Bradford routed by Blake, Fort White

STARKE— Both Fort White and Bradford went into Friday night's game at David Hurse Field already knowing neither team was headed to the playoffs. But for the Fort White Indians, tough defense, along with consistency from a versatile offense, doesn't stop until the last scoreboard buzzer sounds.

Three Alexis Blake touchdowns, two through the air from quarterback Alex Gilmer and one on the ground, and end zone fumble recoveries by Kevin Calhoun and Edward Alexander were all the Indians needed in a 35-7 win over the Tornadoes.

"We had some great plays on offense, running the ball, and capitalized on a few of their mistakes to come out with a win," Fort White head coach Demetric Jackson said.

True, the offense did come through as specified by Jackson, but it was the Indians' defense that executed by holding Bradford to a lone touchdown, a one-yard fourth-quarter run by Rodney Mosley.

"It is hard for me to just point out one single guy from that defense. All I can say is that the defensive line surged and our guys made some great plays in the open field to stop any big plays," Jackson said.

Bradford's Donnelle Williams carried the ball 15 times for 145 yards and had three catches for 52 yards. The junior workhorse is one of the Tornadoes' players who will be returning next year as Bradford closed out its season (4-6, 1-4 in District 2-2B).

"We have 13 starters and some kids from the J.V. that can make plays coming back for next year, we just need to patch a few things up," Bradford head coach Steve Hoard said.

The Tornadoes gave up two touchdowns to Fort White (4-5, 3-2) due to two snaps that sailed over the head of punter Tyler Cubbedge, both resulting in Fort White touchdowns.

"We had our fourth-string guy in there (at long-snapper). I feel bad for what happened, he just hasn't had many repetitions at that position," Hoard said.

Gilmer finished the night 5-for-7 for 132 yards and two touchdowns with an interception to Bradford's Dexter Clayton.

Soron Williams (52 yards on 15 carries) and Montre Cray (39 yards on 10 carries) gave the Indians enough on the ground with Alexis Blake (2 touchdown catches for 58 yards) and Roy Blake (2 catches for 46 yards) tops in receiving.

Quarterback John Clark was 5-for-13 for 81 passing yards, backup Devon Paulk finished 3-for-3 with 52 passing yards, Mosley ran for 36 yards on 10 carries with a score and Ya’Keem Griner caught 3 passes for 44 yards for Bradford.

Fort White will host Santa Fe in next week's season finale.