BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Bradford High School opened its District 6-2S football slate in a big way, with its starting offense averaging 14 yards per play and its defense recording its fifth shutout in a 38-0 win over host Keystone Heights on Oct. 3.
The Tornadoes (6-0) now get to enjoy a bit of rest before hosting district opponent Tocoi Creek (4-1 prior to Oct. 4) for homecoming on Friday, Oct. 14, at 7:30 p.m.
Keystone (1-4) travels to play fellow Class 2S team Crescent City (1-3) on Friday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m.
The teams were each missing approximately a handful of players, whether because of injury or suspension, but the Tornadoes continued rolling, scoring 32 points in the first half.
“It doesn’t matter who’s playing,” Bradford Head Coach Jamie Rodgers said. “That guy’s got to go out there and do his best. If that happened, we knew we were going to be OK.”
Of course, it helped that Bradford, the top-ranked team in 2S, still had most of its offensive weapons at its disposal, including running back Willie Pollard, who rushed for two scores. Backup quarterback Jeremiah McKenzie, who’s taken the majority of the snaps this season, completed all five of his pass attempts for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
Bradford, which scored 32 first-half points and scored on every possession except its last (when it lined up in victory formation as time expired), racked up 243 yards in the first half and finished with 358 in all.
After giving up its first score in its previous game, the Tornadoes’ defense went back to keeping a team off the scoreboard and limited the Indians to 88 yards.
“It’s something special,” Rodgers said of his team’s five shutouts. “I try not to talk about it too much. They enjoy not giving up touchdowns. Hey, I enjoy it, too.”
The Indians (1-4) have scored only 50 points this season, with 38 occurring in one game. Head Coach Chuck Dickinson knew his team faced a tough challenge in Bradford.
“They’re a very good football team — the best football team we’ve played. I knew that going in,” Dickinson said. “We knew they were going to be tough up front on the defensive side.”
Keystone’s key, as always, was to use its ground game to control the ball and run time off the clock, but the Indians were held to 2 yards or less on 15 of their 24 first-half rushing attempts.
“We were just inconsistent,” Dickinson said. “Sometimes we did what we were supposed to and got 4 or 5 yards, but then we wouldn’t block somebody. We’re still learning and growing on the offensive line. We’re pretty young there.”
The Tornadoes scored the only points they needed at the 6:37 mark of the opening quarter. Their first series, which consisted of eight plays, began with McKenzie competing a 13-yard pass to Manny Covey as Bradford crossed midfield. A 3-yard run by McKenzie later gave Bradford a first down at the Keystone 36. Three plays after a 21-yard gain by Chalil Cummings, Covey scored on a 10-yard run to cap the 60-yard drive and put the Tornadoes up 6-0. Keystone’s Cartez Danield kept Covey out of the end zone on the two-point conversion.
Keystone failed to pick up a first down on its first two possession, with Bradford’s Will Lusignan making a tackle for no gain on each drive’s third-down play. A bad snap as the Indians attempted to punt for the second time resulted in the Tornadoes’ Torin Brazell making a tackle for a 12-yard loss and giving the Bradford offense the ball at the Keystone 15.
Pollard ripped off a 13-yard run on the first play following the change of possession. He then got the handoff again for a 2-yard touchdown run with 5:06 remaining in the first quarter to make the score 12-0. McKenzie’s pass on the two-point conversion was incomplete.
The Indians picked up two first downs on their ensuing drive. Baylor Ford completed a 5-yard pass to Carson Eatmon for one, while a 2-yard run by Daniels converted a fourth-and-1 play at Keystone’s own 39-yard line.
That was as far as the drive went. Dejon McBride had a 5-yard sack, while Chason Clark made a tackle for no gain. On third-and-15, Ford’s pass was incomplete, forcing the Indians to punt.
Bradford found itself beginning a drive at its own 25, but it took only two plays to move into Keystone territory, with McKenzie and Brazell hooking up for a 32-yard pass play to the Keystone 31. Covey, who rushed for 34 yards on four carries, had runs of 16 and 5 yards before Pollard scored on a 10-yard run at the 8:50 mark of the second quarter. Gavin Cook kicked the extra point to make the score 19-0.
The following series began with Keystone’s Daniels getting tackled by Ahman Covington for no gain, but Bryar Schenck then had a 6-yard run to set up third-and-4. The third-down play, though, resulted in an interception by C.J. Carn. His long return set the Bradford offense up at the Keystone 14.
The ultimate result was a one-play scoring drive, with Cummings catching a 14-yard touchdown pass with 6:23 to play in the second quarter. Cook added the PAT for a 26-0 lead.
Darrion Grady gave the Keystone offense a brief spark with a 19-yard run to the Bradford 47, but the drive ended the same way as the previous one, with the Tornadoes intercepting a pass. This time, it was Jarrin Alexander coming up with the pick, which put the Bradford offense at its own 31.
Again, one play was all the Tornadoes needed. Clark caught a pass coming across the middle and had nothing but green grass as he sprinted along the sideline for a 69-yard touchdown, making the score 32-0 with 2:02 remaining in the half. The extra point was no good.
That was the end of the night for the starting offense, but the Tornadoes added one more score in the second half, which consisted of a running clock. Brandon Williams had runs of 9 and 30 yards to help give Bradford a first-and-goal at the 8 on the first series of the third quarter. Gino Addison’s 7-yard carry set up his own 1-yard touchdown run, capping a 50-yard drive. The PAT was no good.
Because of the running clock, Keystone had only one drive in the second half (Bradford had two). The highlights for the Indians were an 11-yard run by Schenck, who finished the night with 38 yards on 10 carries, and a 13-yard pass from Jackson Parmeter to Eatmon.
Grady had only two touches in the second half, but he finished the game with 97 all-purpose yards (30 rushing on seven carries and 67 on five kickoff returns).
