Telegraph Staff Writer
Bradford High School’s football team fell behind 17-0, and though coming back to make it a three-point game at one point, the Tornadoes ultimately fell 38-21 to host Baldwin on Oct. 15.
“We can’t play flat against a good team. We came out flat,” said BHS Head Coach Brian Tomlinson, whose team travels to play Yulee on Friday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. “You can’t take anything away from (Baldwin). They’re a good team, but we’ve got things we’ve got to fix.”
The Tornadoes’ defense settled in after Baldwin (4-2) gained 117 yards and scored 10 points on its first two possessions. Bradford (3-4) held the Indians to 146 yards the rest of the game and created two turnovers.
Turnovers and penalties hurt the Tornadoes, with Baldwin scoring two touchdowns on fumble and interception returns, and an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty helping to give the Indians’ offense the ball at the Bradford 15-yard line, which led to another score.
Bradford finished with almost 200 yards in penalties. (Baldwin’s penalty yardage was approximately 100 yards.)
Still, the Tornadoes seemed to have all the momentum at one point, scoring touchdowns on three straight possessions to make the score 24-21, but Bradford then turned the ball over on two straight possessions.
“We know this wasn’t our best performance,” Tomlinson said, “but we showed glimpses of what we can do. We can fix (what went wrong).”
Things went wrong at the start as Baldwin successfully attempted an onside kick. Bradford’s Gavin Cook broke up a pass on first down, while Bryson Bowen and Cole Crosby made a tackle for a loss of 5 yards on second down. The Indians, however, picked up a first down on two straight pass completions of 10 yards each. Quarterback Ethan Crause, on a third-and-9 play, hit Samuel Brooks coming across the middle for a 34-yard touchdown at the 8:37 mark of the first quarter. Aedan O’Neal kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Baldwin lead.
Baldwin, after forcing the Tornadoes to go three-and-out on their first series, began a drive at its own 15. Bradford again made some good defensive plays early, including getting a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage by Chason Clark. The Indians, as they did on their first series, overcame that, with Krause completing an 18-yard pass to Dejuan Malpress for a first down.
A 37-yard reception by Jahad Miller and a personal-foul facemask penalty later moved the Indians to the Bradford 11-yard line. Levarn Harvin caught a 6-yard pass to put the ball at the 5-yard line. From there, Krause threw a touchdown pass to Eric Buggest, but Baldwin was penalized for having an ineligible receiver downfield. On third-and-9 from the 10, Cook broke up a pass inside the 5-yard line, forcing the Indians to settle for O’Neal’s 27-yard field goal. Baldwin led 10-0 with 3:52 to play in the opening quarter.
Bradford began the ensuing series at midfield. A 19-yard pass from Amari Jones to Jeremiah Crum and a 10-yard run by Jones helped the Tornadoes move to the Baldwin 23. Jones later completed a 12-yard pass to Jarrin Alexander that set up first-and-goal at the 7. The drive, which included a pass-interference penalty on Bradford, eventually stalled at the 15. The Tornadoes’ Hayden Hughes missed a 32-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Tez Williams, who caught nine passes for 110 yards, helped Bradford’s offense drive to the Baldwin 29 the next time the Tornadoes had the ball, catching two passes for 15 yards. Jones also had two straight runs totaling 7 yards that resulted in a first down, but Bradford eventually turned the ball over on downs after an incompletion on fourth-and-10.
The Indians’ first play following the change of possession resulted in the first of two interceptions by the Tornadoes’ Alexander. Alexander took the ball into Baldwin territory on the return, but an illegal block moved the ball back to the Bradford 47, where its offense took control.
Bradford, benefitting from a 10-yard run by Jones and an 18-yard run by Willie Pollard, marched to the Baldwin 21. Jones, however, was unable to corral a low snap, which the Indians’ Adrian Yeartie scooped up and took the distance for a touchdown at the 5:21 mark of the second quarter. O’Neal added the PAT to put the Indians ahead 17-0.
The Tornadoes responded with a 65-yard touchdown drive. After two straight incompletions to start the series, Jones connected with Crum for a 26-yard gain to the Baldwin 39. A 17-yard reception by Williams resulted in another first down, while a 4-yard run by Pollard later set up fourth-and-1 at the 13. Jones was able to draw the Baldwin defense offsides for first-and-goal at the 8. Pollard, on two straight runs, moved the Tornadoes to the 5-yard line before Jones, who was 28-of-49 for 303 yards, threw a touchdown pass to Triavez Hankerson with 2:07 remaining in the half. Hughes added the PAT to make the score 17-7.
Harvin returned the ensuing kickoff 32 yards to the Bradford 30. Three unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties between the two teams were called after the play. Two of the penalties offset, but the third was marked off against Bradford, giving the Indians the ball at the 15-yard line. A roughing-the-passer penalty later resulted in first-and-goal at the 8. Baldwin scored from there on King Grant’s touchdown reception with 1:05 on the clock. The Indians led 24-7 after O’Neal’s PAT.
Bradford’s Manny Covey returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, but a penalty for an illegal block nullified the score and had the Tornadoes starting a drive at their own 37. A 9-yard reception by Hankerson and an 11-yard run by Jones resulted in a first down. A 13-yard reception by Pollard gave Bradford a first down at the Baldwin 25. Pollard caught two more passes to move Bradford to the 10. Jones, who rushed for 68 yards on 11 carries, scored on a run from there with three seconds left until halftime. Hughes kicked the extra point as the Tornadoes went into the break trailing 24-14.
The Tornadoes’ defense, which got a 6-yard sack from Chris Strong, forced Baldwin to go three-and-out on the first series of the second half. Williams returned the punt 23 yards to the Bradford 48. Bradford picked up one first down on Chalil Cummings’ 18-yard reception, while a catch by Williams resulted in a first down at the Baldwin 25. Jones completed passes of 10 and 8 yards to Crum and Williams, respectively, to move the Tornadoes inside the 10, but they would later be backed up because of a holding penalty. Covey, though, would catch a pass and turn it into a 17-yard touchdown at the 5:31 mark of the third quarter. Hughes added the PAT to make it a 24-21 game.
Cook came up with a big defensive play on the following series when he tripped up Armale Dubose on a pass play, holding him 4 yards shy of a first down. Strong then tackled Dubose for a 6-yard loss on third-and-four, forcing the Indians to punt.
Runs of 3 and 9 yards by Jones and Pollard, respectively, resulted in first downs as the Tornadoes began marching down the field again. A fumble, however, would end the drive at the Baldwin 29.
Baldwin gained 41 yards to the Bradford 23 on a pass play from Krause to Miller. The Tornadoes’ defense would stiffen and force the Indians to turn the ball over on downs.
Two plays following the change of possession, the Indians’ Harvin stepped in front of a receiver and scored on a 24-yard pick-six. O’Neal kicked the extra point as Baldwin took a 31-21 lead eight seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Indians then recovered an onside kick and proceeded to drive into the red zone, taking advantage of two 15-yard penalties. Alexander ended the threat when he intercepted a pass at his own 6-yard line.
Bradford’s offense picked up a first down on a reception by Crum, while a 9-yard reception by Covey left the Tornadoes inches shy of another first. Pollard was dropped for a 3-yard loss on the following short-yardage, third-down play. On fourth-and-3, Bradford was penalized for illegal procedure. Jones then threw an incompletion on fourth-and-8.
Baldwin then drove 41 yards for the night’s final score. Jalen Hitchens entered at quarterback and ran the ball four straight times. On his fifth snap, he threw a pass, hitting Miller in stride along the home sideline for a 31-yard touchdown with 2:59 to play.
Pollard finished the game with 48 rushing yards on 13 carries and 31 yards on three receptions, while Covey caught five passes for 49 yards.
The Tornadoes gained 430 yards to Baldwin’s 263, but it wasn’t good enough to result in a win.
“We had a good week of practice,” Tomlinson said. “It’s just one of those things when you deal with 15- to 18-year-old young men. It happens. We’ll get back, and we’ll fix some things and see what we can do.”
Bradford now takes on a Class 5A Yulee team that has lost three of its last four games. The Hornets (3-4) are coming off a 25-6 loss to Raines. Their other losses were a bit closer: 14-7 against Hawthorne, 14-13 to Parker and 20-14 to Nease.
Yulee hasn’t had a winning season since 2016.
