Bradley Central pulled off one goal-line stand in the fourth quarter of its TSSAA Class 6A football playoff game Thursday at Finley Stadium. But the Bears needed two.
Riverdale quarterback Brandon Bea's sneak from the 1 on fourth down with 1:14 to play lifted the Warriors past the Bears 38-34.
Riverdale (6-5), which finished the regular season on a three-game losing streak, will play next week against tonight's winner between William Blount and Oakland. Bradley ends its season 7-4.
he fifth lead change in the game came with 8:03 to play when the Bears went with a fake punt from their 43. The snap went to upback Tyler Carpenter, who completed a pass down the seam to Ryan Still. Still looked as though he was tackled, albeit beyond the first-down marker, but rolled off the would-be tackler and went the distance.
Riverdale 38, Bradley Central 34
The star: Riverdale QB Brnadon Bea had 300 yards of total offense, then made it 301 with his game-winning sneak on fourth down with 1:14 to play.Up next: Riverdale will play the winner of tonight’s game between William Blount and Oakland.
Trailing 34-31, the Warriors starting at the 7:59 mark marched from their 18 to the Bradley 9 where they were set up with first-and-goal. On fourth from the 1, Hunter Duggan shot through the line low and stopped tailback Austin Bryant for a yard loss.
However, three plays netted nothing for the Bears, who were forced to punt.
Taking over at Bradley's 23, Riverdale again worked its way to a first-and-goal, this one from the 10. That ultimately led to Bea's heroics.
Riverdale coach Ron Aydelott said with an injured kicker he was hesitant to attempt a tying field goal. Regardless, his players wanted to go for the touchdown.
"I told the kids I felt good about what we were doing and left it up to them," Aydelott said. "We kind of found a soft spot there."
Bea ended up 20-of-26 on the night for 209 yards, including completing all 11 of his passes in the second half. He also ran 16 times for 92 yards.
His counterpart, Bradley's Cole Copeland, was 21-of-35 for 239 yards but threw two interceptions and was 0-for-4 on the Bears' final possession. His 65 rushing yards included 47- and 3-yard touchdowns.
"We blew a couple of things, they had to throw the ball, and they had that one long run," Aydelott said. "In our region there's a lot more tailback-oriented and wildcat stuff. Probably the strength of our team is our secondary. Good thing they rose to the occasion."
Gentry Bonds, who batted the last pass away, had both interceptions. Marquise Cantrell was the Warriors' top receiver with 10 catches for 141 yards.
Bryant led Riverdale's rushing with 97 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns. Reserve Savion Davis added 70 rushing yards and wildcat quarterback Marqwell Odom ran for 47.
"Their option game hurt us," Bradley coach Damon Floyd said. "They got us on the edge a couple of times."
Carpenter, one of the seniors, was 2-for-3 passing for the Bears for 81 yards and was their leading receiver with 122 yards on nine receptions.
"It's tough right now to reflect on the season," Floyd said. "The type of kids in this senior class, they represented Bradley Central well for four years. I'm really proud of those guys. Some friendships that will last a lifetime."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at sports@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.
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