Two of the premier high school football programs in West Virginia meet Friday night at Wayne Jamison Field in one of the more highly-anticipated regular season matchups of recent memory.
Class AAAA No. 2 Martinsburg, winners of 11 state championships since 2010, faces a Bridgeport program that also boasts 11 state titles, including five since 2013.
The 7 p.m. contest is the MetroNews Television Game of the Week and pregame coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.
WATCH MARTINSBURG @ BRIDGEPORT ON METRONEWS TV
Martinsburg has won four of six previous meetings in the series, including four of five contested on the gridiron as the Indians were awarded a 1-0 win by way of forfeit during the 2020 COVID-impacted season.
The two teams faced off each of the next two years, and Martinsburg won 21-0 in 2021 and 21-3 the following year in what marks their most recent meeting.
Three keys to watch for Friday:
- Control the line of scrimmage
This is especially important when taking on Bridgeport, which utilizes a Single Wing offensive attack and has long had one of the state’s most productive ground games.
That’s not expected to change in 2026, particularly with the AAA No. 1 Tribe returning one of the top running backs in Gavin Williams.
If Martinsburg (1-0) can win up front, and in particular on first down, it can cause the Indians (1-0) to operate in uncomfortable down and distance situations and have to at least somewhat stray from their desired game plan.
- The big play
It goes without saying both teams will be on the hunt for game-breaking plays.
A need for big plays is imperative because of the high level of discipline both defenses possess.
Drawn out drives of 10-plus plays where the sticks are consistently moving are plenty acceptable, but will be tough to come by against a pair of defenses likely to win their fair share of snaps, making it more important than normal for productive plays to ultimately turn into long gains and potentially scoring plays.
- Win turnover battle
Martinsburg will throw more often than Bridgeport, and Bulldogs’ quarterback Brian Dick is sure to look in the direction of Boston Todd and Kingston McDonald-Gibson for production through the air.
While that presents a potential for interceptions, Bridgeport will need to apply pressure, which could help make Dick uncomfortable as well as enhance the Indians’ chances of a strip sack.
The Bulldogs’ best chance to force turnovers could very well be stripping ball-carriers or creating extra possessions by way of special teams, a phase that MHS seems to excel in annually.