MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — One team has outscored their opposition 397-7 in a 7-0 start. The other team will soon extend their state-best streak of playoff appearances to 27 years.
Class AA No. 3 (SSAC) Keyser visits No. 4 Bridgeport Friday evening in a game that will go a long way in shaping the top half of the playoff bracket. The Golden Tornado (7-0) have posted six consecutive shutouts since allowing a touchdown in their season opener at Robert C. Byrd.
“It is no different than if it was a 21-14 football game,” said Keyser head coach Sean Biser of the shutout streak. “Our kids just go out and play.”
“Keyser’s defense is obviously one of the best in the state,” said Bridgeport head coach John Cole. “They are strong up front. Their two inside linebackers and really good. They play downhill. It is going to be tough because we can’t be someone we’re not. We’re not going to try to do a bunch of things that we don’t normally do.”
The Indians’ (7-1) lone loss came to defending state champion Fairmont Senior.
Both teams rely on powerful and deep rushing attacks. Keyser averages 414.7 rushing yards per game and they have nine players that have rushed for at least a hundred yards. Bridgeport rushes for 284.6 yards per game and they feature five backs that have rushed for over 250 yards. The two teams have combined to attempt just 62 passes.
Senior quarterback Ryan Shoemaker leads the Keyser offensive attack. He has tossed six touchdown passes without an interception. He has also rushed for 354 yards and three scores.
“He manages our offense,” Biser said. “He is excellent at getting our signals, communicating them to everyone else. He gets everyone in the right place and he executes the game plan. He has a great arm but he is also good at reading the plays.”
Aaron Lyons leads the KHS rushing attack with 618 yards and nine touchdowns. Caden Biser leads the team with a dozen touchdown runs. Four senior starters are featured on both lines for Keyser.
“We thought we had a bunch of kids who could help us, but it is a little deeper than we actually thought,” Biser said. “Those kids all want to block for each other. They don’t mind carrying out their fakes. Whoever scores, scores, It doesn’t matter to them.”
Bridgeport’s offense is led by a trio of senior running backs. Brian Henderson is tops on the team with 515 yards and seven touchdowns. Trey Pancake (496 yards, 7 TD) and Carson Winkie (391 yards, 7 TD) are also featured options in the backfield.
“The last two years we had Jake Bowen and he didn’t need any help running the ball,” Cole said. “This year we are a little bit old school. We don’t have any big hitters with blinding speed. So we figured we would have to grind it out. I have been surprised and our offensive coordinator (Tyler Phares) has been surprised with the number of backs we can plug in different places.”
“Those guys are pretty good,” Biser said of Bridgeport’s running backs. “A lot of those guys play multiple positions. You have Pancake, you have Henderson and you have Winkie. Then you put the two quarterbacks in there with (Devin) Vandergrift and (Cam) Cole and you have a very lethal offense.”
Bridgeport has won six consecutive meetings in this annual series since Keyser defeated the Indians in 2012 Class AA semifinals.