Telegraph Staff Writer
Trent Hankerson got just enough of the ball in breaking up a pass in the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt, allowing the Bradford High School football team to hang on for a 14-12 victory over visiting American Collegiate Academy on Oct. 1.
“He’s not very tall,” BHS Head Coach Brian Tomlinson said of Hankerson, who’s listed at 5-7, “but he played like he was 6-5, didn’t he?”
The Rough Riders (1-3) drove 97 yards in scoring a touchdown with 39 seconds left in the game. On the two-point play, the quarterback, under heavy pressure, basically threw a jump ball into the end zone. American Collegiate’s Davion Smith was in the midst of three Tornadoes — Hankerson, Gavin Cook and Jametrius Pringle. Hankerson was able to position himself in front of Smith and make the play to seal the win, allowing Bradford (3-3) to head into its bye week off its second straight win and third in the last four games.
“It’s been a long time when we’ve been at this point in a season and had a .500 record,” said Tomlinson, who believes his team has improved a lot from the one that opened the season with two straight losses.
“We’re very close,” Tomlinson said. “Tonight, I think we grew up a lot.”
The Tornadoes had to grow up without starting quarterback Amari Jones, who was hit out of bounds and driven underneath his team’s bench, suffering a game-ending injury on the first play of the second quarter. Dae’Jon Shanks, who was last year’s quarterback, was sitting out the game with an injury from the previous week.
In stepped wide receiver/defensive back Jontez Williams, who went 6-of-8 for 139 yards. He was able to hook up with Chalil Cummings twice on short passes that Cummings took the distance for scores.
Tomlinson said Williams has practiced at quarterback maybe three times this season.
“Literally, we’ve practiced two plays with him at quarterback,” Tomlinson said. “He came in and ran almost the whole offense.”
Williams gave Bradford a possible scoring opportunity on the first drive of the game from his wide receiver position, catching a pass from Jones for a 40-yard gain to the American 22-yard line. The Tornadoes, however, turned the ball over on downs after three incompletions and a run for no gain.
The Rough Riders drove into Bradford territory on their first series, with Smith gaining 20 yards on a run to the Tornadoes’ 35-yard line. Bradford’s Sincere Hankerson ended the threat when he intercepted a tipped pass.
Bradford’s defense stepped up again on the Rough Riders’ next possession. On third-and-3 from the American 48, Smith eluded two tackles before being brought down by Cook for just a 1-yard gain. The Rough Riders went for it on fourth down, with Smith being stonewalled at the line of scrimmage for no gain.
It was on Bradford’s third series that Jones was injured. The play resulted in a personal-foul penalty that gave the Tornadoes a first down at the American 29. Williams took over at quarterback and promptly gained 9 yards on a run. Three more Williams runs advanced Bradford to the 14 before Bradford fumbled the ball away.
Trente Jenkins recovered a fumble for the Bradford defense three plays later, but the Tornadoes’ offense turned the ball over on downs after four plays.
Bradford’s Chason Clark made two tackles behind the line of scrimmage on the ensuing series, including a 16-yard sack that forced the Rough Riders to punt from inside their own 20.
Taking over at the Rough Riders’ 32-yard line, the Bradford offense needed just two plays to put the first score on the board. After Isaiah Wilcox’s 2-yard carry, Williams and Cummings connected on a 30-yard touchdown with 4:12 remaining before halftime. Hayden Hughes kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
The Rough Riders answered with a 58-yard scoring drive. Two runs totaling 16 yards moved American to the Bradford 35 before Alvontae Vance was dropped for an 8-yard loss on a reception. Jenkins followed that up by making a tackle for a 2-yard loss. On a fourth-and-10 play, Kamrhen Simpkins caught a 20-yard pass to the Bradford 22, with an additional 11 yards being tacked on because of a personal-foul penalty.
Torin Brazell, who’d later leave the game with an injury, came up with a 12-yard sack to force American into a fourth-and-19 play, but the Rough Riders scored on a 20-yard pass with 28 seconds left in the second quarter. The PAT was no good, allowing Bradford to take a one-point lead into halftime.
Bradford went three-and-out on its first drive of the second half, while the second drive got off to bad start when Williams was sacked for a 10-yard loss. Manny Covey was then held to no gain on a run before Williams completed a pass to Cummings. Cummings put his athleticism on display as he turned the play into an 87-yard touchdown. Hughes added the PAT for a 14-6 lead.
Cummings finished the game with 117 yards on two receptions.
American drove into the red zone on the ensuring series, with a 20-yard run by Winston Gibson resulting in a first down at the 15-yard line. Trent Hankerson came up big on two straight plays. First, he was in on a tackle after a fumble that resulted in a 7-yard loss. He then intercepted a pass at his own 7 to put an end to the threat.
Two runs by Wilcox and a reception by Jarrin Alexander resulted in first downs, while Bradford gained another on personal-foul penalty as the Tornadoes drove to the American 30. Covey then made a leaping catch along the sideline for a 23-yard gain, resulting in first-and-goal at the 7. Covey was tackled for a 3-yard loss on the ensuing first-down play before being held to no gain on a second straight run. A 7-yard reception by Alexander set up fourth down at the 3. Bradford went for it, with Williams being held to no gain.
The Rough Riders proceeded to drive from their own 3 for the touchdown that made things interesting. Almost half of the yardage occurred on a deep pass play that gained 50 yards to the Bradford 35. American completed a 14-yard pass on fourth-and-6 from the 21 to set up first-and-goal at the 7. Three straight runs set up fourth down at the 1-yard line. The Rough Riders scored from there, with the quarterback taking the ball into the end zone with 39 seconds left.
Hankerson’s effort on the ensuing two-point conversion was just one of the big plays in a game that featured a “gutsy” effort by his team, Tomlinson said, adding, “There have been times in the past where we’ve kind of let the emotion of a close game get to us. It didn’t tonight. I’m just proud of our guys.”
Bradford returns to action Friday, Oct. 15, with a road game against Baldwin (3-1) at 6 p.m.
