BY CLIFF SMELLEY
A tough, close game became a blowout as the Bradford High School football team scored on four of its five second-half possessions in defeating Class 3A Dunnellon 35-0 on Aug. 29 in Dunnellon.
“That’s a good football team,” Bradford Head Coach Jamie Rodgers said of Dunnellon. “They’ve got a lot of good skill kids. They have players who could come play for us.
“I was just super happy with the way we came out in the second half and dominated. That was awesome.”
Iyen Addison rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns in the second half on just six carries, finishing his night 132 yards on nine carries.
Rodgers said his team’s up-tempo offense eventually paid dividends. He said he thought the Dunnellon defense was getting worn out and added, “They got tired of tackling Iyen.”
Each of the four touchdowns in the second half, which also included a Jarrell Harris run and a Cy Cubbedge pass to Chase Phillips on a fake punt, covered 26 yards or more.
Defensively, it was a performance typical of the Tornadoes since Rodgers became head coach. Dunnellon gained 81 yards in the first half, but was held to 35 yards in the second.
Bradford (2-0), which travels to play Class 3A South Sumter on Friday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m., now has 21 shutouts dating back to the 2022 season — Rodgers’ first.
“We haven’t shown much 4-3 this year,” Rodgers said. “We came out in a 4-3 tonight and had a couple of stunts that we hadn’t shown yet. The pass rush from our front four was relentless.”
Dunnellon (0-2) had what looked to be a promising drive that began at its own 40 late in the first quarter. Tony Tanner had consecutive runs of 5 and 10 yards, while quarterback Dylan Curry had a 5-yard run as the Tigers moved to the Bradford 40. The Tornadoes’ Jy’Quez Cason then made the first of his two interceptions on the night.
The next time the Tigers had the ball, they benefitted from an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on the Bradford sideline and a 16-yard reception by Iterrean Mitchell, giving Dunnellon a first down at the Bradford 44. Parviele Lee helped force the Tigers into a fourth-down play, tackling Tanner for a loss of a yard on a first down and then holding Curry to a 5-yard scramble on third down. Dunnellon elected to go for it on fourth-and-6, resulting in Cason getting his second interception.
Bradford’s offense had been struggling, with its first three drives netting a total of 20 yards, but the Tornadoes’ fortunes turned around on their fourth series. The drive began with a personal-foul penalty on Dunnellon. A 6-yard reception by Phillips later set up a third-and-1 play that was converted by Harris’ 3-yard run. Cubbedge connected with Jordan Cason on a pass play that gained 21 yards to the Dunnellon 22. The following play was a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage that was caught by Cubbedge for an 8-yard loss. Cubbedge and Cason then hooked up again, with Cason making an over-the-shoulder catch in the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown that capped the 70-yard drive. Tyler Sapp kicked the extra point, giving the Tornadoes a 7-0 lead with less than two minutes remaining until halftime.
Cubbedge finished 8 of 15 for 125 yards, while Cason caught two passes for 51 yards.
The Tornadoes’ first series of the second half began at their own 45-yard line after a 35-yard kickoff return by Phillips. Addison had consecutive carries of 15 and 5 yards. A 9-yard reception by Kamontae Nixon resulted in a first down at the Dunnellon 26. Addison broke free on a run from there, scampering into the end zone and giving Bradford a 14-0 lead after Sapp’s PAT.
Dunnellon’s first offensive play of the half was a bad snap that resulted in a 15-yard loss. The Tigers were able to gain 20 yards on their next two plays, but punted on fourth-and-5. Jy’Quez Cason’s 14-yard return set the Bradford offense up at its own 40.
Two carries by Addison had the Tornadoes facing third-and-2, but after an incomplete pass, Bradford lined up to punt. Cubbedge, who’s also the punter, instead threw a pass to a wide-open Phillips for a 52-yard touchdown. Sapp added the PAT to make it a 21-0 game.
“Coach (John) Staples did a great job getting our special teams ready,” Rodgers said. “We spend a lot of time on special teams. He saw something with the fake punt and made a great call at a great time on our side of the 50, which normally you don’t see. He had confidence in it all week.”
Phillips finished with three catches for 70 yards.
The Tigers picked up two first downs on their next drive, but the Bradford defense stepped up. Lee and Danny Torres teamed up to drop Tanner for a 1-yard loss on first down, while Cohen Cioffi sacked Curry for a 6-yard loss on second down. Dunnellon, after a 9-yard pass play on third down, punted on fourth-and-8 from its own 44.
One play was all Bradford needed to increase its lead, with Addison taking a handoff and sprinting 77 yards for a touchdown.
“He’s a great worker, and he loves to finish runs,” Rodgers said of Addison.
After Sapp’s PAT, the Tornadoes led 28-0 late in the third quarter.
The Tornadoes’ Nate Raymond had an 8-yard sack that helped force the Tigers to punt on their third series of the half.
Dunnellon went three-and-out the next time it had the ball, but a muffed punt gave the Tigers the ball at the Bradford 43. The Tigers, however, had two straight incomplete passes, followed by a holding penalty that backed them up to their own 49-yard line. Two straight incomplete passes ended the possession, with Raymond batting the pass on the fourth-down play as Curry was running for his life.
Bradford concluded its scoring with another one-play drive as Harris had a 49-yard touchdown run. Sapp then capped his perfect night on extra-point attempts.
Harris finished with 61 yards on six carries.
Rodgers’ intent was for that series, which began with 2:58 left in the game, was to run time off the clock, but he gave kudos to the efforts of Harris and the backup linemen.
“Jarrell Harris is one of the fastest guys on our team,” Rodgers said. “He just happens to be one of the backup running backs. He wants to play, too. Our backup linemen wanted to play, too. That was a lot of fun.”
The Tornadoes have gotten off to a strong start this season, winning its two games by a combined score of 59-0.
“I’m proud of this group, but we’ve got a long way to go,” Rodgers said. “We’ve got a lot to do.”
Bradford now goes on the road to play a South Sumter team that has a 55-0 win over Haines City — a Class 7A playoff team from last season — and a 45-6 win over Springstead — a Class 5A playoff team from last season.
The Raiders (2-0) are attempting to bounce back from a 4-6 season in 2024, which included a 28-7 loss to Bradford.
