The Bradwell Institute Tigers end their off week in a spot they haven’t been in for a long time – tied for second in the region standings just past the midway point of the season.
The Tigers, 4-2 overall and 2-1 in Region 1-AAAAAA, host Greenbrier on Friday for the Tigers’ homecoming. Bradwell put itself in place to contend for a region title thanks to a record-setting 57-49 overtime win over Brunswick two weeks ago.
The win snapped an eight-game losing streak to Brunswick and gave the Tigers their most wins in a season – with four games left to play – since 2018.
“I like to see my teammates happy,” said senior wide receiver Tyson Spears, who scored the game-winning touchdown and ran in the two-point conversion. “I’ve never seen their faces like this.”
The Tigers had to twice erase 14-point deficits against the Pirates, who won the region a year ago.
“We came out hot,” senior quarterback Jah’barri Felix said of the offense, before it stalled through most of the second quarter. “But we knew we could pick it up. We had to keep locking in and trusting our coaches.”
Spears and Felix noted the difference in this year’s team, and credited new head coach John Adams for setting a standard.
“I’ve got to give it all to the coaching staff,” Adams said. “They came in – and even though we weren’t the best group, we weren’t disciplined and we weren’t responsible – and put their trust in us. They’ve developed us. They’ve put their time and trust in us. They took time away from their kids and their families to come help us be better people and to get places.”
“We’re way more disciplined than we ever were,” Felix said. “When it comes to practice, wearing certain things on certain days, we’re just way more scheduled.”
The Wolfpack are 2-4 on the season and 1-2 in the region, coming off a 35-0 win over Grovetown two weeks ago. Greenbrier’s defense held the Warriors offense to 135 total yards. Wolfpack quarterback Parker Brantley was 11-for-11 for 101 yards and ran for 131 yards. Josh Jefferson added 110 yards rushing as the Wolfpack ran for a total of 276 yards.
Greenbrier’s offense has had most of its production on the ground, scoring 17 touchdowns and averaging 221 yards per game. Senior Brennan Bjorkman leads the Wolfpack with 509 yards and nine TDs.
While the current Tigers are eager to reach the state playoffs for the first time in seven years, they also can hear Coach Adams’ mantra to concern themselves solely on the game in front of them.
“There’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to be in the playoffs this year,” Felix said. “But he is right about one game at a time. We don’t need to be thinking about Lakeside right now. We need to be thinking about Greenbrier.”