The stadium was filled with several alumni classes who were on hand for the Tigers’ homecoming game against Jenkins on Friday, but the Warriors were bent on spoiling the evening as they rolled to a 31-5 victory at Olvey Field.
Jenkins scored its first touchdown in its first offensive possession. The Warriors faced third-and-long at their own 30-yard line, but quarterback AJ Gilford dumped a 10-yard pass and his receiver did the rest, breaking a few tackles to find the end zone. The kick was wide, but the Tigers were down, 6-0, within minutes.
After BI posted a quick three-and-punt, Jenkins charged downfield again until Bradwell’s Jahlil Witt hit Gilford for a big loss, which forced third-and-20. Witt and Greg Howard combined on another big tackle, forcing Jenkins to punt.
But Jenkins tricked Bradwell and snapped the ball to running back Rashmel Lewis, who ran to the Tigers’ 36. Gilford then handed the ball to Terron Bradham, who scored a touchdown. The Warriors went for two, but they were stopped.
The Tigers began to march forward with Markell McKee’s 35-yard return, which put the offense at the Warriors’ 44.
Bradwell’s Quonte Haggray carried the ball to the 21, and then quarterback Myrese Cobb rushed to the 13-yard line. Cobb carried the ball again and was brought down at the half-yard line.
But the Tigers were unable to break the plane and turned the ball over on downs at the 2-yard line.
The home team wound up scoring a few minutes later after holding the Warriors and forcing the punt. The ball was snapped over the punter’s head, giving the Tigers a safety.
A second sack for a loss by Witt kept the Warriors from reaching a first down and the red zone, and the Tigers had the ball with 33 seconds left in the first half. The Tigers were just beyond midfield with 10.4 seconds before intermission, and Cobb attempted a pass to the corner of the end zone, but it was picked off as the buzzer sounded.
In the third quarter, Bradwell’s Robert Miller kicked a 30-yard field goal after offensive lineman Chester Brown caught a tipped pass and brought his team to the 17. Cobb drew a roughing-the-passer call, which brought the Tigers inside the 5. But a few tackles and a 10-yard penalty forced the field goal instead.
The Warriors answered with a 60-yard run by Bradham to go up, 18-5.
A series of penalties killed Bradwell’s next drive. On fourth-and-20, Kris Lewis came out to punt but the snap went over his head. He chased the ball, scooped it up and attempted the kick, but the ball hit the chest of a Jenkins player, which gave the visiting team the ball at the Bradwell 9. Jenkins was pushed back, but Bradham scored on a 15-yard run on third down. The Warriors drew a flag after the touchdown and missed the two-point conversion but took a 24-5 lead.
A big gain by Bradwell’s Lord Smith was brought back for holding, and another miscue caused Lewis’ next punt to fall short.
That set up Bradham’s final touchdown run to give the Warriors a 31-5 victory.
Jenkins improves to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in Region 3-AAAAA. Bradwell falls to 1-7 overall and 1-5 in the region.
The Tigers will travel to Grayson Stadium next week to face off against old rival Benedictine (3-4 overall, 3-2 in the region). The Cadets are coming off their bye week.