BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Now that the postseason is here for high school football, the Telegraph-Times-Monitor takes a look at what’s ahead for Bradford and Union County.
Bradford (9-1), the second-ranked team in Class 2S, won the District 6 championship to earn an automatic berth in the playoffs. The Tornadoes are the number-one seed in Region 2 and will host District 8 champion Crescent City (4-6) in a quarterfinal game on Friday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m.
Union (6-2), the fourth-ranked team in Class 1R, had to finish in the top six of the power rankings for Region 3 to get into the playoffs. No problem as the Tigers finished ranked first in their region. That earns them a first-round bye. The Tigers will host either Madison County (3-6) or Fort White (6-4) in a Region 3 semifinal game on Friday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m.
BHS going for 4th straight win in the playoffs’ 1st round
Bradford is making its eight straight playoff appearance and is looking to win a first-round game for the fourth straight year. The Tornadoes have four first-round wins in the past five seasons.
This is Bradford’s 23rd season in the playoffs. The Tornadoes have a postseason record of 21-20.
The Tornadoes’ opponent has experienced little postseason success. Crescent City, which is making its 17th playoff appearance, has a postseason record of 4-16. The Raiders’ best showing was in 1978, when they won two games before falling one game short of reaching the Class 2A state championship game.
This is the second straight year the Raiders have qualified for the playoffs. It’s their third appearance in the last five seasons.
Bradford and Crescent City played one common opponent during the regular season: Keystone Heights. The Tornadoes beat Keystone 38-0, while the Raiders took a 38-18 win.
The Raiders’ four wins this year came against teams with a combined record of 12-28: Keystone, Atlantic, Pierson Taylor and Umatilla.
Three of the Raiders’ losses came against teams that qualified for the playoffs: 47-7 against 1R Chiefland, 30-14 against 1R Hilliard and 35-15 against 2S Titusville.
Crescent City, which enters the playoffs on a three-game losing streak, is scoring an average of 26 points per game, while giving up an average of 29 points per game.
Bradford is scoring an average of 28 points per game and allowing an average of three points per game.
Six of the Tornadoes’ wins this season came against playoff qualifiers: 21-0 against Baker County, 35-0 against Baldwin, 28-0 against Eastside, 21-7 against Munroe, 44-0 against Dunnellon and 35-14 against Palatka.
Bradford played one other playoff qualifier in Suwannee, which defeated the Tornadoes 10-7 in the teams’ regular season finale (see related story).
The Tornadoes played only two teams that finished the regular season with losing records: Keystone and Munroe.
UCHS qualifies for 6th straight season
This marks Union County’s sixth straight year in the playoffs and their 25th year overall. The Tigers have a 37-21 postseason record after going 2-1 in 2021. That was the third straight year Union went 2-1 in the postseason.
The Tigers have to wait a week to get their postseason started, thanks to earning a bye. In looking at their possible opponents on Nov. 18, the one that stands out, despite its 3-6 record, is Madison County, which won the Class 1A state championship the last four years.
Madison has an overall playoff record of 66-19. The Cowboys are in the playoffs for the ninth straight year and have qualified every year but one since their first appearance in 1995.
Besides the four state championships they won from 2018 through 2021, the Cowboys also won Class 2A titles in 2001 and 2007. Madison has also been state runner-up five times (twice in 2A, twice in 3A and once in 4A).
As usual, the Cowboys played a strong schedule in 2022, which consisted of six teams that qualified for the playoffs. Madison beat two of those teams — 40-33 against 1M Carrollwood Day and 28-21 against 3S Rickards — while it lost to 3S Columbia 21-0, 2S Florida High 21-6, 2S Suwannee 36-7 and Georgia’s Fitzgerald 20-12.
Madison is scoring an average of 19 points per game, while allowing an average of 25 points per game.
Fort White — Union’s other possible opponent — qualified for the playoffs for the 15th year. The Indians have a postseason record of 5-13 and have never advanced beyond the second round.
One of the Indians’ wins this season did come against 1R playoff qualifier Lafayette by a score of 23-21, but their five other wins came against teams with a combined record of 7-41: 28-0 against Keystone, 45-6 against Hamilton County, 21-13 against Dixie County, 32-15 against Ridgeview and 55-21 against Santa Fe.
Three of Fort White’s losses came against 1R playoff qualifiers: 34-17 against Newberry, 56-28 loss against Williston and 41-14 against Chiefland.
The Indians are scoring an average of 28 points per game, while allowing an average of 23 points per game.
Four of Union’s wins this season came against playoff qualifiers: 31-27 against 3S Columbia, 55-7 against 1S P.K. Yonge, 45-0 against 1R Newberry and 31-15 against 2S Walton.
The Tigers played two other playoff qualifiers, losing 33-14 to 1M University Christian and losing 28-21 against 1R Hawthorne.
Union is scoring an average of 35 points per game, while allowing an average of 16 points per game.
