Bradwell Tigers head coach Adam Carter’s halftime speech was limited to explaining that it was time his players learned to win, and the Tigers heeded his advice, rallying for 24, second-half points, and a 45-32 Region 3-AAAAA win over Jenkins.
“I told them the reason we didn’t win last week in Effingham County was because we didn’t know how to win,” Carter said. “We were up 21-7, then let Jenkins back in the game, when we didn’t hem up the quarterback and they threw behind the coverage for a score and then they scored right before half… We came out though and kept battling and we are learning how to win.”
Offensively, the Tigers offense rolled for 420 total yards off 71 plays with 5.9 yards per carry.
“We ran the ball well tonight, but as the season goes on and we play tougher teams we have got to be able to throw the ball more. Jenkins had eight in the box, basically daring us to throw the ball. That is one thing that we will be important to us during region play,” Carter said.
Bradwell senior quarterback LaBaron Anthony, was going to take it on himself to do everything he could to win homecoming and region game against Jenkins,
Anthony, who was also elected homecoming king, racked up 125 yards for two touchdowns including a 64 yard run that put the Tigers up, 35-32, in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers won the toss, kicking to Jenkins to start the game. Bradwell junior linebacker Isaiah Barnes had two big tackles, forcing the Warriors to punt its first series.
Anthony led the Tigers first offensive series, alternating between handoffs and running the ball on his own. Bradwell’s running game was on Friday night, giving the Tigers short distances on second and third downs, which allowed them to earn 13 first downs.
Anthony took the ball on fourth and one and picked up a new set of downs, setting up the Tigers first score from Hubert Anderson off of a one-yard run. Robert Miller added the PAT to put the Tigers up, 7-0. Jenkins responded with a scoring drive, tying the game 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Bradwell was up 21-7 late in the second quarter, when Jenkins scored back-to-back TDs  to cut the Tigers lead to 21-19.
Though the Tigers received the ball, the Warriors struck first in the third quarter.
“We didn’t want the Jenkins quarterback to be the player that beat us, so we had a strong focus on him. We stopped him some but we also made some big mistakes on defense...” Carter said.
Bradwell grabbed the lead back with a six-yard run from Anderson, and added the two point conversion for 29-26.
Jenkins scored again in the fourth quarter to take a 32-29 lead before Anthony gave the Tigers the permanent lead off a long run.
Anderson iced the game, late in the fourth when he scampered for 66 yards and his fourth touchdown. Anderson rushed for 130 yards on 13 carries for four touchdowns. Tyreque Young forced a safety for the Tigers final score.
Bradwell is 2-3 overall and 1-1 in Region 3-AAAAA.
“We have Windsor Forest next week and that should certainly be an opportunity for us to get another win. It will be a chance to back to .500 and give us a chance for some momentum in the region,” Carter said.
Windsor lost to Effingham County, 46-0, Region 3-AAAAA play Friday night.