BRIDGEPORT — A sign of a good team is how it responds after a loss. The Oak Glen football team has responded as well as anyone could hope.

After losing to Toronto in Week 4, Oak Glen has reeled off back-to-back shutouts including last week’s 28-0 victory against Catholic Central last Friday night at home on Homecoming.

“I thought in all phases of the game we played very well,” first-year Oak Glen (5-1) head coach TJ Miller said. “The team responded. It was a big week for us, and the guys really responded. They came out and played hard. We flew around on defense. We put them in bad situations Friday night. It was a great team effort. Our kids responded very well.”

Oak Glen went on the road two weeks ago in shut out Buckeye Local, 17-0.

This week, the Golden Bears take another trip down Route 7 as Oak Glen is set to face off against Bridgeport at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Bill Jobko Stadium.

“They are brand new to the schedule,” Miller said. “It is a Saturday afternoon game. I had to adjust our weekly schedule a little bit. It’s like College GameDay. We are excited. We had a great film sessions and a couple great practices yesterday and today. We’re excited. We’re going to be ready to go.

“Bridgeport has some nice athletes. Their quarterback Jaki Threet is tough to handle. He can really run the ball. We’re going to have to be ready to go, and we’re going to have to execute.”

The Bulldogs enter this week with a record of 3-4.

“They like to run the football,” Miller said. “They like to put pressure on the defense. Defensively, we are going to have to be ready for their quarterback. They can take advantage of what the defense gives them. Their quarterback is tough. We are going to have to fly to the football. We have been big about getting 11 guys to the ball. We are going to have to shed blocks. It starts up front.”

Bridgeport comes into this week’s game fresh off a 43-6 victory at home against Valley.

“Defensively, their secondary is very good,” Miller said. “They come up and play the run. They have good athletes. They tackle well. when we run the ball, we are going to have to stick to our blocks up front and on the outside. If we are able to move the ball, we will be all right. They have a lot of good athletes. We are excited for the challenge.”

Bridgeport’s other two victories this season came against Shenandoah (22-20) and Magnolia (42-18). On the flip side, the boys from Belmont County have lost to Frontier (36-13), East Palestine (28-21), Catholic Central (22-13) and Conotton Valley (40-23).

“We are going to have to do a good job of blocking up front,” Miller said. “I think our line is one of our strengths. We are going to have to stick with our blocks. We want to run the football. Our running game opens up our passing game. Our strong running game opens up our passing game. If we are able to run the football, it will give Maddox Bowen time to make plays through the air. Defensively, we just want to be consistent.”

The Bulldogs home games are played on a grass field, while the Golden Bears play their home games on a turf field.

“It is a little different,” Miller said asked if there is a difference between playing on grass as compared to turf. “Playing on turf, you are a little quicker and a little faster. You make good cuts. We played on a grass field down at Buckeye Local. I feel like we did OK with that. We are going to practice this week on our grass field to simulate playing in the game.”

The Golden Bears come into the game this week in 11th place in the West Virginia Class AA playoff rankings. The top 16 teams in each class qualify for the playoffs with the top eight teams in each class getting a home game in the first round.

“I’m super proud of the kids,” Miller said. “We just want to go 1-0 every week. We are taking things one day at a time and one game at a time.”