BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Visiting Munroe scored the first points against the Bradford High School defense this season, but the Tornadoes recorded a shutout in the second half, outscoring the Class 1S Bobcats 14-0 for a 21-7 win on Sept. 23.
“I’ll be honest with you. This didn’t feel like a real solid win to me because we didn’t play very good early on,” Bradford Head Coach Jamie Rodgers said.
The 4-0 Tornadoes, who were ranked number one in Class 2S in the Florida High School Association’s inaugural rankings released Sept. 27, played their usual game on defense, giving up a total of 99 yards and forcing three turnovers. Bradford, which begins its District 6-2S schedule with a road game against Keystone Heights this Friday, Sept. 30, at 7:30 p.m., continues to be strong against the run. Munroe (2-2) was held to minus-6 yards on 16 carries — one week after the Tornadoes held Eastside to minus-1 yard on the ground.
Bradford made 11 tackles behind the line of scrimmage against Munroe. At least three of those were recorded by Dejon McBride.
“We’re a really good team on that side of the ball,” Rodgers said.
What concerns Rodgers is his team’s overall play, with an emphasis on penalties. Bradford was flagged 19 times against Munroe for 165 yards.
“We’ve got a lot of stuff to clean up,” Rodgers said.
The game got off to a good start for Bradford, which received the opening kickoff and marched 66 yards for a score. Runs by Manny Covey and Willie Pollard resulted in four first downs on the 12-play drive. Quarterback Dae’Jon Shanks, who returned from injury, had a 20-yard run to set up first-and-goal from the 2. Covey then took a direct snap and scored from there with 6:26 remaining in the first quarter. Hayden Hughes kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Bradford’s defense forced Munroe to go three-and-out on the Bobcats’ first series. The Tornadoes blocked the punt, which set their offense up at the Munroe 6. However, a fumble went out the back of the end zone and resulted in a touchback, giving the Bobcats the ball back at their
own 20.
Despite Torin Brazell, Chalil Cummings, Devon McBride and Tray Schmitt all recording tackles for lost yardage, Munroe put together an eight-play scoring drive that was aided by three penalties. Noah Murphy completed a 33-yard pass on third-and-17 to give the Bobcats first-and-goal at the 9. After an offsides penalty on Bradford, Murphy scored on a keeper as time expired in the opening quarter. Jose Centeno added the PAT to even the score at 7-7.
Neither offense did much in the second quarter, with each team turning the ball over once. One of those turnovers was an interception made by Bradford’s C.J. Carn.
Munroe had good field position to start the second half, with Ostin Perkins returning the kickoff 24 yards to the Bobcats’ 36-yard line. Perkins had a 7-yard run on first down, but D.J. Johnson was held to a gain of just a yard on second down. On third-and-2, Perkins was tackled for a 4-yard loss by Will Lusignan. Munroe punted, with Gavin Cook fielding the ball at his own 25 and taking it the distance for a touchdown. A penalty for a crackback block nullified the score.
Still, the Tornadoes had good field position at their own 45. Covey had a 13-yard run on third down to pick up a first down at the Munroe 40. Shanks later completed a 9-yard pass to Brazell to set up third-and-1 at the 31-yard line. Covey lined up to receive a direct snap, avoided a tackle for a loss and reversed field for his second touchdown of the night. Hughes kicked the extra point as Bradford took a 14-7 lead at the 6:26 mark of the third quarter.
Covey finished the game with 115 yards on 15 carries.
The Bobcats’ Murphy had a rough second half as he completed 3 of 11 passes for 23 yards. Bradford’s Jarrin Alexander and Bryson Bowen each had an interception as the Tornadoes held Munroe to 19 total yards in the half.
A 21-yard punt return by Cook set the Bradford offense up at the Munroe 30-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Covey had a 12-yard run before Shanks scored on an 18-yard run with 10:34 left in the game. Hughes added the PAT to complete the scoring at 21-7.
Shanks rushed for 85 yards on 17 carries and completed 5 of 12 passes for 73 yards. Covey caught one pass for 31 yards, while Cummings caught two for 29 yards.
The Tornadoes finished with 318 total yards, with 245 coming on 43 rushing attempts.
Rodgers said he believed his team needed to have a game in which it struggled at times.
“Things have been a little bit too easy,” he said. “I think our guys thought it was going to be easy again. It wasn’t, but we made plays when we had to.”
Rodgers felt it was especially important to have this type of game before they begin district play.
“We needed this to make sure we have focus when we come out on Monday,” he said. “I’ll have it now. We’re going to watch some film before we come to practice together. We’re going to point out a lot of mistakes, and we’re going to get them cleaned up.”
The district schedule opens against a Keystone team that is struggling after a historic 2021 season in which the Indians went 10-2 and won their first-ever playoff game. The Indians (1-3) are coming off a 26-12 loss to Interlachen.
