Telegraph Staff Writer
It was a four-point game midway through the third quarter, but host Pahokee simply finished off more drives than the Bradford High School football team, with the Blue Devils winning 38-20 in the Nov. 19 Region 4-1A semifinals.
Pahokee (8-1) travels to Hawthorne (8-0) for the Region 4 championship on Friday, Nov. 26, while the Tornadoes (6-6) saw their season end in the second round of the playoffs for the second straight year.
“Our guys played with heart,” Bradford Head Coach Brian Tomlinson said. “They could’ve come out and felt sorry for themselves, having to travel as far as they did, but they came out playing. They fought to the end.”
A 59-yard touchdown run by Willie Pollard midway through the third quarter had the BHS fans who made the four-hour-plus trip rocking, as the Tornadoes had pulled to within four points. The Blue Devils, however, answered with a four-play scoring drive. Bradford never got any closer, though things could’ve been interesting if running back Manny Covey hadn’t come up just inches short of a first down on a fourth-down play from the Pahokee 10-yard line.
“It just wasn’t our night,” Tomlinson said.
Both offenses struggled at the start, with Bradford averaging 7 yards on its first three possessions and Pahokee committing four penalties on its first two drives, which saw freshman quarterback Austin Simmons misfire on five straight passes after completing his first attempt.
Simmons, who finished 19-of-30 for 193 yards, completed a 12-yard pass to Maurice Collier for a first down at the Bradford 44 on the Devils’ third series. Micah Steele then took a handoff and broke two tackles near the line of scrimmage to free himself for a 44-yard touchdown run with 2:07 remaining in the first quarter. Kevin Hernandez kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Pahokee lead.
Covey returned the ensuing kickoff 24 yards to the Bradford 27. A pass from Amari Jones to Jeremiah Crum gained 31 yards, with a personal-foul facemask penalty tacking on an additional 15 for a first down at the Pahokee 27. Two plays later, Jones, under heavy pressure, rolled to his right and found a wide-open Covey for a 24-yard touchdown. After Hayden Hughes’ PAT, the score was knotted up at 7 apiece with 51 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Steele had a 12-yard run to start the Devils’ next series, but then found the going tough against the Bradford defense. He was held to no gain on a first-down play and dropped for a 2-yard loss by Sincere Hankerson, Trente Jenkins and others on second down. Chalil Cummings then broke up a pass on third down to force Pahokee to punt.
Starting from their own 25, the Tornadoes promptly picked up a first down on Tez Williams’ 10-yard reception. Two plays later, Cummings caught a 12-yard pass for a first down at the 48-yard line. An incomplete pass, after two Jones runs, had Bradford facing fourth-and-5 at the Pahokee 47. The Tornadoes went for it, with Cummings using his strength against a Pahokee defensive back to go up and pull down a pass from Jones for a first down at the 25. An 18-yard run by Covey set up his own 7-yard touchdown run at the 8:17 mark of the second quarter. Hughes added the PAT as the Tornadoes took a 14-7 lead.
It was a lead Bradford held for about only five minutes, as Pahokee answered with a 14-play, 57-yard scoring drive. The Blue Devils failed to pick up a first down after three plays to start that series, but on fourth-and-1, they were able to get the Tornadoes to jump offsides. A tackle by Hankerson limited to Pahokee to just a 1-yard gain on a later pass play and had the Devils looking at third-and-11. They picked up the needed yardage and then some on a 17-yard reception by Collier.
Williams broke up a pass play to force Pahokee into fourth-and-3 at the Bradford 9-yard line, but the Devils picked up the first on Collier’s 7-yard reception. Steele eventually scored on a 1-yard run with 3:10 remaining in the first half. Hernandez kicked the extra point to even the score at 14-14.
After a three-and-out by the Bradford offense, Pahokee tacked on another score before halftime. On the first play of a drive that began at the Bradford 40, Simmons hooked up with Collier for a 25-yard gain to the 15. A personal-foul facemask penalty later gave the Devils first-and-goal at the 5. With five seconds left on the clock, Simmons found Keyonvis Bouie in the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown as the Devils took the lead for good.
Steele, who rushed for 159 yards, had a 24-yard run on the first series of the second half, giving Pahokee a first down at the Bradford 28. A 6-yard run by Steele resulted in another first down at the 14. Two plays later, on third-and-3, Chris Strong and others held Steele to a 1-yard gain, setting up fourth-and-2 at the 6. The Devils were penalized for delay of game, so on fourth-and-7, Hernandez kicked a 28-yard field goal to make the score 24-14 at the 7:57 mark of the third quarter.
Jones was able to draw Pahokee’s defense offsides to pick up a first down on a fourth-down play on Bradford’s first series of the half. A 7-yard reception by Dae’Jon Shanks and a 2-yard run by Covey set up third-and-1 at the Bradford 41. Pollard, who had 65 yards on
four carries, got the handoff, hit a congestion of bodies at the line of scrimmage and made his way out on the other side, racing his way to a 59-yard score with 6:04 to play in the third quarter. After Hughes extra point, it was a 24-20 game.
It didn’t take Pahokee long to answer. Steele took a pass 19 yards to the Bradford 35. Three plays later, Collier, who finished with 129 yards on nine receptions, caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Simmons. Hernandez added the PAT for a 31-20 Pahokee lead with 3:56 remaining in the third quarter.
Bradford’s third series of the half started with an 11-yard run by Covey, who finished with 71 yards on 14 carries. Cummings, who had 84 yards on four receptions, caught a 39-yard pass two plays later for a first down at the Pahokee 16. The Tornadoes hurt themselves with two illegal-procedure penalties, leaving them eventually facing a third-and-18 play. Williams’ 14-yard reception set up fourth-and-4 at the 10 early in the fourth quarter. Covey got the call, but was held inches shy of picking up the first down.
“I really thought that was the play to get us there,” Tomlinson said. “It didn’t work out that way.”
The Tornadoes forced Pahokee to punt on the following series. Bradford’s offense took over at its own 33 with 6:47 to play. Jones, who was 15-of-32 for 245 yards, converted a fourth-and-2 play when he hooked up with Williams (five receptions, 57 yards) for a 22-yard gain to the Pahokee 37. Triavez Hankerson later had a 6-yard reception to set up fourth-and-2 at the 29. Jones’ pass attempt was incomplete, resulting in a turnover on downs.
Pahokee chewed up most of the remaining 4:38, driving 55 yards for the game’s final score. Steele had a 24-yard run on the drive, which also saw Bradford flagged for a personal-foul facemask penalty, which resulted in first-and-goal at the 6. Steele eventually scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 34 seconds on the clock.
The teams were fairly even in terms of total yardage, with Bradford finishing with 377 to Pahokee’s 386.
It may not have been Bradford’s night, but Tomlinson knew his players had left it all on the field.
“As a coach, that’s all you can ask for — your guys fighting,” he said.
