BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford High School’s defense created two turnovers, sacked the quarterback 10 times and held Class 3A Baker County scoreless until the final two minutes in a 13-7 season-opening win on Aug. 23 in Macclenny.
The play of the defense has been what has stood out the most since Jamie Rodgers became head coach in 2022. Bradford, which hosts Class 3A Dunnellon (1-0) on Friday, Aug. 30, at 7:30 p.m., allowed Baker’s offense to drive past midfield just three times. The Wildcats’ final two drives began inside the Bradford 20, thanks to a fumble and a 15-yard penalty. Baker’s lone touchdown drive covered 11 yards.
“That’s basically what we do,” Rodgers said. “We play good defense. I’m always good with a low-scoring game. I feel like that’s kind of our deal. That’s what we like.”
A 22-yard touchdown run by Gino Addison in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference in a game that was reminiscent of the 2023 season opener between the two teams, which the Tornadoes won 12-0.
Rodgers said his team didn’t play well offensively, but credited a senior-heavy Baker defense.
“When you’ve got a bunch of seniors playing, you should be good,” Rodgers said, adding, “They were doing some different stuff on defense. They were cutting our offensive linemen, which we don’t see very much, and letting their linebackers, who are their best players, make plays. It was a good strategy tonight.”
Bradford had a great chance to put points on the board in the first quarter. The Wildcats lined up to punt after three plays on its first drive. The snap sailed over the punter’s head. He chased down the loose ball and tried to get a kick off, but it was blocked, with the end result being that the Bradford offense had the ball at the Baker 7-yard line.
Three straight run plays, though, resulted in a loss of 3 yards. An incomplete pass on fourth down gave the ball back to the Wildcats.
It was typical of the tough going the Tornadoes’ offense had. Bradford gained a total of 11 yards on its first three possessions. The Tornadoes’ first eight run attempts netted minus-5 yards.
Baker, after surviving the botched punt attempt, moved from beyond the shadow of its own end zone, picking up two first downs — the second of which came on a 16-yard run by Keshawn Kennedy to the Baker 36-yard line. The Wildcats gained just 4 yards on the next two plays. On third-and-6, Duke Lewis tackled Kennedy for no gain, forcing Baker to punt.
Bradford’s Brian Cliffin and Trente Jenkins had consecutive sacks to force a three-and-out series the next time the Wildcats had the ball. Following the punt, Bradford’s offense took to the field to begin its fourth series of the game at the Baker 49-yard line.
At first, it appeared as if it would be another drive that went nowhere. Two run plays resulted in no gain and a loss of a yard, while an illegal-procedure penalty had the Tornadoes facing third-and-16. Quarterback Zack Paulk dropped back to pass, but took off on a run to avoid pressure. He gained 16 yards in picking up a first down at the Wildcats’ 39.
The play seemed to provide a spark. After a 3-yard run by Jeremiah McKenzie, Addison had three straight runs totaling 20 yards, moving Bradford inside the 20-yard line. A holding penalty and a sack, however, backed the Tornadoes up. The drive ended in a turnover on downs after two incomplete passes.
Running back Ke’nais Williams gave the Baker offense a spark when he broke tackles on two straight runs that netted 17 yards. The third play of the drive, though, saw the Tornadoes’ Jenkins sack Hudson on a keeper. Another sack forced the Wildcats to punt on fourth-and-12.
Marlin Haywood returned the punt approximately 15 yards to set the Bradford offense up at the Baker 46 with 3:04 remaining the first half. Addison was held to no gain on the first play of the drive, but then had a 5-yard run on second down. Iyen Addison picked up the first down on a 14-yard run, with an additional 15 yards tacked on due to a personal-foul penalty on Baker. On first-and-20 at the 20, Iyen Addison ran for a 5-yard gain. Mikey Oliver then caught a pass at the 12-yard line and sprinted his way along his team’s sideline for a touchdown with 57 seconds on the clock. Cy Cubbedge kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Bradford lead.
Gino Addison, who rushed for 88 yards on 16 carries, had the Tornadoes on the move on their second series of the second half. He had a 13-yard run that gave Bradford a first down at the Baker 27. He followed that with a 9-
yard run to the 18. Addison was dropped for a 5-yard loss on the next play, however, while a pass completion resulted in a 3-yard loss when Oliver’s knee touched the ground on the catch. Bradford went for it on fourth-and-9, with Gino Addison carrying the ball and coming up 1 yard shy of picking up a first down.
Baker went three-and-out on its first two possessions of the half, but picked up a first down on its third series when Register completed a 10-yard pass to Hudson Hodges. Bradford’s Barron Walden made a tackle for a 1-yard loss, but another pass play resulted in another first down, with Register and Chase Phillips hooking up for a 24-yard gain to the Bradford 49. McKenzie and Reese Wainwright teamed up for a 2-yard sack, but a personal-foul call against Bradford moved the Wildcats to the 36. The Tornadoes’ Ne-o Addison ended the drive when intercepted a deep pass, giving Bradford the ball at its own 10-yard line.
The Tornadoes covered 90 yards on 10 run plays. McKenzie had runs of 9 and 17 yards that gained first downs, while a 12-yard run by Cliffin gave Bradford a first down at the Baker 25. Gino Addison capped the drive with his 22-yard run into the end zone that put Bradford up 13-0 with 9:38 to play. The run on the two-point conversion failed.
McKenzie and Jordan Cason recorded sacks on consecutive plays on Baker’s ensuing drive. The Tornadoes finished with 10 sacks for a total loss of 29 yards.
Baker’s Davion Dean recovered a fumble at the Bradford 19 to give the Wildcats their first serious scoring threat. Kennedy ripped off an 8-yard run on first down, followed by Williams’ 3-yard run for a first-and-goal at the 8. Cliffin tackled Kennedy for no gain before Williams carried the ball for a 2-yard gain to the 6. The Wildcats then fumbled, with the Tornadoes’ Wainwright recovering at the 6.
The Tornadoes ran the ball three straight times, gaining 4 yards before punting from the 10. A personal-foul penalty on the Wildcats’ approximate 10-yard return set the Baker offense up at the Bradford 11 with 2:50 to play. Hodges caught a 6-yard pass before Register was dropped for a 2-yard loss by Jenkins on a keeper. Register then completed a pass to Dean, who took it into the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown with 1:53 on the clock. Brock Boatwright kicked the extra point to cap the scoring.
Bradford recovered the ensuing onside-kick attempt and took three straight kneel-downs to run out the clock.
The Tornadoes finished with 207 yards of offense, with 182 yards coming on the ground.
Baker had 137 yards, with Register completing 9 of 17 passes for 85 yards.
“We still should’ve probably held them to zero. That bugs me,” Rodgers said, but he added, “Half the teams that played tonight lost. To be 1-0 is a good deal.”
Bradford now prepares for a Dunnellon team that opened with a 21-14 win over Class 2A Florida High. The Tigers are coming off an 8-4 season in which they advanced to the second round of the Class 2S playoffs before losing 35-0 to Cocoa, which went on to win the state championship by defeating Bradford 20-6.
