HANNIBAL — River High celebrates Homecoming this Friday night. The centerpiece of those festivities will be when the Pilots play host to a red-hot Bridgeport Bulldog grid outfit.

Coach Fred Ray’s Dogs will enter the contest riding the wave of a three-game winning streak, evening their season’s mark at 3-3. During those wins over Paden City, Conotton Valley and Beallsville, the Bulldogs are averaging a whopping 53 points a start.

River, meanwhile, owns a deceiving 2-4 mark on the campaign. Those four Pilot setbacks have come against Bellaire (6-0), Southern (6-0), Shadyside (5-1) and Magnolia (4-2).

Bridgeport’s resurgent high-octane attack is triggered by senior Tino Kusic. The quarterbacking standout is coming off an impressive outing against Beallsville, completing all five of his passes for 155 yards and three TDs while rushing for 164 and two more six-pointers.

For the season, Kusic has passed for more than a 800 yards. A year ago, he threw for a staggering 2,900 yards and 30 TDs.

Jaylon Addison is an ideal complement for Kusic. He picked up 166 yards on just five tries against Beallsville. The speedy running back is a threat to score anytime he touches the pigskin.

“Bridgeport has been putting up impressive numbers on offense. The fact that Kusic is a very proficient passer who is also a threat to run concerns us,” Flannery said. “Addison is also a big-play running back. There team speed is very evident. Coach Ray is doing a great job of getting his athletes involved.

“We need to put the last game on the shelf, learn from it and move forward. We need to continue to play with effort and enthusiasm,” he added. “We control our own destiny on where we want to be at the season’s end.”

The River attack is directed by ever-improving quarterback Stone Thompson. Sophomore Michael Johnson is a big-play performer for Flannery.

“River will be definitely one of the toughest tests we have faced so far. We have a lot of respect for Coach Flannery and his program. He has been doing it for a long time,” Ray said. “They played Shadyside really well for a good while last week. They are much better than their record would indicate.

“I am real pleased with the improvement and progress our kids are showing. We have bounced back nicely from a rough start,” added the former Martins Ferry and Ohio University quarterbacking standout. “We need to keep improving and play with confidence.”