Bridgeport’s Jaki Threet looks for running room during a game last season. Threet and the Bulldogs will be traveling to Frontier for their season-opening bout.

BEAVERTON – Something has to give Thursday night when Bridgeport and Frontier begin the high school football season along the banks of the Ohio River in southeastern Ohio. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Cougar Stadium.

In the last six head-to-head meetings, which dates back to the 2019 season, each team has won three times. However, the Cougars prevailed in the first three contests, with the Bulldogs winning the final three, including a 38-34 encounter last season on Perkins Field inside Bill Jobko Stadium in Brookside.

Bridgeport and Frontier have opened the season since 2021. Prior to that, they played in the third week for two seasons.

The Bulldogs, according to second-year head coach Andrew Yahn, can be pretty good if they remain healthy. The key word being if.

“We have a lot of experience returning this year,” Yahn said. “However, we are cautiously optimistic at the same time because at a school this size, one key injury could derail your season. If we stay healthy, we think we can do something special this year.”

Bridgeport has 20 returning lettermen among its 28-play roster.

Leading the pack is senior quarterback Jaki Threet. The Bulldogs also possess a threat in senior tailback A.J. Bishop and they have a big, experienced line led by senior center Matt Kuzmicki.

The Cougars went 4-7 last year, earning a Division VII playoff berth with a 7-6 win in the regular season finale against arch-rival River. They lost just two players from that team.

One of the losses came at quarterback. Senior Avery Powell will take over the reins. In his first season of football last fall, Powell turned into the Cougars’ go-to wideout.

“He’s a great athlete,” third-year Frontier head coach Damon Metheney said. “He’s stepping in after being our top receiver last year and this is only his second year of playing football, so there is a lot being put on him. He’s a hard-working kid and is definitely adjusting well.”

Classmate Caleb Kirkpatrick will get the bulk of the carries while the offensive line has some holes to fill due to various reasons.

“Originally, we were excited because we were going to be bringing our entire offensive line back, but some unfortunate things happened,” Matheney said.