BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
For just the second time in history, longtime rivals Bradford and Baker County high schools will meet each other in the football playoffs as the Tornadoes will host the Wildcats for the Region 2-2S championship on Friday, Nov. 25, at 7:30 p.m.
The winner will play a state semifinal game on Friday, Dec. 2. Bradford would host either Bishop Verot, Cocoa, Frostproof or South Sumter, while Baker would have to travel to play either Cocoa, Florida High, South Sumter or Suwannee.
Baker County (9-3) advanced to the Region 2 title game by defeating Baldwin (the second seed in Region 2) 31-29. The Wildcats are the region’s third seed, while Bradford is the top seed.
This marks the second straight week the Tornadoes (11-1) will face an opponent it’s already beaten this season. Bradford defeated Baker 21-0 on Aug. 26.
The only other time the Tornadoes and the Wildcats have played each other in the playoffs was in 2001, with Bradford winning 30-14.
This is Baker’s seventh straight year in the playoffs and the 18th time the Wildcats have qualified overall. After its win over Baldwin, Baker now has a postseason record of 18-17. This is the third straight year the Wildcats have won at least two postseason games.
Prior to 2017, Baker had advanced past the second round six times in 12 playoff appearances. The Wildcats, with current Bradford Head Coach Jamie Rodgers as their head coach, finished as the state runner-up in 2017, winning four games before losing 44-15 to American Heritage in the Class 5A final.
The Wildcats won three games in 2021 to reach the 5A state semifinals before losing 54-21 to Miami Central.
During the regular season, Baker played four teams with winning records — all of which qualified for the playoffs. The Wildcats went 1-3 against those teams, with the lone win coming against Yulee by a score of 31-30. One of the losses was to Bradford, with the others coming against Baldwin by a score of 30-7 and Jackson by a score of 21-14.
Baker is scoring an average of 27 points per game, while opponents are averaging 18 points per game.
The only similar opponent Baker and Bradford played was Baldwin, which the Tornadoes defeated 35-0.
Baker’s win over Baldwin in the Region 2 semifinals was its fourth straight. The Wildcats have won seven of their last eight games.
