OAKLEAF - Bradford County football is for real.
The Tornadoes ran their record to 6-0 with a 12-0 suffocation of host Oakleaf on October 6, limiting Oakleaf’s high-octane offense to five first downs in a non-district matchup of Titans.
Bradford ranked third in Florida’s Class 2S, entered the game with gaudy defensive statistics, but its five previous wins had come against four Class 2S schools and one 3S school, none of which had a winning record. To shut out a Class 4S Oakleaf squad that is considered Clay County’s best team was a stunner.
“I am so proud of everybody,” said Bradford head coach Jamie Rodgers. “This is a road playoff win.”
Bradford entered the contest allowing just 5.2 points per game, while Oakleaf’s prolific offense came in averaging 28.5 points per contest. A large contingent of red-clad partisans from Starke made the trip to see how the hometown boys would stack up against Clay County’s best team. The Tornadoes lived up to their hype.
“That is the best defense in the state,” observed Oakleaf head coach Christopher Foye, Jr., who saw his Knights fall to 2-3. “They can run and they are physical. You are not going to find that kind of defensive front every Friday.”
The Tornadoes’ front seven, led by noseguard Trente Jenkins, tackle Jalen Williams and linebackers Chason Clark and Jeremiah McKenzie, dominated. Jenkins and Williams left nowhere to run inside, limiting Oakleaf runners to 29 yards on 19 carries. Clark and McKenzie chased down any wide runs or short passes and effectively pressured Oakleaf quarterback Brandon Wallace on well-timed blitzes. Of Oakleaf’s five first downs, two came via penalty.
The domination was so thorough that the only time the Knights crossed midfield with the ball was when Bryson Keitt weaved his way to the Tornadoes’ 18-yard line on a 65-yard kickoff return late in the first quarter.
Jenkins impacted the Knights’ passing game with constant pressure on Oakleaf quarterback Brandon Wallace. The 5’11”, 280-pound ball of muscle had two sacks and was responsible for the game’s first score, forcing and recovering a fumble on the game’s opening possession that he recovered at the Oakleaf 20-yard line. Wallace had rolled right looking to throw, but was unable to escape a hard-charging Jenkins.
It took the Tornadoes just three plays to capitalize on the turnover. First Bradford quarterback Dae’jon Shanks gained 15 yards on a read option. Running back Willie Pollard advanced inside the one-yard line on the next play and finished the drive with a dive up the middle. The extra point attempt by Bradford’s Cayden Carter was blocked, leaving Oakleaf down 6-0 three minutes into the game.
Bradford scored again on its second possession, traveling 80 yards in two large chunks. On third down and five from the Bradford 25, Elijah Kellum fought through interference by Oakleaf’s Jackey Sheppard to make a leaping grab for a 34-yard gain, moving the ball to the Oakleaf 41. One play after Pollard converted a third down with a four-yard gain, Chalil Cummings ran a fade route and made an easy catch when the Oakleaf defensive back fell down in the hand-fighting along the sideline. Gathering the ball in at the five-yard line, Cummings walked into the end zone. Pollard was stopped on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, leaving Bradford with a 12-0 advantage with 3:06 remaining in the first quarter.
“Getting off to a good start was huge,” said Rodgers. “Their band takes up an entire section [of bleachers] and plays the whole time we have the ball, and their student section takes up another whole section. This was a playoff atmosphere.”
After the second score, the Tornadoes played conservatively, content to rely on their defense. By running the ball even in apparent passing situations, the Tornadoes shortened the game. Bradford ran 36 running plays and threw only eight passes. As a result, Oakleaf had only two possessions in both the third and fourth quarters.
Even after Keitt’s long kickoff return, the Tornadoes kept Oakleaf off of the scoreboard. On the first play of the possession, a facemask penalty gave the Knights a first down— their first first down of the game— at the six-yard line. After Foy was stuffed for no gain by Williams, Clark knifed in from his middle linebacker position and tackled Wallace for a 5-yard loss. On third and goal from the 11, Wallace overthrew Michael Conner, III, on an out route. When the typically reliable Andrew McDavid just missed a 28-yard field goal attempt wide right, the score stood at 12-0, swinging momentum decidedly in favor of the visitors.
“Not scoring when we had the ball in the red zone hurt our confidence a bit,” said Foy. “It affected the rest of the game.”
Conner and Jordin Price, Oakleaf’s explosive young wideouts, were non-factors. Conner was limited to 19 yards on three catches while Price mustered just 10 yards on two receptions. Wallace completed only seven of 18 passes for 41 yards, with one interception.
“With their overall speed, you need to make your reads a little earlier,” Foy said of Wallace’s struggles.
An Oakleaf defense that had struggled in its last two games kept the Knights in the game, pitching a shutout of their own over the last three quarters. A sack by Amare Thomas and tackles for loss by Aiden Jutilien, Courtney Robinson and James Kitchen helped limit Bradford to 73 yards on 36 carries. The Tornadoes had just 172 total yards and only nine first downs.
Williams sniffed out a wide receiver screen to tackle Conner for no gain on a fourth down with 3:10 remaining, ending the Knights’ final chance to rally. Bradford’s Brian Cliffin, III, converted a fourth and 2 on the ensuing possession with a six-yard gain, allowing the Tornadoes to run out the rest of the clock with two kneeldowns.
Oakleaf welcomes another undefeated team to the Dungeon this week when Gainesville Buchholz visits for a District 3-4S tilt. The Bobcats are 6-0 and entered Friday’s 35-7 win over Gainesville ranked number one in Class 4S. With another district game at Bartram Trail looming on October 27, Foye said that the scheduling of difficult opponents like Bradford was intentional.
“These are the types of teams you have to play to be ready for our district, which some consider to be the toughest district in the state,” he said.
Bradford will trek down Interstate 95 to play True North Classical Academy in Miami in a non-district game on October 13. Like the Tornadoes, the Class 1M Titans are undefeated at 6-0.
“Good teams win at home,” said Rodgers. “Great teams, elite teams, win on the road.”