Telegraph Staff Writer
Amari Jones threw three of his four touchdown passes in the second half as the Bradford High School football team outscored visiting Newberry 37-0 after the break in winning 51-13 in a Nov. 12 Region 4-1A quarterfinal game.
“It’s exciting. It’s one step closer to the goal,” Jones said.
The goal is to get to the state-championship game. The next step requires the Tornadoes (6-5) to travel to play Pahokee (7-1) in a Region 4 semifinal on Friday, Nov. 19, at 7:30 p.m. (See related story.)
“We know we’re going for a long ride against a great team,” Bradford Head Coach Brian Tomlinson said. “We want to make sure we don’t come out slow against them.”
In other words, Tomlinson doesn’t want to see the Tornadoes have some of the struggles they had in the first half against Newberry. Bradford did score touchdowns on two of its first three possessions, but it also had two drives that netted a total of 0 yards, while a scoring opportunity before halftime resulted in a fumble that the Panthers recovered at their own 8-yard line.
That sent Bradford into the break with a 14-13 lead, but the players were confident they could perform better when play resumed.
“We weren’t down,” Jones said, “but we knew we could play better. The goal was to come out here and play better. That’s what we did.”
Tomlinson said, “We just told them to focus on their jobs. They came out in the second half doing that. I couldn’t be prouder of these coaches and players. Newberry’s a good team.”
Bradford gained more than 300 yards in the second half, while holding Newberry to 47. The defense created three turnovers, including Jametrius Pringle’s exclamation point on the victory — a 100-yard interception return on the final play.
“They came out in the second half and were just flying around,” Tomlinson said of his defensive players. “We encouraged them at halftime to fly around to the ball like they did last week (in a 33-6 win over Fort White). They did exactly that in the second half.”
The offense was humming right along. Jones, who was 16-of-19 for 361 yards, was perfect in the second half, which featured touchdown receptions of 51 yards by Dae’Jon Shanks, 50 yards by Triavez Hankerson and 25 yards by Jeremiah Crum.
Crum finished with five receptions for 84 yards, while Tez Williams caught four passes for 78 yards. Shanks had two receptions for 68 yards, while Hankerson and Chalil Cummings had 59 and 51 yards, respectively, on two catches each.
“I’ve got the best receivers in 1A,” Jones said. “Every time they touch the ball, they’re going to make plays. It’s good having those types of receivers around me. It makes my job easier.”
Bradford had a 47-yard scoring drive to open the game. A 10-yard reception by Williams resulted in one first down, while Cummings and Manny Covey had first-down runs of 12 and 3 yards, respectively. Covey’s run, which was on fourth down, set up first-and-goal at the 6. He had another 3-yard run to set up Cummings’ 3-yard touchdown run at the 6:50 mark of the first quarter. Hayden Hughes kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Hughes was perfect following Bradford’s first six touchdowns. He didn’t attempt an extra point following the seventh touchdown, which was Pringle’s pick-six on the final play.
It didn’t take long for the Panthers (5-6) to answer, with Mike Moore returning the ensuing kickoff 64 yards to the Bradford 11. Keenon Johnson had a 6-yard carry on first down, but defensive plays by Bryson Bowen, Sincere Hankerson and Trent Hankerson had Newberry facing fourth-and-3. The Tornadoes jumped offsides to move the ball 2 yards closer to the goal line, setting up Brandon Hamilton’s 2-yard touchdown run with 4:43 to play in the first quarter. Ryan Armstrong added the PAT to even the score at 7-7.
The Tornadoes drove 75 yards on their first series of the second quarter to regain the lead. A 39-yard pass play from Jones to Cummings set up a first down at the Newberry 36. An 11-yard reception by Triavez Hankerson resulted in another first down before Chason Clark caught a pass and dove into the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown at the 9:19 mark. With Hughes’ PAT, Bradford led 14-7.
A 27-yard punt later in the quarter had Newberry starting a drive at the Bradford 38. Johnson had a 10-yard run to pick up one first down, while quarterback Trae Butler drew the Tornadoes offsides to pick up another. A 10-yard run by Johnson set up first-and-goal at the 1. Johnson received a direct snap and scored from there to make the score 14-13 with 2:44 left in the half. The PAT was no good.
Bradford moved downfield on the ensuing series, getting a 20-yard reception from Williams and a 12-yard run from Jones. A 16-yard reception by Crum set up first down at the Newberry 12, while a pass-interference penalty later moved the ball to the 6. A fumbled exchange on a handoff, though, ended the drive when the Panthers recovered the loose ball with 14.6 seconds left on the clock.
The Tornadoes, after forcing Newberry to punt on the first series of the second half, got tough running from Covey, who dragged defenders for an almost 10-yard gain, and Willie Pollard, who had consecutive runs of 12 and 7 yards. Pollard’s 7-yard carry put Bradford at
the Newberry 5-yard line, but the Tornadoes had to eventually settle for a 23-yard field goal by Hughes, which made the score 17-13 at the 6:57 mark of the third quarter.
Torin Brazell recovered a fumble caused by Cummings on the Panthers’ following possession to give Bradford the ball at its own 37. Jones completed an 18-yard pass to Shanks before hooking up with Crum for a 45-yard touchdown. A penalty negated the score, but Jones threw a touchdown pass on the next play — this time a 51-yarder to Shanks as Bradford increased its lead with 5:42 remaining in the third quarter. After Hughes’ PAT, it was 24-13.
Bradford got big defensive plays on Newberry’s next offensive series, with Chris Strong recording a sack for a loss of 3 yards and Williams breaking up a pass in the end zone on a fourth-down play.
Two plays following the change of possession, Bradford gained a first down at the Newberry 44 as the result of a pass-interference penalty. Pollard then had a 24-yard run to the 20. After an illegal-procedure penalty, Crum caught a pass from Jones and turned it into a 25-yard touchdown at the third quarter’s 2:24 mark. Bradford led 31-13 after Hughes’ kick.
The Panthers had first-and-goal at the 9 on the following series, with two 15-yard penalties giving them first downs. Johnson was gang tackled for an 8-yard loss on the first-and-goal play, while Jarrin Alexander and Trent Hankerson, after a second-down incompletion, held Moore to a 3-yard gain on a third-down pass play. Armstrong’s 31-yard field-goal attempt was no good with 7:49 to play in the fourth quarter.
Three plays later, the Tornadoes were in the end zone again. Triavez Hankerson caught a short pass and appeared as if he was going to be tackled for a loss. Instead, he avoided getting tackled and broke free for a 50-yard score with 5:44 to play.
Gavin Cook intercepted a pass on the next series, setting the Bradford offense up at the Newberry 48. After a 9-yard loss on first down, the Tornadoes got a 55-yard run from Covey to the 2-yard line. Covey, who finished with 103 yards on 14 carries, scored on a run from there at the 3:54 mark.
Newberry gained two first downs off Bradford penalties on its next series, but a pass intended for Perrion Sylvester resulted in Pringle’s thrilling 100-yard interception return for a score.
Clark and Bryson Bowen led the Tornadoes in tackles with nine each, while Brazell had eight. Alexander and Strong each added six tackles.
