Telegraph Staff Writer
Tez Williams caught two touchdown passes and came up with two interceptions for a defense that created five turnovers in all in the Bradford High School football team’s 33-12 win over visiting Class 5A Suwannee on Sept. 24.
Bradford (2-3) has now won two of its last three games and has a chance to enter its bye week at .500 when it hosts American Collegiate on Friday, Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m.
“That was huge,” Bradford Head Coach Brian Tomlinson said after the game, adding, “We have an opportunity to go into the bye week 3-3 and turn things around. Year in and year out, we usually hit the bye week, and things start going our way. Hopefully, that continues.”
It wasn’t the best of starts for the Tornadoes, who went three-and-out on their first offensive series and then saw quarterback Amari Jones get tackled in the end zone for a safety on their second possession.
A personal-foul penalty after the safety backed the Tornadoes up on the ensuing free kick, with the result being that the Bulldogs (2-2) started a drive on the Bradford 46-yard line.
Suwannee had the early momentum, but that would change in a hurry. On the Bulldogs’ first play following the free kick, Torin Brazell and Trent Hankerson combined to sack the quarterback and cause a fumble, which the Tornadoes’ Chason Clark scooped up and returned 50 yards for a touchdown at the 8:21 mark of the first quarter. Hayden Hughes added the PAT for a 7-2 lead.
The sack was one of 12 tackles Bradford made behind the line of scrimmage. It was the first of two strip-sacks involving Brazell, who was in on at least six tackles for loss.
“They really set the tone early and just sparked us tonight,” Tomlinson said of his defense.
The first time the Bradford offense took to the field following Clark’s score, it put together a 10-play touchdown drive. Willie Pollard got the drive started, gaining 11 yards on three straight carries. Manny Covey later had two huge plays with a 12-yard reception on a second-and-15 play and then a 30-yard run to the Suwannee 33. Two runs by Jones helped the Tornadoes move to the 25, but a holding penalty later had them facing fourth-and-15 from the 31-yard line. Bradford went for it, with Williams coming down with a pass inside the 5-yard line and scoring his first touchdown with four minutes left in the opening quarter. After Hughes’ extra point, the Tornadoes led 14-2.
Suwanee drove from its 41 to the Bradford 31 on the ensuing series, but a couple of penalties would put the Bulldogs in long-yardage plays. They eventually settled for a 55-yard Braxtyn Green field-goal attempt, which was no good with 1:30 to play in the first quarter.
Bradford’s offense had two straight three-and-out possessions, but it got another spark from its defense when Williams intercepted a tipped pass and returned it approximately 60 yards to the Suwannee 4-yard line. One play later, Isaiah Wilcox bulled his way into the end zone. Hughes added the PAT for a 21-2 lead at the 8:37 mark of the second quarter.
The defense continued its strong play on Suwannee’s following series, with Chalil Cummings breaking up a pass and Brazell recording a 1-yard sack. The Bulldogs lined up to punt, but mishandled snap resulted in the punter falling on the loose ball, giving the Bradford offense possession at the Suwannee 30-yard line.
Bradford was unable to capitalize, with a holding penalty negating a Covey reception that would’ve put the Tornadoes inside the 10-yard line.
Following a punt, the Suwannee offense put together its best drive of the night, covering 75 yards on nine plays and scoring on Malachi Graham’s 3-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs, after Green’s PAT, made the score 21-9 with 4:44 remaining in the first half.
Graham had three total carries on the drive for 27 yards, while the Bulldogs also had pass plays of 14 and 35 yards. The 35-yard pass play occurred on fourth-and-11 and set up fist-and-goal.
The Tornadoes’ Jarrin Alexander returned the ensuing kickoff 21 yards to the Bradford 35. A 17-yard reception by Cummings gave Bradford one first down, while an 18-yard run by Wilcox resulted in a first down at the Suwannee 23. Bradford got no closer than the 20 and sent Hughes out for a 37-yard field-goal attempt, which he nailed to make the score 24-9 with 1:52 until halftime.
Suwannee was able to drive down the field, thanks to three 15-yard penalties against Bradford, and set up for a 50-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of the half. Green’s kick was no good.
Graham had 17 yards on three carries to help the Bulldogs march from their own 40 to the Bradford 27 to open the second half. This time, Green was successful on a field-goal attempt, making a 44-yarder to make the score 24-12 at the 7:45 mark of the third quarter.
After the Tornadoes went three-and-out on their initial series of the half, Suwannee began a drive at the Bradford 46 and moved to the 28, thanks to runs of 10 and 12 yards by Terrell Atkinson. However, on a fourth-and-2 play, Brazell came up with a 2-yard sack.
One play later, Williams, who had three receptions for 112 yards, took a short pass from Jones and outsprinted the defense for a 70-yard touchdown. Problems with the snap prevented Hughes from attempting an extra point and going 4-for-4 on the night, but Bradford had increased its lead to 30-12.
The next two Suwannee drives saw Brazell and Devon McBride both record tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Williams ended the second drive with his second interception.
Suwannee’s Trevion Milton intercepted a pass to give the Bulldogs the ball at the Bradford 27. Three plays later, the Bulldogs had a first down at the 17, but Brazell then had a strip-sack, with Bryson Bowen recovering the loose ball for the Tornadoes.
Bradford added the game’s final points with 4:38 remaining when Hughes kicked a 36-yard field goal to make the score 33-12.
The Tornadoes’ defense had one more big play to make, with Brian Cliffin recovering a fumble following his own strip-sack. That led to Hughes attempting another field goal with 1:41 to play, but his 49-yard attempt was no good.
Suwannee averaged only 2.3 yards per rushing attempt and was held to 184 yards.
Jones completed 11-of-24 passes for 190 yards. Covey was the second-leading receiver behind Williams with three catches for 33 yards.
Bradford rushed for 126 yards, with Covey gaining 45 yards on 10 carries and Jones gaining 41 yards on five carries.
American Collegiate Academy out of Clearwater will bring a 1-2 record into Starke on Oct. 1 after its 34-14 loss to IMG Academy-White on Sept. 24. The Rough Riders opened the season with a 10-6 loss to Union County, but bounced back to defeat Ambassadors Christian Academy 52-0.
