BRIDGEPORT’S Joey Bugaj turns the corner during Wednesday’s game at Madonna. The Bulldogs fell in their season finale, 32-14.

WEIRTON – With a Class A playoff berth and a Class 1A OVAC title on the line this week, Madonna had to find an opponent. It could not risk taking another week off to accomplish those goals.

Insert Bridgeport (Ohio), a team that has not played the previous two weeks due to COVID-related issues with its opponents. The Bulldogs wanted one more opportunity to conclude the season on the field.

So, the teams decided on a rare Wednesday night contest. The Blue Dons emerged victorious, 32-14, clinched that postseason berth (they entered this week 15th in the rankings) and won an OVAC title for the first time since the championship 2013 season.

“It’s a huge accomplishment, but I told my team at halftime that I don’t care about the playoffs. I want my kids to care about the playoffs because it’s for them. I just want us to play better and harder all of the time,” Madonna head coach Dan Rovira said. “I don’t think this necessarily was a great game for us, and I know they can play better than that.

“I hate to say it because I love my guys, but (Bridgeport) may have played a little better than us. We have to get better. We can’t do anything in the playoffs if we play like that.”

Madonna (7-2), now riding a six-game winning streak, started off sluggish and battled to a scoreless tie after one quarter. Then, the Blue Dons clicked, mainly Thomas Sessi. The senior scored three times in the third, giving his squad an 18-0 halftime advantage (three missed 2-point conversion attempts).

Sessi’s first score came on a 5-yard run with 11:20 left in the second. He originally was credited with a TD reception from Santino Arlia. The play was called back due to an ineligible man downfield, but then the refs reversed the decision and ruled it a lateral.

His second score occurred a little more than six minutes later when he took the first play from scrimmage after a punt (a screen pass from Arlia) 59 yards to the end zone. The final touchdown came with 39 seconds remaining before halftime, a one-handed 26-yard pass from Arlia.

Even when Sessi was at his best, Rovira also noticed when he was at his worst, offensive and defensively. Rovira did not let Sessi get away with it.

The Bulldogs (3-6) were hit hard in the first half, literally. Two starting sophomores did not return after going to the hospital for possible concussions.

First, it was Joey Bugaj, who did not move for nearly 10 minutes before walking off the field. Then, late in the half, quarterback Colin Jackson felt the same wrath.

“We obviously didn’t play with how we’re capable of playing. The injury bug did hit us hard,” Bridgeport coach Fred Ray said. “The most important thing is we had a lot of freshmen and sophomores play, so we have a lot of guys coming back.

“I think we were very aware of the situation Madonna was in. They made some plays on fourth down that we didn’t make. The biggest thing from (Wednesday) was the big plays they made and the ones we didn’t.”

Neither team scored in the third quarter. Madonna struck first in the fourth on Arlia’s third touchdown pass, this time to Colton Littleton for 13 yards. Arlia then found Sessi for the 2-point conversion.

The Bulldogs avoided the shutout two minutes later when Jason Aubrey burned Sessi down the sidelines and hauled in a 44-yard TD pass from Mason Aberts. The 2-point try failed, leaving the score at 26-6.

That score marked the first against Madonna’s defense in nearly two weeks. It defeated Mathews, 30-0, on Friday.

Sessi later ran for a 55-yard touchdown with 6:11 left in the contest, while Bridgeport’s Jon Bugaj closed the scoring with a 12-yard rush at the 2:22 mark.

Overall, Sessi caught seven passes for 145 yards and ran for 72 on nine carries. Arlia completed 19 of his 33 pass attempts for 267 yards. Lucky Pulice had 99 receiving yards on nine catches, as well as an interception. Evan Daniels recorded a sack.

“It’s a little weird (playing on a Wednesday), but at this time of the year with COVID, you have to do what you have to do,” Rovira said. “I saw other teams play Tuesday and then Friday. That would be a little tough for us. If we didn’t need this game, then we probably wouldn’t have played it because I only have 21 kids dress.

For Bridgeport, Aberts ran for 36 yards, threw for 82 (completed 8 of 9 attempts) and caught another 65. Jon Bugaj ran for 35 yards. Jackson finished 10 of 18 for 96 yards.

“It was very bizarre,” Ray said regarding the season. “It was on a week-to-week basis. Nothing was set and stone. You could change the schedule the day before or on the day of or the week before. It just all depended on who showed up on game nights.

“We wanted the opportunity to play. If we had COVID, we probably wouldn’t have played this game.”