The Bradford (Starke) football program is known for its defense, which has helped it get to last year’s state championship game and the 2022 semifinals.
On Friday night in Newberry, it was the host Panthers who made their presence known on defense in a 21-7 upset of the Class 2A No. 1 Tornadoes.
Seniors Jarquez Carter and Mykah Newton combined for seven sacks and Logan McCloud had a pick-6 as Newberry (5-2, 3-0) won the Class 2A-District 5 title, the Panthers’ first district title since winning the 2B-District 4 title in 2007 when the Panthers were state runners-up.
It was also the first district championship for head coach Ed Johnson.
“It’s big,” said Johnson, who laughed but noted he was 0-and-4 as a basketball coach in district championship games. “It’s big for these kids, big for our program, big for our school. A lot of hard work went into it and these guys have trusted the process. They trust what we did when a lot of people didn’t on the outside and you get to kind of see where we’re at right now.”
McCloud intercepted Bradford quarterback Zack Paulk and returned it 20 yards for the score to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead with 4:18 to play in the first quarter.
“Coach Johnson said just come out and hit them in the mouth,” McCloud said. “Just start the tempo. Set the tempo, so that’s what I did when I caught the pick.”
On their next possession, Paulk was picked off by Newton at the 30-yard line and the University of Miami commit returned it to the Bradford 25-yard line.
“I know we got destroyed in the turnover battle,” said Bradford coach Jamie Rodgers, whose team had its 16-game regular season winning streak snapped. “It’s hard to overcome that.”
Senior kicker Zane Spires missed a 45-yard field goal attempt on the drive, but Newberry kept Bradford (6-1, 2-1) off the scoreboard and headed to the locker room with a 7-0 lead at the half.
On their first offensive possession of the second half, Newberry took a 14-0 lead.
The Panthers went 74 yards on only two plays, a 33-yard pass from senior quarterback Collin Dunmore to senior wide receiver Hayden Moore, followed by a 41-yard scoring pass from Dunmore to McCloud.
On the pass in the left flat to McCloud, the Wofford commit broke several tackles to score on the play.
“O-line really,” he said. “My blockers. Really, that’s it. My blockers. When I caught the ball and I saw my blockers out there and I saw the hole, I just started running.”
McCloud’s score proved to be the game-winner.
“Big-time players, man,” Johnson said. “That’s what that guy is. I get to see it every single day. His work ethic, his character, I’m just so happy he got to do it tonight on a big stage because he’s been doing it for four years and I know he’ll continue doing it for the next four.”
Newberry added some insurance on its next possession and marched 47 yards for the score. They capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by senior running back Kaleb Woods and a 21-0 lead with 6:44 to play in the third quarter.
For three and a half quarters the Newberry defense kept Bradford out of the end zone.
“We knew the defense was going to have to step up,” said Carter. “We had a little injury on offense when Kaleb went down in the fourth quarter. That had a big impact for us, so we had to step up. We had to give it our all and it led to a big win.”
The Ohio State commit had four sacks to lead his team.
“Coach said he wanted me to move around, d-end, nose guard, d-tackle, because he knew they were going to try and triple team me and me moving around kind of helped my other d-linemen, like Mykah Newton,” Carter said. “Mykah had three sacks today so by me moving around it impacted the whole team and helped us overall.”
In addition to the turnovers, the Newberry defense made several key stops on 4th down, including holding senior Jeremiah McKenzie for no gain on a 4th-and-1 at the Newberry 11-yard line with 1:15 to play in the third quarter.
“We lean our hat on those guys a lot,” Johnson said. “They played really, really well. Our DBs were challenged all week in practice. We knew we were going to have to come up, and they came up and tackled really well from the secondary which I think was a big part of what the outcome ended up being.”
Bradford got on the scoreboard on a 14-yard scoring pass from Paulk to senior wide receiver Marlin Haywood with 5:37 to play.
An onside kick was recovered by Newberry’s Trenton Campbell and the Panthers won their fourth straight game.
“You know it was a good football game and you know that it’s important to beat us when you take a picture in front of the scoreboard,” Rodgers said as the Panthers posed for a team photo in the north endzone to commemorate their district championship. “Everybody needs a reality check every once in a while. We just got one, a good one, a good physical one.”
Bradford, which is playing its final four regular season games on the road, will travel to winless Leon (Tallahassee) next Friday, while Newberry will host Fort White.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect Bradford’s regular season winning streak, and celebration in the north endzone.
Monday, Oct. 7
Buchholz 52, Gainesville 7
Friday, Oct. 11
Newberry 21, Bradford (Starke) 7
Santa Fe (Alachua) 30, Keystone Heights 7
Bell 42, Interlachen 28
Columbia (Lake City) 56, Ridgeview (Orange Park) 0
Baker County (Glen St. Mary) 27, Suwannee (Live Oak) 17
Taylor County (Perry) 13, Chiefland 10
GHS at Leesburg – Postponed (Monday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m.)
Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) at Buchholz – Postponed (Monday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m.)
Eastside at South Sumter (Bushnell) – Postponed (TBD)
Bronson at Seffner Christian – Postponed (TBD)
Williston at Hardee (Wauchula) – Postponed (TBD)
Oak Hall at Hollis Christian Academy (Jacksonville) – Canceled due to Hurricane Milton
P.K. Yonge at Saint Francis Catholic Academy – Canceled due to Hurricane Milton
Branford at Stanton (Jacksonville) – Canceled due to Hurricane Milton
Saturday, Oct. 12
Blountstown 22, Dixie County (Cross City) 0
OFF – Fort White, Hawthorne, Trenton, Union County (Lake Butler)
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