BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford High School’s football team has been hard to beat under Head Coach Jamie Rodgers, but this year’s Newberry Panthers have now accomplished the feat twice.
The third seed Panthers built a three-touchdown lead early in the second half and got four touchdowns and 195 total yards rushing and passing from quarterback Collin Dunmore in defeating the second seed Tornadoes 39-14 in a Region 2-2A semifinal game on Nov. 22 in Starke.
Newberry defeated Bradford 21-7 in the regular season to win the District 5 championship. Now, the Panthers (10-2) travel to play number-one seed and two-time defending state champ Cocoa (8-3) for the Region 2 championship on Friday, Nov. 29.
The teams were almost even in most stat categories, such as rushing yards, passing yards, first downs and time of possession, but Bradford had two turnovers, while Newberry had none. One turnover was a fumble that led to a Panthers touchdown — their second within the first 5.5 minutes of the second half.
Of course, the most obvious advantage the Panthers had was points scored. Newberry became just the second team to score more than 30 points against the Tornadoes in Rodgers’ three years at the helm.
Dunmore was a big part of that, rushing for 72 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries and completing 5 of 11 passes for 123 yards and one touchdown.
The Panthers also produced big chunk plays, with six covering more than 20 yards each.
Rodgers said Newberry, which is on a nine-game winning streak, reminds him of the way Bradford has played the last couple years.
“We just didn’t play very well,” Rodgers said, “but you’ve got to give them a lot of credit. They’ve got a lot of good football players over there.”
It was just the fifth loss the Tornadoes have experienced under Rodgers.
“You’re not going to win every game you play in life. We’ve been fortunate to win a lot of them,” said Rodgers, whose Bradford teams have a three-year record of 35-5.
Bradford (9-2) had the game’s first offensive possession, but the Tornadoes’ first play resulted in a loss of 5 yards. Gino Addison did have a 10-yard run on third-and-14, but with the ball at their own 22, the Tornadoes punted on a quick three-and-out.
Dunmore made his presence known immediately, carrying the ball for a 5-yard gain on Newberry’s first offensive play. After a 12-yard run by Kaleb Woods, Newberry attempted a flea flicker. It didn’t go as drawn up, but what it did do is produced the game’s first score as Dunsmore scrambled out of the pocket to elude pressure and found himself sprinting through the defense for a 32-yard touchdown, capping a three-play, 49-yard drive. With Zane Spires’ extra point, the Panthers led 7-0 at the 7:30 mark of the first quarter.
It was a better effort from the Bradford defense on Newberry’s next series. A pass play resulted in a 3-yard loss, while Trente Jenkins tackled Dunsmore for a 1-yard gain. Dunsmore’s pass attempt on third-and-12 was incomplete, forcing a punt.
The Tornadoes, after gaining a net total of 14 yards on their first two series, put together a 55-yard scoring drive on their third. A 20-yard run by Iyen Addison put Bradford at the Newberry 40, while two consecutive runs by Gino Addison moved the Tornadoes to the 21, with Addison dragging defenders for a 13-yard gain on the second carry. Bradford hurt itself with two penalties and eventually faced third-and-20. Marlin Haywood caught a pass from Zack Paulk at about the 10-yard line and took it into the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown as the first quarter ended. Cy Cubbedge’s extra point was blocked by Logan McCloud, leaving the Tornadoes trailing 7-6.
Bradford forced the Panthers to go three-and-out on the following series and was awarded with good field position on a short punt that put the Tornadoes at the Newberry 29-yard line.
The Tornadoes, though, couldn’t capitalize. After an illegal-procedure penalty, Gino Addison had two runs to set up third-and-7. Paulk’s pass to Haywood in the end zone was incomplete. On fourth down, Bradford went for it, with Branden Williams receiving the snap and running toward the line of scrimmage before pulling up for a pass. It was intercepted by Newberry’s Elijah Beckford. His 30-yard return and a dead-ball personal foul on the Tornadoes set the Panthers’ offense up at the Bradford 42.
Dunmore completed a 35-yard pass to Keivan Santiago for first-and-goal at the 2. Dunmore went over center and into the end zone on a scoring drive of only three plays, putting the Panthers up 13-6 with 7:23 to play in the half. The PAT was no good.
Bradford squandered another opportunity inside the Newberry 30-yard line on its next series. The drive began with a 9-yard reception by Williams and an additional 15 yards because of a late hit on Newberry. Jeremiah McKenzie then lined up to take the snap, keeping the ball for a 36-yard gain to the Newberry 20. McKenzie, however, was tackled for a 1-yard loss on the following play, while Williams was held to no gain on second down. On third-and-11, Jy’Quez Cason was dropped for a 2-yard loss. Paulk set up to pass on fourth down, but tucked the ball and ran for only a 3-yard gain, resulting in a turnover on downs.
The Tornadoes would’ve had a first down past midfield on their next drive, but a fumble on a pass play was recovered for a 4-yard loss, resulting in fourth-and-5 at the Bradford 47. Newberry’s Jarquez Carter blocked the punt, which set the Panthers up at the Bradford 7-yard line with 18 seconds remaining until halftime. The Panthers had no time outs.
Bradford’s Haywood broke up a pass on first down, while Dunmore and Carter weren’t on the same page on second down, resulting in another incompletion. An illegal-procedure penalty backed Newberry up to the 12 with 10
seconds on the clock. The Panthers elected to send Spires onto the field for a field-goal attempt, but Bradford jumped offsides. With the ball back at the 7, Newberry sent its offense back onto the field. Dunmore handed off to Jamarcus Wimberly, who was tackled at the 4-yard line. The Panthers attempted to get to line up so Dunmore could spike the ball and kill the clock, but time expired, sending the teams into the half and the score still standing at 13-6.
Newberry received the second-half kickoff and put together a six-play, 62-yard touchdown drive. A 27-yard catch and run by Carter set the Panthers up at the Bradford 36. Dunmore converted a third-and-4 play with a 4-yard run to the 26. On the resulting first-down play, Dunmore connected with Santiago for a touchdown at the 8:45 mark of the third quarter. Spires added the PAT for a 20-6 Newberry lead.
The Tornadoes fumbled on their third offensive play of the half, with the Panthers recovering at the Bradford 30. Dunmore promptly completed a 22-yard pass to McCloud for first-and-goal at the 8. The quarterback eventually scored on a 5-yard run, putting Newberry up 27-6 after Spires’ PAT with 5:41 to play in the third quarter.
Bradford answered with a 10-play scoring drive. Paulk completed passes to Haywood, Elijah Lawrence and Jordan Cason for first downs. Newberry was penalized for a personal foul on Cason’s 15-yard reception, which moved the Tornadoes to the Newberry 20.
Paulk was sacked for a 5-yard loss on the ensuing play, but runs of 6 and 13 yards by Iyen Addison resulted in first-and-goal at the 6. Addison, who rushed for 46 yards on six carries, got another handoff and scored from there with 1:19 remaining until the fourth quarter. Cubbedge kicked the extra point, making the score 27-13.
The Tornadoes got what they needed from their defense, which forced a three-and-out on the following series. Bradford’s offense began a drive at its own 48. Williams had a 6-yard reception on first down, but an incomplete pass set up third-and-4 at the Newberry 46. After a 1-yard run by Iyen Addison, the Tornadoes went for it on fourth down, with Paulk being sacked for an 11-yard loss.
Jenkins sacked Dunmore for a 5-yard loss on the Panthers’ first play following the turnover on downs, but Newberry got runs of 6 and 10 yards by Darius Debose and Dunmore, respectively, in picking up a first down at the Bradford 33. A holding penalty backed the Panthers up, but on third-and-14, Dunmore completed a 37-yard touchdown pass to Santiago. After the PAT, Newberry led 34-13 with 6:19 remaining in the game.
Jy’Quez Cason returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to the Newberry 36. After an 11-yard pass to Lawrence, Paulk hooked up with Mikey Oliver for a 25-yard touchdown to make the score 34-19 with 5:52 to play. Cubbedge’s extra point was blocked.
Paulk finished 11 of 16 for 125 yards.
Newberry’s offense chewed up five minutes with an 11-play, 41-yard drive that consisted of nothing but runs by Debose and Dunmore. The Panthers turned the ball over on downs at the Bradford 13-yard line with 13 seconds on the clock.
After rushing for just 42 yards in its regular-season loss to Newberry, Bradford had 180 yards on 34 carries. Two players besides Iyen Addison also rushed for more than 30 yards: McKenzie, with 37 yards on three carries, and Gino Addison, with 33 yards on seven carries.
The Tornadoes had 305 yards in all, while Newberry had 290 total yards.
It was the final game for a senior group that has meant a lot to Rodgers.
“They’re all special groups every single year, but this group has been with me for all three years that I’ve been here,” he said. “It’s different from having them only one or two years. I see them more than I see my own kids.
“Man, I’m so appreciative of how hard they’ve played and everything that they’ve done. I just love them.”
Now, it’s a short break before casting an eye toward next season.
“We’ll go back to work in a couple of weeks,” Rodgers said. “I’ll give them a couple of weeks off. Then, we’ll get back in the weight room and try to get better.”
