BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Bradford High School’s football team took advantage of a short field twice and got a score on special teams for the second straight week in a 21-0 weather-shortened victory over visiting Class 3S Middleburg on Sept. 9.
The Tornadoes (2-0) will travel to Gainesville to play fellow Class 2S team Eastside (2-0) on Friday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. at Citizens Field.
Bradford’s defense has yet to allow a point this season. Middleburg (0-3) gained 59 yards on four possessions (not counting the two plays the Broncos ran at the end of the first half).
During halftime, a heavy rain accompanied by lightning began to fall. With the weather not projected to improve throughout the remainder of the evening, the game was called. Since an entire half was played, the result is official, unlike week one’s Baker County game, which was halted with 4:42 remaining in the first half.
The Tornadoes received the ball to open the game. On the first play from scrimmage, Jeremiah McKenzie, playing quarterback for the injured Dae’Jon Shanks, completed a 16-yard pass to Chalil Cummings, putting Bradford at the Middleburg 40. A 13-yard pass to Jametrius Pringle and a couple of runs by Manny Covey helped the Tornadoes move to the 19, but a sack and fumble ended the drive.
Bradford’s defense forced the Broncos to go three-and-out on their first series. A short punt and a personal-foul facemask penalty had the Tornadoes starting their second drive at the Middleburg 15.
A 9-yard run by Covey set up first-and-goal at the 4. McKenzie would eventually score on a 1-yard run with 5:17 left in the first quarter. Hayden Hughes added the PAT for a 7-0 lead.
Another three-and-out series followed for the Broncos. The punter’s knee touched the ground as he tried to field a low snap, giving the Bradford offense the ball at the Middleburg 16-yard line. Two plays later, Cummings caught a tipped pass for a touchdown. After Hughes’ extra point, the Tornadoes led 14-0 with 3:05 to play in the opening quarter.
Cummings finished with two catches for 29 yards, while McKenzie completed 5 of 6 passes for 52 yards.
Despite a muffed kickoff that had the Broncos starting a series at their own 10, they put together a drive that saw them cross midfield. Middleburg picked up its initial first down on a pass-interference penalty before picking up two more as the Broncos moved to their own 49. A 7-yard run by T.J. Lane and an offsides penalty resulted in a first down at the Bradford 39. Lane was then dropped for a 4-yard loss by Dejon McBride before quarterback Jaybo Jenkins, under heavy pressure, threw two incompletions. The Broncos punted.
Neither team’s offense did much the rest of the way, but the Tornadoes increased their lead anyway. A group of Bradford players waited for a Bryson Bowen punt to roll dead at the Middleburg 30-yard line. A Broncos player apparently thought the play had been blown dead for he casually picked up the ball without making any effort to run with it. He promptly had it knocked from his hands, with the result being that Bradford’s Cole Crosby picked the ball up and ran it into the end zone for a touchdown with 55 seconds left in the half. Hughes added the PAT to complete the night’s scoring.
McBride recorded a sack on the final drive of the half. He and Bowen each finished with one.
This week’s opponent, Eastside, was trailing Class 4S Buchholz 7-0 on Sept. 9 when the game was called in the first quarter due to the weather. The Rams opened the season with a 48-21 win over Class 1S P.K. Yonge and then defeated Keystone Heights (one of Bradford’s District 6 opponents) 26-0.
