BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford High School’s football team scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, getting big plays on offense, defense and special teams in defeating visiting Eastside 28-7 on Sept. 19.
It was a defensive slugfest for three quarters, with the Tornadoes leading 6-0 until scoring 22 points in a three-and-a-half minute stretch of the final quarter.
“I think that’s got a lot to do with our preparation through the summer,” Bradford Head Coach Jamie Rodgers said. “We kind of get stronger in the second half, and we always take pride in that. I think that’s what we saw tonight.”
Bradford (4-1) will finally play a fellow Class 2A team when it travels to play District 5 opponent Keystone Heights on Friday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m. Prior to the win over Class 3A Eastside (3-2), the Tornadoes played Class 3A Baker County, Dunnellon and South Sumter and Class 6A Mandarin.
Rodgers said it has been a tough six games, if you include the preseason game against three-time defending Class 2A state champ Cocoa, but added, “This was really good for us. This tests you and gets you ready for the playoffs.”
The Tornadoes benefitted from a short punt that set them up at the Eastside 28-yard line for their second possession of the game. Cy Cubbedge completed a 12-yard pass to Kamontae Nixon to move Bradford to the 16. Bradford gained just 2 yards on the next three plays and settled for Tyler Sapp’s 31-yard field goal, which put the Tornadoes up 3-0 with 2:55 to play in the first quarter.
Bradford’s ensuing series got off to a rough start, with the Tornadoes losing 5 yards on the first two plays. Nixon, however, had a 15-yard reception that resulted in a first down at the Eastside 43. A personal-foul penalty gave Bradford a first down at the 28, while an offsides penalty gave the Tornadoes another first down at the 18. The drive stalled at the 17, with Sapp being called on again. He connected on a 34-yard field goal to make it 6-0 at the 8:30 mark of the second quarter.
Rodgers said before the season he believed Sapp would win a game for the Tornadoes. It seemed as if he would against Eastside, with the only points after three quarters being his two field goals.
“I’m sure glad he plays for us,” Rodgers said.
Bradford’s defense held the Rams to 12 yards on their first three offensive series, but Eastside threatened to score before the end of the first half. Despite being backed up on their own 10, the Rams picked up a first down on an 18-yard pass from Noah Tambling to Marcus Coefield. A 23-yard reception by Javaris Gardner later put the Rams at Bradford 43, while a pass-interference penalty on a fourth-down play gave Eastside a first down at the 25-yard line. Two runs of 4 yards each by Gardner moved the Rams to the 17, before an incomplete pass set up fourth-and-2 with 48 seconds remaining until halftime. Eastside’s Elijah Dressel took to the field to attempt a 34-yard field goal, which was blocked by Bradford’s Jy’Quez Cason.
The third quarter was forgettable as far as the Bradford offense was concerned. The Tornadoes ran six plays for a net loss of 3 yards.
Fortunately for Bradford, its defense continued its strong play, which included a solo sack by Nate Raymond as well as a tandem sack by Raymond and Danny Torres.
Bradford’s offense showed some life to start the fourth quarter, with running back Jarell Harris breaking loose for an 18-yard gain to the Eastside 38. Harris followed that up with a 3-yard run, but Cubbedge was sacked for a 6-yard loss on second down. Pressure on third down forced Cubbedge to scramble out of the pocket for not gain as Bradford was forced to punt. The punt by Cubbedge turned out to be a great play, with the ball being downed at the Eastside 2-yard line.
The big special-teams play led to a big defensive play. Eastside fumbled on its first play from scrimmage following the punt, with the Tornadoes’ Johnathan Andrews falling on the ball in the end zone for the game’s first touchdown with 9:25 remaining. A fake on the extra-point attempt had holder Jackson Parmeter completing a pass to Cohen Cioffi for two points and a 14-0 Bradford lead.
Eastside began its next drive at its own 14-yard line. Cohen made a tackle to limit a first-down pass play to a gain of only 1 yard. The Rams then had two incomplete passes, forcing them to punt.
The Tornadoes’ offense took over at the Eastside 40. A pass-interference penalty on the first play of the drive resulted in a first down at the 25. After a 3-yard run by Chase Phillips, Jordan Cason, who finished with three receptions for 32 yards,
caught a pass for a 19-yard gain to the 3-yard line. An unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty following a 1-yard run by Harris placed the ball at the 1. Jy’Quez Cason was dropped for a 4-yard loss on the ensuing second-down play, but got the handoff again on third down, bulling his way into the end zone from 5 yards out with 6:11 to play. Sapp added the PAT to make the score 21-0.
A fumble on the kickoff was recovered by the Tornadoes’ J.J. Hall at the Eastside 19-yard line. Bradford needed just one play to increase its lead, with Cubbedge connecting with Nixon in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown with 5:56 remaining. Sapp kicked the extra point to make it 28-0.
Nixon finished the night with 54 yards on five receptions, while Cubbedge had 108 yards on 12-of-22 passing.
Two unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties following the touchdown had the Tornadoes kicking off from deep in their territory, with the result being that Eastside began a drive at the Bradford 49.
Rodgers said his players let their emotions get carried away, blaming it on an incident before the game in which Eastside players were on the field’s Tornado logo.
“The penalties hurt,” Rodgers said. “We’ll talk to the kids about that. That shouldn’t happen that way. That’s on us. We’ve got to do a better job.”
Eastside picked up one first down on a 13-yard reception by Kamariyon Mack, while a 15-yard reception by Coefield resulted in another first down at the 11-yard line. A penalty and a 4-yard run Gardner moved the Rams to the 2. Tambling scored on a keeper from there, with Dressel adding the extra point to cap the game’s scoring.
The Tornadoes were able to run out the remaining 3:39. Three straight runs by Harris resulted in a first down. Harris, who finished with 42 yards on 10 carries, got one more carry before Cubbedge took a knee to end the game.
“We just kept playing hard,” Rodgers said. “I’m proud of them.”
The Tornadoes next take on a Keystone team that’s in the midst of a tough season. The Indians (0-4) were outscored 138-13 in their first three games against Interlachen, Union County and Newberry and are coming off a 39-24 loss to Dixie County.
Bradford won last season’s matchup 40-0.
