The pass wasn’t intended for Tyson Spears. He also got pressed into duty on the point after touchdown attempt.
But Spears grabbed a deflected pass and forced his way into the endzone on the first play of overtime, and then took the bobbled snap and ran in for a two-point conversion, providing the final points in Bradwell Institute’s wild 57-49 overtime win over Brunswick on Friday night.
With the win, Bradwell improved to 4-2 on the year and 2-1 in Region 1-6A. It’s the first time Bradwell has reached the four-win mark in six years.
“It was a team effort,” Tigers coach John Adams said. “I thought our coaches did a really good job. I thought we made some halftime adjustments and I thought we finished this game. I thought our guys believed the whole time and they executed a little bit more and we were able to pull this out.”
“It means everything,” Spears said of the win. “We came out and executed. That’s the biggest thing. We played fast and physical, just like coach taught us.”
Tigers quarterback Jahbarri Felix accounted for seven touchdowns and threw for a school-record 391 yards, and Pirates running back Nigel Gardner set a Brunswick record for rushing yards in the first overtime game in Olvey Field history. The teams combined for 1,122 yards of offense and there were scoring plays of 81, 76, 72, and 54 yards.
On a night when defensive stops were scarce, Bradwell Institute came up the most significant – and the last one. The Tigers swarmed Pirates quarterback Keygan Walker on his fourth-down scramble to end Brunswick’s overtime possession and seal the victory.
The Tigers twice erased 14-point deficits and didn’t have a lead until midway of the fourth quarter.
On the Tigers’ first play of overtime, Spears snared a tipped pass and bulled his way into the endzone to put the Tigers in front 55-49.
He topped that on the extra point. Spears, the backup holder, had to take over after regular holder Carlito Savea was hurt late in the fourth quarter. Spears took the bad snap, wheeled to his right and charged into the end zone for the two-point conversion and an eight-point lead.
“My kicker told me before the snap not to drop the ball,” Spears said. “Things happen, so I just had to make the best of it. In big moments, you have to step up.”
The Tigers defense, which had been gouged for more than 800 yards rushing in the previous two games, held the Pirates to 95 yards rushing in the second half. Behind Nigel Gardner, who had a school-record 371 yards on 25 carries, the Pirates held a 35-21 lead at halftime.
And the Pirates appeared to be in position to extend the lead after the Tigers’ initial possession of the second half went from second and goal at the Brunswick 2 to a missed 37-yard field goal. Bradwell got a break, recovering Josiah Gibbons’ fumble at the Pirates 15, and turning that into Felix’s 1-yard plunge.
Gardner answered with a 10-yard TD run, but Bradwell again came back. Felix rambled for 48 yards on third down, and then hit Savea for a 19-yard touchdown pass.
The Tigers defense came up with another stop – the only three and out of the game for Brunswick – and it led to Felix’s tying 1-yard touchdown run. Bradwell went 66 yards in 10 plays, converting three third downs.
“I thought we played with physicality that second half,” Adams said. “I think that is going to bring us to some more confidence in our run-stopping ability.”
After a third straight stop, the Tigers finally took the lead. The key play was an illegal batting penalty on Walker, who scrambled out of a sack and tried to throw the ball away. It was deflected and came back toward him and instead of catching or knocking down the ball, he swatted it down, taking the Pirates from the Tigers 38 back to their own 42.
“We talked about just taking it one play at a time and one series at a time and piggybacking off one another – get a stop on defense and the scoring on offense,” Adams said. “We got some pass rush and some sacks and I thought we did a good job of adjustments at halftime.”
Bradwell needed just one play on its ensuing possession as Pasley hauled in Felix’s pass down the sideline and raced 81 yards for a score with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter.
Brunswick went 67 yards in seven plays, with Trent Lee scoring from 2 yards out.
The Tigers got to the Pirates 34 on their final possession of regulation before stalling and sending the game to overtime.
On Bradwell’s first play of the extra session, Felix tried to hit Jaylen Brown on a crossing route but the ball was deflected into the air. It ended up in Spears’ hands, and the senior turned it into the game-winning score.
Gibbons ran for 99 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries for the Pirates and Gardner added two touchdowns. Walker was 5 of 12 passing for 128 yards.
Felix was 20 of 33 through the air, and the Tigers finished with 542 yards of total offense. Pasley had nine catches for 218 yards and two touchdowns, and Savea had 97 yards on five receptions. Felix also ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns on 16 attempts. Cameron Keeve was held to 36 yards on 19 carries, but 18 of those yards were lost on an errant wildcat snap.
The Tigers are off until they host Greenbrier on October 16 for homecoming.
“I think we can get a whole lot better,” Adams said. “We’ve got a lot to work on. Because of this, we gained some more believers on this ball club and they’re willing to learn and they’re willing to listen and buy in.”
