BRUNSWICK – The Bradwell Tigers ran just 24 plays on offense and had the ball for only 7 minutes and 26 seconds Friday night against Glynn Academy.
And they won by 11 points.
The Tigers’ quick-strike offense outdueled Glynn Academy’s relentless rushing attack in 54-43 win in Bradwell’s Region 1-6A football opener. Bradwell also improved to 3-1 on the season with the victory.
“This was a dogfight, and it’s really important to win that first region game,” Tigers coach John Adams said. “Hats off to the coaching and Glynn Academy. They are a tough team and they battled all night. We had a tough time stopping that offense. But our offense showed up. They came out and they were on fire.”
The Tigers had just 20 snaps on offense until their final four to end the game. Yet the Tigers racked up seven touchdowns on offense. They had three one-play and two two-play drives that all netted touchdowns.
Jahbarri Felix threw for five touchdowns and Cameron Keeve, who caught the first of those scoring passes, added two rushing touchdowns. Keeve had just four rushing attempts but amassed 123 yards.
The Red Terrors, meanwhile, ran a staggering 76 times for 446 yards and rolled up 27 first downs. Terrors quarterback Max Noonan had three touchdowns on the ground, and Caiden Robinson added two more.
Glynn converted on eight of 13 third-downs in the game, and was four of five on third downs in the first half alone.
“I think all night we were just one play away,” Adams said. “We’d stop them on first and second down and then they’d run counter or an option and pick up the first down.
“This game is all about discipline and assignment football. I thought we prepared well. It’s just different when you have someone who runs it all summer and spring. We were lucky to get a win but I thought we did some good things.”
But after Jacobi Pasley’s sliding grab of Felix’s 35-yard scoring strike to open the second half, the Tigers defense got an interception as the Terrors tried to convert a fourth down. Felix hit Carlito Savea in stride down the sideline for a 49-yard touchdown, putting the Tigers ahead 41-28.
Noonan had almost as many rushing attempts – 22 – as the Tigers had plays from scrimmage. He led Glynn with 125 yards rushing.
Bradwell’s defense, though, came up with three turnovers, including Anton Robinson’s fumble recovery and 45-yard return for a touchdown on the Red Terrors’ second play from scrimmage that put the Tigers ahead 7-0. The Tigers never trailed.
The two teams combined for more than 900 yards of total offense, but Bradwell’s defense had three consecutive pivotal stops in the third quarter that enabled the Tigers offense to open up the lead.
The Tigers ran just nine plays in the first half and yet were tied 28-28. Felix, who was 8 of 14 passing, threw for a whopping 326 yards.
“The good thing is we made some mistakes and they can be even better,” Adams said of his offense.
There was just one punt in the game – by Bradwell, late in the third quarter.
The Tigers held the ball for just one minute and 58 seconds of the first half. Their longest possession was the last of the game, a series that took 94 seconds. Glynn Academy held the ball for 40:34.
Keeve took a swing pass from Felix on the Tigers’ first snap of the game and darted 80 yards down the sideline. Bradwell needed just two plays to score on its next drive, with Pasley hauling in a strike from Felix and outracing the Glynn coverage for a 67-yard touchdown.
Pasley had a 96-yard kickoff return for a score truncated on a penalty. It only delayed the next Bradwell touchdown by two plays, as Keeve ran around the Glynn defense and raced 39 yards for another touchdown.
The Tigers had a chance on their last possession of the half, but Keeve couldn’t hang on to Felix’s rocket for a potential 44-yard TD pass.
The Tigers needed just three plays in the third quarter to break the 28-28 halftime tie, on Pasley’s second TD catch. Felix’s next throw came after Bradwell stopped the Terrors on fourth down, and it found Savea for a 49-yard score.
After the Tigers defense recovered a fumble for another stop, the Tigers executed a play-action pass to perfection. Three Red Terrors defenders swarmed Keeve, but Felix, still with the football in his hands, connected with a wide-open Tyson Spears down the middle for a 39-yard TD pass.
Keeve’s 65-yard burst with 5:52 to play sealed the win.
The Terrors missed on all three onside kickoff attempts, including one to start the second half.
The Tigers go to Springfield on Friday to face Effingham County, which walloped Lakeside-Evans 52-0 to open region play. The Rebels are 2-2, having posted back-to-back shutouts after dropping their first two games by a combined three points.
Bradwell had an off week to prepare for Glynn – the Red Terrors also had an open date prior to the game – and it followed the defeat at Valdosta.
“It was like going to a clean slate,” Adams said of the off week, “and it was all about starting region play. That’s what we focused on and we worked on getting healthy, too, so it came at a really good time.”
