Telegraph Staff Writer
Visiting Madison County scored touchdowns on all but one of its first-half possessions, rushing for 388 yards in defeating the Bradford High School football team 32-21 on Oct. 29.
Bradford, which suffered its second loss in three games, closes out the regular season by hosting Fort White for homecoming on Friday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. The Tornadoes (4-5) then wait to see what their final RPI ranking is, which determines if they make the playoffs and who they play.
If Bradford advances to the playoffs, its game against the Cowboys (6-3) served as a good preview of the type of competition it’ll face as Madison, a fellow Class 1A team, should have no trouble making the postseason.
Though the Tornadoes had touchdown drives of 65 and 81 yards, their average number of plays per possession averaged only five, which meant a quick turnaround for a defense that had trouble getting off the field. Madison, which punted once and converted four of six fourth-down plays, averaged 42 yards per drive.
“They’re one of the best in the state,” BHS Head Coach Brian Tomlinson said. “I feel like we’re with them. The offense just needed to help the defense out. The defense was on the field a long time and played hard all night.”
On the game’s opening series, the Cowboys needed only three plays to gain two first downs, with Tommie House catching an 11-yard pass from Jamie Hampton and Hampton gaining 13 yards on a run play. Bradford forced Madison into a fourth-and-5 play, but the Tornadoes were drawn offsides, resulting in a fourth-and-inches play from the Bradford 23. Keshaun Mitchell took a handoff and went up the middle for a touchdown at the 8:44 mark of the first quarter to put the Cowboys up 6-0. The PAT was no good.
Bradford lost 5 yards on its first play from scrimmage and punted after three plays. A short punt had the Cowboys starting a drive at their own 47, but they, too, would go three-and-out. The Tornadoes’ Trent Hankerson made a tackle for a loss of a yard, while Sincere
Hankerson broke up a third-down pass play.
The Tornadoes struggled on their second offensive series, losing 4 yards on three plays and punting. A 25-yard punt had Madison taking over at the Bradford 30.
Chason Clark and Sincere Hankerson teamed up to hold Hampton to no gain on first down, while Chalil Cummings limited House to just a 2-yard gain on second. After an incomplete pass, the Cowboys went for it on fourth down, converting on House’s 11-yard run to the 17. Chris Strong tackled Mitchell for no gain on the next play, but an 11-yard run by Hampton set up first-and-goal. Hampton eventually scored on a 2-yard run. The quarterback then completed a pass to Mitchell on the two-point conversion to make the score 14-0 with 2:12 remaining in the opening quarter.
On their first play following Manny Covey’s 20-yard kickoff return, the Tornadoes got a 19-yard pass play from Amari Jones to Tez Williams for a first down at the Madison 46. Three plays later, Bradford had another first down on a 10-yard run by Isaiah Wilcox. Jones would later complete a short pass to Cummings, who made his way along the Madison sideline for a 35-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left in the first quarter. Hayden Hughes kicked the extra point to make it a 14-7 game.
The touchdown play was Cummings’ only reception, but he finished as Bradford’s second-leading receiver in yardage.
The Cowboys struggled to start the ensuing series, with a fumble and a tackle for loss by Trente Jenkins resulting in them eventually lining up to punt on fourth-and-13 from their own 35. A 15-yard run on a fake-punt attempt, however, kept their offense on the field.
Runs by Hampton, House and Mitchell moved Madison to the Bradford 12, with a 17-yard run by House converting a third-and-10 play. A holding penalty backed the Cowboys up, but on first-and-26, Hampton had a 20-yard run to the 8-yard line. Mitchell then got two straight handoffs, with the second resulting in a 3-yard touchdown at the 5:02 mark of the second quarter to put Madison up 20-7. The PAT was no good.
Bradford answered with an eight-play, 81-yard scoring drive. Receptions of 20 and 34 yards by Covey and Willie Pollard, respectively, moved the Tornadoes to the Madison 34. A 16-yard run by Covey, who finished with 33 yards on seven carries, later resulted in first-and-goal at the 10. Two plays later, Jones threw a pass to Pollard in the end zone that was broken up. Dae’Jon Shanks, however, caught the ball while it was still in the air for a 9-yard touchdown with 2:54 remaining in the half. Hughes added the PAT to make the score
20-14.
Despite not getting the pass intended for him, Pollard finished with a team-high 53 yards on two catches.
The Cowboys needed just two plays to move from their own 38 to the Bradford 35, getting a 12-yard run from Hampton and a roughing-the-passer penalty against the Tornadoes. Hampton then had runs of 14 and 10 yards to set up first down at the 11. House would eventually find his way into the end zone on a 6-yard run with 43 seconds left until halftime, making the score 26-14. The PAT was no good.
Madison increased its lead on its second possession of the second half. House had three carries for 39 yards on the drive, capping it with a 15-yard touchdown with 23 seconds remaining in the third quarter. House was held out of the end zone on the two-point conversion, but the Cowboys had a 32-14 lead.
Covey made it a two-score game 13 seconds later when he returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. After Hughes’ PAT, the score stood at 32-21.
The Tornadoes’ Torin Brazell made a huge play on Madison’s ensuing series when he tackled Mitchell for no gain on fourth-and-3 at the Bradford 40. Bradford’s offense took over at the 10:13 mark of the fourth quarter. A sack on first down had the Tornadoes facing second-and-15. A reception by Williams set up third-and-10. Jones, who was 11-of-22 for 167 yards, then completed a deep pass to Cummings, but the play was negated by a holding penalty. On third-and-27, Jones was sacked for a 10-yard loss. With 37 yards to go for the first down from their own 13, the Tornadoes punted.
Madison chewed up the remaining 7:39, despite the fact Bradford got a sack from Brazell and a couple of tackles behind the line of scrimmage by Jenkins. House gained first downs on runs of 8 and 14 yards, while a 6-yard run by Hampton converted a fourth-and-4 play. Mitchell had a 9-yard run to the 11 to set up another first down, which allowed the Cowboys to eventually take a knee after two more run plays.
The Cowboys had 65 run plays compared to eight pass attempts. They averaged 6 yards per carry, with House and Hampton gaining 154 and 149 yards, respectively.
Bradford finished with 232 yards of offense.
At the game’s conclusion, Tomlinson said his team made mistakes against a team you simply can’t make mistakes against. It was frustrating because he believes his team has the potential to play with and beat teams like Madison.
“I feel like we’re right there,” Tomlinson said. “We’re close, but they say moral victories are still losses. Moral victories in the playoffs send you home, so we want to make sure we correct (the mistakes) before then.”
The Tornadoes now play a Fort White team that began the season 3-1, but has split its last four games. The Indians (5-3) are coming off a 14-7 win over Interlachen.
