BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
During the last three weeks of the regular season, Bradford High School football games have looked the same, consisting of a dominating defensive effort, an offense that scored at least four touchdowns a game and a special-teams unit that comes up with big plays.
Why change the script now?
The Tornadoes began the postseason with a 42-0 win over visiting Atlantic in a Region 2-2S quarterfinal game on Nov. 10.
It was the third time in four games Bradford (11-0) has won by a 42-0 score. The Tornadoes, who are the top seed in the region, allowed the Sharks (5-6) to gain just 29 total yards, with 17 coming on the game’s final play. Bradford’s defense made 14 tackles for loss and an additional five tackles for no gain.
The offense got a touchdown run and two touchdown passes from Dae’Jon Shanks as it rolled up 333 total yards.
Jyquez Cason continued to prove he takes special teams seriously as he had his fourth blocked punt/kick this season.
“I think the guys are where they need to be mentally,” Bradford Head Coach Jamie Rodgers said, adding, “It’ll take a really good football team to beat us.”
Bradford now hosts Eastside in a Region 2 semifinal game on Friday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s a lot of fun being in the final 16,” Rodgers said.
There was never much doubt that the Tornadoes would advance past the playoffs’ first round for the fifth straight year.
Atlantic, the region’s eighth seed, had a third-and-2 play on the game’s first series, but Bradford’s Chason Clark tackled Kwasie Kwaku for a 1-yard loss. After a penalty for delay of game, the Sharks committed a fumble on a punt attempt. The Tornadoes’ Jeremiah McKenzie recovered the loose ball at the Atlantic 35-yard line.
Bradford’s first offense play saw Elijah Kellum catch a pass from Shanks and turn it into a touchdown at the 9:31 mark of the opening quarter. Declan Hense kicked the extra point to make the score 7-0.
The Sharks picked up a first down on their next series, but another Clark tackle for a loss eventually forced them to line up to punt again. Cason blocked the punt to set up the Bradford offense at the Atlantic 30.
A 13-yard run by McKenzie from the quarterback position resulted in first-and-goal at the 10. Shanks, re-entering the game at quarterback, scored on a run from there, capping what was a three-play drive. Hense added the PAT for a 14-0 lead with 5:56 to play in the first quarter.
Atlantic’s offense was again able to gain a first down, but a penalty and a 6-yard sack by the Tornadoes’ Torin Brazell forced the Sharks to punt. This time, Atlantic was able to get a successful kick off, with Bradford taking over at its own 32-yard line.
The Tornadoes’ third series began with an 11-yard run by Brian Cliffin. An 8-yard run by McKenzie picked up another first down across midfield. Brazell was then able to catch a short pass from Shanks and turn it into a 39-yard touchdown at the 10:26 mark of the second quarter. Hense, who was successful on all of his extra-point kicks, added the PAT for a 21-0 lead.
Shanks finished the game 6 of 7 passing for 140 yards.
An offsides penalty and a 16-yard run helped the Sharks gain a first down at the Bradford 32 on the ensuing series. Two of the next three plays resulted in lost yardage, thanks to tackles by Clark and Duke Lewis. Atlantic went for it on fourth-and-8, with Kwaku being chased out of the pocket for no gain.
It didn’t take long for the Tornadoes to find the end zone again. Chalil Cummings had a 38-yard reception on the drive, which ended with Cason scoring on a 26-yard run with 5:25 to play in the first half.
Bradford’s offense wasn’t done. After the defense forced a three-and-out, with Devon McBride recording two consecutive sacks for a total loss of 13 yards, the Tornadoes put together a four-play, 52-yard scoring drive. The first play was a 12-yard reception by Cummings, who finished with two catches for 50 yards. Shanks, who rushed for 62 yards on five carries, then had a 30-yard run to the 10-yard line. Cliffin had a 6-yard run on the third play. Then, after Atlantic was penalized for being offsides, Cliffin scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:58 to play until halftime. With Hense’s PAT, the Tornadoes went into the locker room leading 35-0.
The Tornadoes have been able to sit their starters for basically the entire second half in each of its past four games.
“I think we’ve played everybody on our roster the last four weeks, including the ninth-graders,” Rodgers said. “That’s huge. Not only is it huge to rest people; it’s huge to get those (young) guys in the game and let them see what it’s really like on Friday night.”
Kellum returned the second-half kickoff 41 yards to the Atlantic 40, with an additional 5 yards tacked on because of a facemask penalty. Cliffin, who rushed for 34 yards on five carries, had an 11-yard run to start the drive. A 13-yard run by Damarion Hankerson moved the Tornadoes to the 11-yard line, while Elijah Lawrence ended the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run.
Bradford has won its last four games by a combined score of 161-3. The only points scored on the Tornadoes in the last 18 quarters came off a field goal by Suwannee on the final play of the last regular-season game on Nov. 3.
Though the Tornadoes have dominated most opponents they’ve played (eight of their wins were by at least 25 points), Rodgers said “something flipped” following his team’s 24-13 win at Miami’s True North Classical Academy on Oct. 13. True North (8-2), a number-one seed in Class 1 Metro that won its first-round playoff game, held two first-half leads over Bradford in that game.
“We had adversity in that game,” Rodgers said, adding, “We kept on plugging and kept on playing and got that win. Everything changed for us. We started playing really well on offense, too, along with the dominating defense, and our special teams make plays every week.”
The Tornadoes’ next opponent is the fourth seed in Region 2. Eastside (8-3) advanced by defeating fifth seed Palatka 28-27.
Bradford defeated Eastside 34-7 in a regular-season matchup on Sept. 15 in Starke.
A lot of coaches will tell you they don’t like facing a team a second time in the same season, but Rodgers said, “That’s OK. They’ve got to come here. I always like that matchup. I love our home crowd.
“I want the place to be rocking Friday night.”
This is the second straight season in which the Tornadoes will face the Rams in a Region 2 semifinal game. Bradford won last year’s playoff matchup 37-0.
The Tornadoes have outscored Eastside 99-7 in the last three games between the teams.
