The following is a look at the high school varsity teams and individuals that won championships at the district, regional or state levels, earned medals in state competition or that qualified to participate in regional and state competitions in 2021. Any omissions are unintentional.
BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
The most memorable sports moment in 2023 for Bradford High School had to be that it played for a state championship in football for the first time since 1985 for just the fourth time in school history, finishing as the state runner-up in Class 2S after a 20-6 loss to defending state champ Cocoa.
Bradford went 10-0 during the regular season and had no problem winning the District 6 championship. The Tornadoes had beaten Keystone Heights 48-6, while Palatka beat Keystone 41-21. That meant the winner between the Tornadoes and the Panthers would earn the district trophy.
The Tornadoes scored three touchdowns in the first five minutes of the game and had five total in the first half in beating Palatka 42-0.
Bradford’s defense created five turnovers, the first occurring on the first series of the game when Trente Jenkins scooped up a fumble caused by Torin Brazell and returned it more than 30 yards for a touchdown.
Duke Lewis had a sack-fumble on Palatka’s second series, with the Tornadoes’ Jorden Daniels recovering the loose ball. That led to Dae’Jon Shanks’ 21-yard touchdown pass to Chalil Cummings.
Shanks, who was 3 of 5 for 47 yards, also threw a 21-yard scoring pass to Elijah Kellum. The quarterback also had an 11-yard touchdown run.
Kellum finished with the one catch, while Cummings caught two passes for 26 yards.
Jeremiah McKenzie had a 24-yard touchdown run and finished with 45 yards on three carries.
Brian Cliffin led the ground game with 100 yards on eight carries.
Jyquez Cason scored on special teams with an 81-yard punt return.
Kicker Declan Hense was 4 of 5 on extra-point kicks.
Bradford’s defense held Palatka to 32 yards.
The Tornadoes were the number-one seed in Region 2 and began the playoffs with a 42-0 quarterfinal win over Atlantic.
Shanks was 6 of 7 passing for 140 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 62 yards and one touchdown on five carries.
The offense had 333 yards. Brazell and Kellum had touchdown receptions of 39 and 35 yards, respectively. Cason had a blocked punt that led to a 30-yard scoring drive and later rushed for a 26-yard touchdown.
Cliffin and Elijah Lawrence also had touchdown runs.
Hense was 6 of 6 on extra-point kicks.
Bradford’s defense, which got a fumble recovery by McKenzie, allowed Atlantic to gain just 29 yards.
In the Region 2 semifinals, Bradford gave up its first touchdown in five games, but still defeated Eastside 28-7.
The Rams were held to no points and 33 yards in the second half, finishing with 166 yards overall. Bradford created three turnovers — fumble recoveries by Jenkins and Lewis and an interception by Cummings.
On offense, Cummings caught five passes for 56 yards. He had touchdown receptions of 7 and 24 yards.
Shanks completed 8 of 9 passes for 115 yards, while also rushing for 83 yards on 13 carries.
McKenzie, who rushed for 60 yards on eight carries, had two short touchdown runs in the second half.
Hense was 4 of 4 on PATs.
The Tornadoes won the Region 2 championship by defeating Baker County 43-0. It was their sixth straight win by at least three touchdowns.
Cason had a huge game, which included rushing for scores of 8 and 37 yards and catching a 21-yard touchdown pass from McKenzie. He finished with 97 rushing yards on six carries, while catching three passes for 51 yards.
Bradford, which had 343 yards, also got touchdown runs from McKenzie and Shanks, while the defense had the first score of the game on Lewis’ fumble return.
A bad shotgun snap by Baker resulted in a safety that added to Bradford’s point total.
Hense was 5 of 6 on PATs.
Things weren’t going well for the Tornadoes in their next game, but they overcame five turnovers and a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Pensacola Catholic 22-21 in overtime in the state semifinals.
Bradford finally got on the board when Cummings turned a screen pass into a 64-yard touchdown. The Tornadoes later put together an 80-yard scoring drive that began with approximately six minutes left in regulation. It came down to a fourth-and-3 play at the Pensacola Catholic 9-yard line. McKenzie, who was in at quarterback for the injured Shanks, threw a touchdown pass to Chason Clark with 1:27 on the clock. Hense added his second PAT of the night to tie the score.
The Crusaders drove down field and attempted a 41-yard field goal, which was no good on the final play.
Pensacola Catholic had the first possession in overtime, which resulted in Nigel Nelson scoring a touchdown on a 5-yard run. After the extra point, the Crusaders led 21-14.
Bradford’s first offensive play in overtime was a 9-yard run by Willie Pollard, which set up McKenzie’s 1-yard touchdown. The Tornadoes elected to go for two. Shanks, who had returned from his injury, kept the ball and followed blockers Brazell and Clark into the end zone for the win.
The Crusaders rolled up 239 yards in the first half, but were held to 39 yards the rest of the way.
In the state-championship game, Bradford created five turnovers and held a high-scoring Cocoa team to just two field goals in the second half, but the offense struggled in the 20-6 loss.
Lewis recovered a fumble on Cocoa’s first series, which led to Bradford putting the first points on the board when Cummings hauled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Shanks.
Cocoa took the lead on its next possession, scoring on a 37-yard pass play and adding a successful extra point.
The Tigers scored a touchdown on a 99-yard drive in the second quarter, benefitting from 40 yards in penalties assessed against Bradford.
Cocoa was close to adding another first-half score, but fumbled the ball out of the end zone at the Bradford 1-yard line.
Bradford’s defense, which held Cocoa to its lowest point total of the season, got a fumble recovery by Devon McBride and interceptions by Cason and Cummings.
The Tornadoes finished the season 14-1. The loss was just the third for Bradford in two seasons.
Weightlifter Bakken is a state runner-up
Takeirra Bakken finished second in the 199-pound class with a 400 total at the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1A Girls Weightlifting Finals.
Bakken was one of three from Bradford to qualify for state. Rylie Blankenship finished ninth in the 110 class with a 225 total, while Allie McFarland was 13th in the 169 class with a 285 total.
The postseason began with Bradford earning the team runner-up trophy at the District 6-1A meet. Bakken, Blankenship, Brianna Brooks (unlimited class) and Gabby Oliver (199 class) won their classes, while McFarland placed third to also earn the right to advance to regional-level competition.
Bakken won the Region 2 title in her class to automatically qualify for state. Blankenship took second in her class, while McFarland was fourth.
Clark lifts at state
Chason Clark qualified for state in boys weightlifting after his seventh-place total at the Region 2-1A meet was good enough to earn him an at-large bid.
Clark, who lifted in the 199 class, advanced to regionals off a fourth-place finish at the District 7 meet. At regionals, he had a 540 total, sending him to state, where he finished 11th with a 560 total.
Bradford had three lifters in all advance from districts to regionals. Cayden Carter did so with a sixth-place total of 450 in the 238 class, while Reese Wainwright advanced with a ninth-place total of 410 in the 199 class.
Cheerleaders make state in 1st year
Bradford took part in the competitive cheer season for the first time and qualified for the state finals with its performance in the Region 1 event.
The Tornadoes had a raw score of 68.6 in the Small Varsity division (up to 12 participants). Teams — including region champions and runners-up — that have a raw score of at least 60 qualify for the state semifinals.
Participating on the team were Skyla Buonacore, Abigail Casey, Madison Casey, Kendall Cook, Nivaiah Foster, Desirae Jones, Jamiee Lin, Kailey Marr. Lily Mercer, Abbigale Moore, Emma Mueller, Kayla Mueller and Amy Prescott.
BHS wins 1st-ever flag football title
Bradford posted its 12th shutout of the season in winning its first-ever girls flag football championship, defeating Lincoln 36-0 to claim the District 2 trophy.
The Tornadoes advanced to the championship game by defeating Suwannee 28-12 in the semifinals. Suwannee led twice, but Bradford scored 21 unanswered points in getting the win.
Ar’Nayshia Griffin completed 15 of 29 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns. One touchdown went to Khamyra Hankerson, who had four catches for 35 yards, while the other went to Woods, who caught two passes for 20yards.
Hankerson also scored on defense on an interception return.
Nichelle Brown, who had two carries for 20 yards, added a rushing touchdown. She also caught five passes for 90 yards.
Griffin led the team in rushing with 110 yards on 12 carries.
The defense got six sacks from Ajiyah Jackson and two interceptions by Griffin.
In the win championship win over Lincoln, Jada Hankerson returned two interceptions for touchdowns, while Brown had a 63-yard touchdown run.
Griffin rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, while completing 5 of 10 passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
Jada Hankerson and Khamyra Hankerson each had a touchdown catch.
Bradford’s season ended with a 7-0 loss to Paxon in the Region 1 quarterfinals.
The defense did its part to keep the Tornadoes in the game, intercepting four passes inside the Bradford 5-yard line.
Griffin rushed for 81 yards on 17 carries and completed nine passes for 68 yards.
Woods caught five passes for 46 yards, while Khamyra Hankerson had four catches for 22 yards.
Bradford, which finished with a 16-1 record, played without Brown, who was injured in the district championship game.
Regional berths earned in girls hoops, track and field and boys golf
Despite going 0-1 in the District 2-3A tournament, the girls basketball team earned a Region 1 berth.
Bradford, after a first-round bye, lost 60-46 to Trinity Catholic in the semifinals of the district tournament. Jada Hankerson scored 17 second-half points (including 11 points on 14 free-throw attempts) as the Tornadoes cut a 16-point deficit to single digits, but the Celtics were able to pull away in the end.
Hankerson led all scorers with 24 points, while Ar’Nayshia Griffin scored 12 points. The Tornadoes also got five points from Nichelle Brown, two points each from Destiny Crum and Gemma Rodriguez and one point from Ajiyah Jackson.
It was the seventh loss in nine games for the Tornadoes, but they earned an at-large regional playoff berth. They traveled to play top seed Providence and lost 58-46 in a Region 1 quarterfinal game.
Griffin and Hankerson each scored 13 points, while Brown had 10 points. Bradford also got four points from Ayanna Pringle and two points each from Crum, Jackson and Khamyra Hankerson.
In track and field, Bradford qualified for regional competition in two events. The boys 4x800m relay team of Jordan Barton, Krystian Harris, Chayten Sanders and Hayden Starling ran a third-place time of 10:37 at the District 3-2A meet, while Kaelyn Booker took fourth in the girls 400m with a time of 1:04.
Charlie Zink earned a regional berth in boys golf after shooting an 18-hole score of 86 to tie for 10th. He was one of the top three individuals not on one of the top three teams, which automatically qualified for regionals.
