Tied for last place in Region 3-AAAAA is not where the Bradwell Tigers want to be at this point in the football season. Nestled alongside Jenkins and Savannah High, the Tigers need to win tonight when they host Windsor Forest to have a viable shot for the postseason. In fact, the BI boys need to win from here on out to push Johnson, Benedictine and Groves down the region scale.
It’s a task that BI coach Jim Walsh said his team can do if they commit to fight for every tackle and make every block.
The Knights come in at 2-2 in the region and 2-3-1 overall, scoring 112 points against their opponents so far.
Walsh said the one thing they anticipate from the visiting team is speed. “They are going to have a little bit of size and athleticism,” he said. “A lot of their skilled guys have speed. Many ran at the state track meet.”
The Tigers are 7-3 in the series but have struggled with penalties in the past few games.
Walsh scaled down the playbook, saying the Tigers were getting back to basics against the Knights.
“We are just simplifying everything,” he said. “We went back to the basics and we are just going to play fundamental football.”
The Tigers’ record is not due to a lack of effort on the BI squad’s part. The Bradwell offense has shown it can move the ball and put points on the board.
Marsalis Jackson had six catches for 150 yards and a touchdown last week against Savannah High. Tiger Markell McKee scored a touchdown last week and returned a punt 55 yards Sept. 19 against Johnson. That set up a 30-yard touchdown run by Quonte Haggray. McKee later scored a touchdown on a pass from Myrese Cobb.
The Tigers would like to play mistake-free football in order to avoid what Walsh calls, “shooting ourselves in the foot at the worst possible moment.”
Kickoff is at 7:30 tonight.