BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford High School’s football team displayed some of the stingy defensive play fans have become used to in a spring jamboree at Suwannee High School on May 16, with the Tornadoes defeating the host Bulldogs 20-3 in two quarters and then losing 7-6 to Buchholz in two quarters.
The Tornadoes had a chance to defeat Buchholz, but officials ruled that P.J. Lee didn’t complete the process of a catch in the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt with 16 seconds remaining.
As far as Head Coach Jamie Rodgers is concerned, his team beat the Bobcats.
“It was 8-7, for sure,” he said. “That was a completion.”
Still, Rodgers said “it was a heck of an effort by our guys” against Buchholz, which, as a Class 6A school, has more than 2,000 students.
“We were a little gassed in the third quarter (after playing Suwannee), but man, we showed some great grit,” Rogers said. “We had a lot of kids playing both ways. It’s muggy out here. A lot of these kids haven’t been in this situation, under these lights.”
Each opposing offense gained 75 yards on its first possession against Bradford, with Suwannee kicking a field goal and Buchholz scoring a touchdown. The Tornadoes, though, held Suwannee to 3 yards and one first down the rest of the way, creating two turnovers as well. Buchholz gained 10 yards and just one first down on two possessions following its touchdown before crossing midfield again on a 58-yard drive that ended with a missed field goal.
“We talk about it all the time,” Rodgers said. “There’s a standard here. It doesn’t matter who’s playing.”
Rodgers said now’s the time for players who watched their older counterparts and who got numerous scout reps to shine.
“They deserve to be out here on the field playing,” Rodgers said. “It’s the next person up. We lost a great senior group last year. There’s no question about that, but that’s what happens. They move on. They do more great things.
“We’ve got some younger people who’ll step up and do great things.”
BHS 20 Suwannee 3
Bradford and Suwannee played each other to start the jamboree, with the Bulldogs getting the ball first. A couple of runs by Lou Jack Smith resulted in a pair of first downs, while a 20-yard pass from Thomas Sikes to M.J. Rossin moved Suwannee to the Bradford 26. Bradford’s Brian Cliffin tripped up Smith for a 3-yard loss, but a 13-yard run by JaDarius Horne gave the Bulldogs another first down at the 17. Two plays later, Sikes connected with Rossin in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown, but a holding penalty negated the score. The Bulldogs eventually settled for A.J. Hitt’s 38-yard field goal with 5:50 remaining in the first quarter.
The Suwannee defense intercepted Bradford quarterback Zack Paulk on the Tornadoes’ first offensive series, giving the Bulldogs the ball at the Bradford 35. The Tornadoes’ Duke Lewis recorded a 10-yard sack on the first play following the turnover. Suwannee punted after three plays.
Bradford’s second possession got off to a fast start, with Paulk completing a 17-yard pass to Elijah Lawrence. Gino Addison had runs of 7 and 12 yards to move the Tornadoes to the Suwannee
39. Jeremiah McKenzie entered the game at quarterback and ran for a 13-yard gain, followed by a 5-yard run by Addison. Iyen Addison then broke through several tackles on a 21-yard touchdown run that put Bradford up 6-3 with 56 seconds left in the first quarter. Paulk’s pass on the conversion attempt was incomplete.
Suwannee’s next two drives resulted in minus-3 yards, with making two tackles for loss.
The Tornadoes went three-and-out on their first series after their touchdown, but found the end zone again on the following drive. The second play of the series had to be replayed four times due to penalties on Bradford and Suwannee, but finally a play was run without a flag being thrown — a 49-yard reception by Jordan Cason to the Suwannee 16. Branden Williams had a 10-yard run before Gino Addison had consecutive carries of 4 and 2 yards, with the second taking him across the goal line with 4:14 to play. Williams then took a direct snap and ran into the end zone on the two-point play to make the score 14-3.
Bradford’s Michael Oliver came up with an interception on the Bulldogs’ first play following the score, setting the Tornadoes up at the Suwannee 35. Oliver promptly caught a 21-yard pass from Paulk, while Gino Addison bulled his way to the 1-yard line on a 13-yard run. Paulk scored on a run from there to make it a 20-3 game. The conversion attempt was no good.
Two plays after the score, Cason had a pick-six, but a penalty on the return nullified the score. Bradford’s offense ran out the remainder of the clock on three Jarrel Harris runs that netted 19 yards.
Gino Addison had 43 yards on seven carries against the Bulldogs, while Paulk completed 5 of 10 passes for 108 yards. Cason had one catch for 49 yards, while Lawrence had two for 32 yards. Oliver finished with one reception for 21 yards.
Though they struggled to run in their next two quarters against Buchholz, Bradford gained 129 yards on 16 carries against Suwannee.
“One of our strengths is going to be our offensive linemen,” Rodgers said. “I’m just very, very happy with them. They’ve been getting better and better since year one. This should be the best
year.”
Buchholz 7 BHS 6
A fresh Buchholz team needed just 58 seconds to put its only score on the board. Daionte Hicks broke free on a 45-yard run to the Bradford 30. Quarterback Trace Johnson then hooked up with Keil McGriff for a touchdown. Jay Giunta kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Bobcats lead.
Bradford was able to cross midfield on its first series, with a 15-yard penalty helping its cause, but the drive stalled at the Buchholz 48 before the Tornadoes punted.
A holding penalty backed the Bobcats up to their 6-yard line on the following series. McGriff caught a 19-yard pass for a first down, but after a 4-yard run by Jassaiah Powell, Johnson threw two incompletions, with the second almost intercepted by McKenzie.
Following a punt, the Bradford offense got a spark with two runs for 10 yards by Iyen Addison. The next three plays netted 3 yards as the Tornadoes punted.
A 14-yard sack by Lewis forced Buchholz into a third-and-18 play on the Bobcats’ third possession. A holding penalty against Bradford resulted in turning that into a third-and-6 play, but Cliffin tackled Hicks for a 5-yard loss to force a punt from inside the Buchholz 20-yard line.
The Tornadoes’ offense went three-and-out, punting back to Buchholz, which began a drive at its own 12. The Bobcats picked up first downs on a 13-yard pass by Johnson and a 1-yard run by
Powell. McKenzie dropped Hicks for a 4-yard loss on a pass play, but a 12-yard reception by McGriff would set Buchholz up for a fourth-and-2 play at its own 43. The Bobcats lined up to go for it, drawing Bradford offsides and gaining a first down at the Tornadoes’ 48.
Two straight incomplete passes followed, with McKenzie breaking up one that almost led to an interception by Williams. Johnson then found McGriff for a 16-yard gain to the Bradford 32. After two incompletions, Hicks caught a pass and was tackled for a 3-yard loss by Cliffin. The Bobcats’ Giunta attempted a 52-yard field goal, which was no good with 4:41 to play.
Bradford picked up its initial first down on what would be its final drive on an offisides penalty and a 5-yard pass by Paulk. On a third-and-11 play, Paulk scrambled for a 7-yard gain. He then threw a pass to Williams for a 16-yard gain on fourth down, resulting in a first down at the Buchholz 43. Buchholz was flagged for a personal foul on a 5-yard run by Paulk, moving the Tornadoes to the 21-yard line. Paulk then found Williams in the end zone for a touchdown pass with 16 seconds left to play. McKenzie lined up at quarterback on the two-point play, throwing the ball into the end zone to Lee, who was ruled to have not completed the catch.
Paulk went 8 of 12 for 56 yards, with Williams catching two passes for 37 yards.
The Tornadoes now focus on getting better for the season ahead.
“We saw some really good things and saw some things we need to work on, but that’s what summer’s for,” Rodgers said, adding, “We’ll build off the positives and work on the negatives.”
