game if we win these next few games.

“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever had before in football. It’s such a blessing to be at this point.”

While the Indians don’t go to the air often, when they do, their leading passer is Jack Spatafore, who has completed 9 of 19 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions.

Rohrig has completed 3 of 7 passes for for 99 yards.

Bridgeport’s leading receiver has been Donovan Williams, who has eight catches for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Jeffress has three catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.

Cabell Midland, Phares noted, also has a run-heavy offense.

“They’re a mirror image of us,” Phares said of Cabell Midland. “They’re a really good football team; they come off of the ball hard; they play assignment football; you really respect their program because of how hard their kids run and how hard they block. It’s assignment football, and it’s impressive.”

According to Hudl, in the Knights’ win over George Washington on Aug. 24, the Knights rushed for 353 yards and passed for 86 yards. A week later, Cabell Midland rushed for 410 yards in its 26-20 win over Spring Valley. In their 42-16 win over Parkersburg, the Knights rushed for 419 yards.

“(They have) a power offense like us, so I’m expecting a whole lot of run and mixing in some pass,” Bridgeport cornerback Cale Culicerto, who has 38 tackles and three interceptions this season, said. “You have (Cabell Midland quarterback) Robert Shockey and (running back) Curtis Jones, two explosive players, so we have to shut those two down to have a good night and hopefully get a chance to go to (eventually go to) Wheeling.”

A couple weeks later, Cabell Midland defeated Musselman 42-14 and rushed for 350 yards. In its 30-14 win over Huntington — the No. 2 seed in the playoffs this season — the Knights rushed for 332 yards.

“Our defense as a whole has been improving since I’ve been here,” defensive end Aidan Sparks, who has 41 tackles this season, said of the key to victory on Friday. “We’ve gotten more comfortable in our positions; we’ve adjusted to every team we’ve played against, and the whole key is adapting to new challenges.”