CALLAHAN – There is an old saying, “If you’re going to talk the talk, you better be able to walk the walk”. Hard lesson to learn for a bunch of 15-18 years olds this day in age.
All week long both Bradford and West Nassau took to twitter taking turns jabbing at each other calling each other out in fun in preparation for the big game Friday in Callahan between the two.
The fun began with a set of tweets from West Nassau players simply saying “365 days, revenge tour on Bradford”, as the Tornadoes were the last team to beat West Nassau in the regular season last year.
Among the several tweets back and forth over the days was a Bradford player tweeting at my list of undefeated teams last week saying, “Be ready to take West Nassau off”.
Turns out he was right after all.
Unfortunately, the Warriors will have to wait another year for revenge as Bradford hung another defeat on West Nassau 31-20 Friday night.
Early on it looked like West Nassau was going to back up its claims as the Warriors option offense controlled the clock and kept the Tornadoes offense off the field holding them to just three plays in the first quarter.
West Nassau appeared to catch a break after a quick three and out forced a punt but the Tornadoes had 12 guys on the field and gave the Warriors a first down. However, two plays later, a Christian Nobles fumble was recovered Tylan Davis at the 46 yard line.
However, the Warriors defense led by Jeremy Starling and Seth O’neal held them in check and forced a quick three and out, that would be the last time the Tornadoes would touch the ball for a while.
On their second drive of the game, the Warriors began the drive at their own 12 and behind quarterback Dallas Mumford, Javon Wright and Nobles the Warriors put together a 19 play, 88 yard drive that consumed the rest of the first quarter.
Wright capped the long drive with a one yard score on fourth and goal giving West Nassau a 7-0 lead with 11:08 left in the second quarter.
Javon Wright fourth and goal 1 yard run gives West Nassau a 7-0 lead with 11:08 left till half. @DuvalSports
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 5, 2018
A well rested Bradford offensive line went to work feasting on the Warriors defensive line as the Tornadoes answered the Warriors long drive with a lengthy drive themselves to tie the game.
Faced with fourth and 11 from the 14 yard line, senior quarterback Adrien Ciena connected with J’cobi Harris for a short gain, Harris out jumped two Warrior defenders and fought off a tackle at the same time to walk in the end zone for a 14 yard reception tying the game at 7-7 with 5:50 left till halftime.
Ciena to Harris on fourth and ten play, Harris out jumps two defenders and breaks tackle same time walks in to end zone Bradford ties it up 7-7 5:50 left till half. @DuvalSports
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 5, 2018
J’cobi Harris hauled in a unbelievable fourth down catch for 14 yard touchdown fighting two defenders and breaking a tackle at same time to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:50 left till half. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/2zhBCUjecn
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 6, 2018
After seeing what West Nassau did on its last drive, Bradford coaches made the decision to keep the momentum going by catching the Warriors off guard with an onside kick.
Taking over at midfield, the Tornadoes kept their foot on the gas as sophomore tailback Erric Smith busted off four straight runs to move the Tornadoes inside the 21 yard line.
Several plays on the drive, faced with fourth and 13, Ciena connected with junior receiver Nathaniel Davis, who made a diving catch in the end zone to give the Tornadoes a 15-7 lead with 3:07 left till half.
Adrien Ciena hits Nathaniel Davis on fourth and 13 play, Bradford leads 15-7 with 3:07 left till half. @DuvalSports
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 6, 2018
Nathaniel Davis played both ways for Bradford, his fourth down diving touchdown catch in the second quarter gave Bradford a 15-7 lead before half. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/vsdpj8IFmA
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 6, 2018
“All the credit goes to my coaching staff, explaining the coverages to me and them lining us up in the right spots,” Ciena said. “The first one I was hit as soon a I threw it, it was a very sloppy throw but luckily he was in the right place and made the play, the second one that was all coach, great call and we executed it.”
Bradford coach Brian Tomlinson added, “We work on that at practice, not so much fourth and 10 trying to score but situational plays on third and fourth down.”
Things just kept getting worse for the Warriors as a high snap on the ensuing play after the kickoff sailed over the head of Mumford and out of the back of the end zone for a safety and two more points for the Tornadoes and 17-7 lead.
Bad snap over quarterback head ensuing play for safety Bradford leads 17-7. @DuvalSports
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 6, 2018
Receiving the pooch punt after the safety, Bradford knew they still had plenty of time to score again and take control of the game going into half starting the possession at midfield.
Travis Lee carried the ball on the ensuing play from scrimmage and along with a facemask call on the Warriors, the Tornadoes were down to the 16 yard line.
Ciena found Jeremiah Vaughn wide open on a fourth and 11 play and Vaughn was able to just pick up the first down before being tackled at the 7 yard line.
Three plays later, Smith broke through a gaping hole and scored from 7 yards out to give Bradford a stunning 23-7 lead with less than a minute left in the first half.
Eric Smith 7 yard run gives Bradford a 24-7 lead with 25.8 left till half. @DuvalSports
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 6, 2018
West Nassau refused to take a knee and go into the half down two scores. Mumford hit tight end Elijah Canode for a 22 yard gain down to the 28 yard line.
Mumford clocked the ball with 3.7 seconds left after two incomplete passes and was given two more attempts after back-to-back roughing the passer calls kept the drive going despite the clock expiring. Mumford found Davian Williams at the 1 short of the goal line on the third attempt as the half ended finally.
A wild and crazy second quarter finally ended as Bradford carried a 23-7 lead into the locker room at the half.
A scoreless first quarter produced 30 second quarter points as Bradford leads West Nassau 23-7 at the half. @DuvalSports @FlaHSFootball
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 6, 2018
Down two scores and kicking off to Bradford to start the third quarter, the Warriors executed a perfect onside kick and took over at the 40 yard line.
Wright busted off runs of 11 and 4 to put the Warriors at the 25, setting up Kaleb Crandell’s 25 yard touchdown run cutting the lead to 23-13 barely a minute into the second half.
West Nassau initially was going to go for two points but a delay of game changed their mind and they opted to kick the extra point attempt, which was blocked by Malik Hankerson.
The Warriors tried another onside kick and the Tornadoes were ready for it and recovered it at midfield.
Neither team could have seen what was about to happen as both teams had a hard time holding on to the ball as both teams combined for 7 turnovers in the third quarter (4 fumbles, three interceptions).
Three plays after the score, Ciena and Smith fumbled the exchange on a handoff and Deebo Coleman was there to pick it up for the Warriors.
The momentum was short lived though as Mumford was picked off by James Martin as Mumford pass was thrown right across the middle and right to Martin.
James Martin came up huge for Bradford defense with an interception and should have another one. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/SSSyyiaOWh
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 6, 2018
Cameron Atwater picked off Ciena at the 10 yard line as the Tornadoes tried to increase their lead minutes later.
Tylan Davis recovered a Warriors fumble on the ensuing play but officials ruled a inadvertent whistle blew nullifying the turnover.
Tylan Davis also has a huge night for the Tornadoes with an interception and fumble recovery. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/ZIvt01cvq6
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 6, 2018
Two plays later, Martin nearly had his second interception but officials ruled he was out of bounds, but one play later Davis recovered a fumble giving the Tornadoes the ball back again.
Mumford fumbled the ball away on the Warriors next drive and Tyrie Oliver recovered the ball for the Tornadoes at the 17 yard line.
Four plays later, Ciena was picked off by Coleman at the 7 yard line on another fourth and long play for the Tornadoes at the 7 yard line.
Mercifully the third quarter finally came to an end for both teams after 7 turnovers combined as Bradford carried a 23-13 lead into the final quarter.
End 3
Bradford 23
West Nassau 13@DuvalSports— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 6, 2018
The turnovers continued though as Ciena punt was partially blocked by Centari Mitchell putting the Warriors at the 28 yard line with 9:54 left in the game.
On fourth and 1, Mumford hit receiver Davian Williams for a 13 yard completion down to the 7-yard line. Four plays later, Mumford snuck in on a fourth and goal play from the 2 yard line to cut the lead to 23-20 with 6:32 left in the game.
West Nassau cuts the lead to 23-20 with 6:32 left in the game after 2 yard run by Dallas Mumford. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/vxPAM8iwaA
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 6, 2018
Once down 16 at the half, the Warriors had cut the lead to three with a little over 6 minutes left in the game putting a lot of pressure on the Tornadoes offense.
With the momentum now back on the Warriors side and the home crowd back in it, Bradford needed to pick up several first downs to come away with a possible victory. They did even better than that.
From its on 40 yard line, the Tornadoes faced a lot of pressure and things didn’t start well with a false start and a 5 yard loss on a catch from Smith, to set up second and long. Ciena hit Vaughn on a screen pass and Vaughn shook defenders picking up 13 yards on the play and Ciena found Davis open for a 13 yard completion at midfield and a first down to keep the drive going.
Smith picked up a tough 7 yards on a third and 4 play to pick up another first down and Brian Foster broke the Warriors back with a 22 yard run down to the 16 yard line with less than three minutes left in the game.
Two plays later, on his thirtieth and final carry of the game, Smith scored his second touchdown of the game this time on a 15 yard run to put the Tornadoes up 31-20 with 2:35 left in the game.
Eric Smith was a workhorse for the Tornadoes with 30 carries, his last carry a 15 yard score put Bradford ahead 31-20 with 2:35 left in the game. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/OrHqDCzENt
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 6, 2018
Smith was a beast for the Tornadoes accounted for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries on the night, while also picking up several key first downs and moving the chains.
Erric Smith was a workhorse for the Tornadoes with 30 carries and two touchdowns his last carry a 15 yard score put Bradford ahead 31-20 with 2:35 left in the game.
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 6, 2018
Following the score, the Tornadoes set up for the extra point but a low snap forced holder Nathaniel Davis to scramble and make a play. Davis was under pressure but fought off defenders before his line pushed him across the goal line for the two point conversion.
When things are going your way, anything can happen.
“On that last drive I’m telling myself big time players make big time plays and keep composed and we made it happen, ” Ciena said about last drive.
Now down 11 with under three minutes left, the Warriors still fought to the whistle getting across mid field in the closing minute before Tylan Davis closed it out with a interception with 20 seconds left in the game.
Martin and Davis both had huge nights defensively for the Tornadoes as Martin had two interceptions, only one counted though and Davis recovered three fumbles (two counted) and also had an interception.
The duo are a few of the reasons why the Tornadoes have now won three in a row and looking like the state semifinalists they were last year.
“Yes sir that definitely motivated us,” Davis stated about the back and forth on social media this week. “Their coach also said earlier in the year that they will be undefeated going into the Baldwin game. Like our coach said if that don’t get you fired up and ready to play nothing will.”
Tomlinson was excited to see how his offense reacted to losing one of its key lineman Gavin Woods to a knee injury.
“We lost a key lineman in the game and we stopped doing a lot of things, hats off to them for making the adjustments,” Tomlinson said. “Our kids started panicking but we were able to step up when we needed to.”
Wins over Fort White, University Christian and now West Nassau have the Tornadoes on a three game winning streak and winners of four of their last five. Quite a turnaround from a 1-3 start, which saw the Tornadoes drop two games by a combined 13 points.
More impressive is the fact all threw wins have come on the road as well, which will help come playoff time.
Part of the reason for the sudden turn around is an attitude adjustment and a creepy Chucky doll that sits on the sideline and in the locker room before and after games as well as halftime. The players say the doll brings out the attitude in them.
GAME DAY🌪🤫 pic.twitter.com/nC4P9KUPBd
— . (@smith_erric) October 5, 2018
“The difference is our attitude in our whole team really, it’s a been completely different team these last three weeks,” Ciena said.
“We just went back to the basics and got more physical,” Tomlinson said. “Our defense has been playing lights out and our offense has been getting better especially in the offensive line the last three weeks.”
“Coach (Rod) Charles, the defensive coordinator, gave us an inspiring speech and we knew If we weren’t all in we would miss the playoffs and these last three games we’ve been all in,” Davis said.
While people have been counting them each week they continue to feed off of that each week. That continues this week as the Tornadoes (4-3) host state power Cocoa Friday night at David Hurse Stadium.
Meanwhile West Nassau (5-1), which dropped its first game of the season, will look to regroup this week as they travel to county rival Fernandina Beach Friday night with a chance to wrap up the county title with a win.
#NewProfilePic @J_M_Creations Slot Machine💰🤑🎒 pic.twitter.com/AcdWbZGaCl
— Jeremiah Vaughn🐍 (@JVaughn_0) October 5, 2018
Top of the mornin' to ya! Pics from Fridays win over Fort White are up! https://t.co/3ClnjYBEu3 pic.twitter.com/AnNlq1wFus
— Joshua Marshall (@J_M_Creations) September 26, 2018
