BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Quarterback Dae’Jon Shanks accounted for 175 total yards and three touchdowns as the Bradford High School football team defeated visiting Oakleaf 31-14 in a May 27 spring football game.
New Head Coach Jamie Rodgers was pleased with his team’s performance against a much bigger school. Oakleaf was in Class 8A in the former classification system and is now a Class 4 Suburban school. The final numbers on the scoreboard were nice, but the point differential wasn’t the focus.
“What was important was doing what we learned in spring practices and doing it with great effort,” Rodgers said.
The coach, of course, will have a better evaluation when he and his staff watch video of the game.
“Some of the things won’t be as good as we thought they were, and some won’t be quite as bad as we thought they were,” Rodgers said, “but I think the effort was good.”
Shanks’ effort resulted in rushing for 59 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. He completed 6 of 9 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown.
It was a standout game for another quarterback as well. Jeremiah McKenzie, who played the majority of the second half for Bradford, led the team in rushing, gaining 74 yards on eight carries.
The two quarterbacks accounted for all but 78 of the team’s 211-yard rushing total.
“You’re going to see both of them on varsity football on Friday night,” Rodgers said. “There’s not a question about that. Jeremiah just gives us a little bit of a thunder element to Dae’Jon’s lightning, but I’m not scared to put Dae’Jon in there and let him put his head down and run that thing, either.”
The offense got off to a slow start with a three-and-out series to open the game. Oakleaf responded with a seven-play, 66-yard scoring drive. The drive appeared as if it would go nowhere at first. The Tornadoes’ Torin Brazell tackled Devin Outlaw for a 5-yard loss on the first play and then had the initial hit on the following play, which resulted in Outlaw being gang tackled for a 2-yard loss. Chalil Cummings then intercepted a deep pass by quarterback Drew Ammon, but Bradford was penalized for roughing the passer, giving the Knights a first down at their own 43.
Outlaw ripped off an 18-yard run on the next play and followed that with a 5-yard carry. On second-and-5, he was dropped for a 6-yard loss by Bryson Bowen. Ammon completed a pass for 4 yards, leaving the Knights facing fourth-and-7. Taylor Bradshaw was able to reach around the defender in front of him and catch a pass from Ammon in the end zone, putting Oakleaf on the board at the 5:58 mark of the first quarter. Ammon kicked the extra point to make the score 7-0.
Rodgers admitted his offense’s snap timing and other things were off during the Tornadoes’ initial series. Any problems were corrected on the team’s second series.
“We knew we were going to be able to move the ball,” Rodgers said.
The Tornadoes did just that, marching 70 yards on five plays. After a 7-yard run by Willie Pollard, Shanks completed a 13-yard pass to Gavin Cook. Shanks then scrambled for a 40-yard gain to the Oakleaf 10. Running back Manny Covey got two straight carries, with the second resulting in a 2-yard touchdown with 4:23 remaining in the first quarter. Hayden Hughes’ extra-point kick was no good, leaving Bradford trailing Oakleaf by one.
The Knights drove inside the Bradford 40 on their next possession. Two straight receptions by Bradshaw for 20 yards helped Oakleaf overcome a third-and-15 situation, while a pair of runs by Machi Martin moved the Knights to the Bradford 35. Bradford’s Jarrin Alexander put an end to the threat, intercepting a pass at about the 25-yard line and taking it back to the Oakleaf 4.
Two plays later, Shanks carried the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. Bradford went for two, but Shanks’ run was stopped short of the goal line, leaving the score at 12-7 in favor of Bradford approximately two minutes into the second quarter.
Tackles by Cole Crosby and Chason Clark helped Bradford force the Oakleaf offense to go three-and-out on the following series. Bradford then put together its third straight scoring drive, which began with Cummings catching a 37-yard pass that moved the Tornadoes to the Oakleaf 39. A defensive holding penalty gave the Tornadoes another first down. Covey, who had a 6-yard run that set Bradford up inside the red zone, caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Shanks with 3:01 left until halftime. The extra-point kick was no good, but the Tornadoes had
extended their lead to 18-7.
Oakleaf’s Ammon completed 4 of 6 passes for 42 yards on the ensuing series, which saw the Knights drive 70 yards for a score. A personal-foul facemask penalty aided Oakleaf, which capped the drive with Outlaw’s 5-yard touchdown run with 40 seconds remaining in the half. Ammon’s PAT made it an 18-14 ball game.
The Knights had the first possession of the second half, but on their first play, Bowen stripped Jamaal Gibbons of the ball. The Tornadoes’ Devon McBride recovered the fumble, giving Bradford’s offense the ball at the Oakleaf 23.
A 14-yard run by Shanks set up first-and-goal at the 3, but Bradford turned the ball over on a high shotgun snap.
Oakleaf fumbled the ball away on the first play following the change of possession. Trente Jenkins caused the turnover, with Tray Schmitt recovering the loose ball to set up first-and-goal at the 1. Shanks scored on a run from there. Hughes added the PAT to make the score 25-14.
Bradford’s defense finished the night with three turnovers. Rodgers said what he saw was a carryover from turnover-circuit drills in practices.
“I saw balls being ripped at. I saw balls being tipped in the air,” Rodgers said. “I saw all the things we worked on in practice. I’m real proud of that.”
The Tornadoes added the final score in the fourth quarter on a 10-play, 75-yard drive. Brandon Williams had an 11-yard carry on the first play. McKenzie picked up first downs on runs of 24 and 12 yards, while a pass-interference penalty set up second-and-1 at the Oakleaf 14. Bradford would eventually gain a first down on a McKenzie run before Williams took a pitch and found the end zone on a 13-yard run to make the score 31-14 with 6:49 remaining. The PAT was no good.
Williams finished with 29 yards on four carries.
All but two of Shanks’ pass completions went to Cummings and Covey. Cummings caught two passes for 76 yards, while Covey caught two for 22 yards.
Bradford finished with 327 total yards, which was approximately 100 yards more than Oakleaf’s total.
The Tornadoes’ defense held the Knights to less than 70 yards in the second half.
