NEWBERRY, Fla. – Call it a stunner or call it an upset, but the way the Newberry Panthers (5-2) played against the visiting Bradford (Starke) Tornadoes (6-1) was one for the ages that sent shockwaves through the state with the host Panthers coming away with a 21-7 victory that handed Newberry the District 2A-5 championship in head coach Ed Johnson’s sixth season at the helm of his alma mater where he graduated from in 200.
The victory for Newberry sent shockwaves throughout the state where more eyes were focused on this game than normally would have been expected thanks to the light schedule that brought upon the cancellation and postponement of many games around the state due to the impacts of Hurricane Milton that rocked the state just 48 hours prior.
The loss for Bradford is their first in the regular season since November 4, 2022, when they lost 10-7 to Suwannee on the road.
Here are five takeaways from the game along with quotes and video interviews from the game.
NEWBERRY’S DEFENSE MADE STATEMENT EARLY
Some were wondering which defense would have the edge in this game given the fact that both teams come in with prospects that have been making noise on the defensive side of the ball. In the end, it wasn’t even the top prospects that made the statement first. It was Logan McCloud who busted through to make his name heard with a 13-yard pick-six interception return to give Newberry the first points of the game and the only points of the first half with 4:18 in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead.
However, if Bradford thought the Newberry defense was going to lay off, the Tornadoes were mistaken when Mykah Newton intercepted a second Paulk pass in the first quarter that would keep the Tornadoes from doing anything. Never mind that Newton blasted the Tornadoes’ defensive line on their first drive of the game and stopped Gino Addison from doing anything.
The hot start of Newberry’s defense spelled trouble for Bradford for the rest of the game and that trouble also spelled the smelling out of the wildcat offense that Bradford has used before this season when down in games.
JARQUEZ CARTER COOKED UP SACKS IN THE SECOND HALF
Bradford kept the Ohio State prospect in check for the first half and did not allow him to do much damage in the backfield and to quarterback Zack Paulk.
However, the second half became a whole other story when a few adjustments made by Johnson, allowed Carter to exploit the Tornadoes’ offense even further the second half where he came up with a whopping four sacks.
Carter’s most damaging sacks came late in the fourth quarter after Bradford scored their only points in the game on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Paulk to Marlin Haywood with 5:37 left. The two sacks on Paulk in nearly consecutive plays on Bradford’s final drive eventually ended up resulting in a turnover on downs.
After the game, Carter told FloridaHSFootball.com “It feels great,” in being a district champion. “We will celebrate with guys, but we know there is more work to be done. The season is not over with. We got another home game [against Fort White] and then we got a home game in the playoffs, so we want to keep protecting the field.”
NEWBERRY’S OFFENSE SHINES IN THIRD QUARTER
With having five offensive drives compared to the seven Bradford had in the first half, some would say that would be an issue statistically, but it was not that for Newberry who had trouble getting the offense going.
As the coin toss in pregame went Newberry’s way, the coin toss selection by the Panthers to defer to the second half paid off with getting the ball and coming up with a quick score to push the Panthers’ statement that they were here and they were for real with Collin Dunmore orchestrating a quick two-play drive that resulted in a 40-yard touchdown on a screenplay to McCloud with 11:12 in the third quarter to give Newberry a 14-0 lead. That receiving touchdowns for McCloud gave him touchdowns both offensively and defensively on the night. Hayden Moore had a 33-yard catch before that that helped set up the touchdown.
Kaleb Woods would finish off the scoring on a drive in the middle of the third quarter on a five-yard touchdown run that came as a result of Bradford’s third turnover of the night to make it 21-0 with 6:44 left in the third quarter.
BRADFORD’S OFFENSE WAS LACKLUSTER
The Tornadoes’ offense was lackluster for the majority of the game and just could not figure out how to crack the code against the Panthers’ offense.
Between Paulk’s throwing and Addison’s running, the Panthers were ready for anything and everything that the Tornadoes’ tried – mostly tried to do – but there were glimmers of hope that the Bradford offense was coming alive in the third quarter.
The Tornadoes on a drive orchestrated by Paulk and helped by an unnecessary roughness penalty from Newberry, saw Bradford reach the 11-yard line of the Panthers where it appeared the Tornadoes would eventually get their first points of the game. Instead on a fourth-and-short situation at the 11, Bradford fumbled the ball away and gave Newberry the ball right back, squashing a promising drive that would have potentially put the Tornadoes right back in it.
With the only score of the game for Bradford, the offense was left in shock that even saw the wildcat be exploited in the fourth quarter by the Panthers’ defense.
STATS WERE IN BRADFORD’S FAVOR EXCEPT ONE AREA
When looking at some key critical statistics from the game, Bradford was doing well in all aspects of the game which would indicate that they would pick up a victory, but there is one area that hurt Bradford, which ultimately would be the deciding factor for the Panthers to pick up the victory over the Tornadoes.
First Downs: Bradford – 12; Newberry – 7
Penalties: Bradford – 6 for 55 yards; Newberry – 9 for 65 yards
Third Down Conversions: Bradford – 6-of-15; Newberry – 3-of-9
Fourth Down Conversions: Bradford – 1-of-5; Newberry- 0-of-1
Turnovers: Bradford – 3; Newberry – 0
When looking at the statistical categories everything from first downs, penalties, and third downs were in the favor of the Tornadoes. Only in the turnovers was it not in the Tornadoes’ favor and that cost them the game. In the end, leading in statistical categories will not win you a game, it is the final score on the scoreboard and despite the struggles on offense it proved that defense can win you a football game.
BRADFORD HEAD COACH JAMIE RODGERS AFTER THE GAME
Bradford head coach Jamie Rodgers was frank with his team afterward in the postgame huddle telling his Tornadoes, saying, “We got outcoached and outplayed.” Rodgers also blamed himself for the outcome of the game and how his team played attributing that he and his staff did not do enough to prepare them for the game despite a week of practice schedules all over the place due to Hurricane Milton.
“They ran hard through our arm tackles,” Rodgers said regarding Newberry’s offense exploding in the third quarter. “Didn’t prepare all week, we didn’t get them prepared Monday and Tuesday when we had a chance to practice. Those guys [Newberry] played extremely hard. They deserve all the credit. Their coaching staff did an outstanding job and their players played extremely hard.”
NEWBERRY HEAD COACH ED JOHNSON AFTER THE GAME
JARQUEZ CARTER AFTER THE GAME
WHAT’S NEXT
Bradford will look to bounce back travel to Tallahassee next week to take on Leon (0-7) while Newberry will host their final home game of the regular season against Fort White (4-2).
