KINGSPORT, Tenn. - The home turf proved unkind to Dobyns-Bennett on Friday night.
Bradley Central's onside kick late in the fourth quarter took a fortuitous Bears bounce, and after the recovery, they went on to bounce the Indians from the Class 6A playoffs with a 33-27 victory at J. Fred Johnson Stadium.
The win sends the Bears (10-2) to next week's quarterfinal round at Maryville after the Rebels drilled Farragut, 38-7.
The sequence completed a Bradley comeback in which the Bears scored a trio of fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally from a 20-7 halftime deficit.
Stephen Muhonen tight-roped the end line to haul in a 26-yard pass from slot receiver Nick Howell on the first play of the fourth quarter to pull the Bears within a point, 20-19.
The Indians got a 38-yard kickoff return from Matt Diminick to set up a 44-yard scoring drive punctuated by Keyo Taylor's 3-yard run to put the Indians back up, 27-19, with 8:13 to play.
Bear quarterback Dylan Standifer answered by finding Howell on a 22-yard strike. However, the Indians' Jet Harris intercepted a two-point try that left it 27-25 and forced a decision by Bradley coach Damon Floyd.
"We were expecting the onside kick," Dobyns-Bennett coach Graham Clark said. "They hadn't stopped us in the second half. We hadn't scored a lot of points, but they hadn't stopped us."
The Bears recovered at the Indians' 45.
"That is something we work on every Thursday," Dobyns-Bennett assistant Joey Christian said. "But it was a great kick, and you will never see one any better than that at any level.
"It was perfect, and maybe we should have been a little more aggressive, but all credit to them, it was well-executed."
The Indians scored touchdowns on each of their first two possessions in the game. They controlled possession for the first 8:25 of the game, running 17 plays to take a 7-0 lead on Hicks' two-yard drive.
After the Bears ran six plays and punted, the Indians expanded the margin to 14-0 on Diminick's fingertip grab and run of 42 yards.
After Standifer sneaked in from a yard out to cut the margin in half, Diminick struck again. Taking a short inside route, Diminck curled back outside and outraced the Bear defense for a 55-yard touchdown to give the Indians their halftime cushion.
"Matt played at a high level in all facets of the game tonight," Clark said. "He was a senior doing everything he could to keep playing."
The Indians outgained the Bears in the first half 223-90, but Bradley Central rolled up 266 total yards in the second half to their 119. The Bears also threw for 190 yards after intermission, completing nine of 11 passes.
Standifer finished 12-for-20 for 244 yards. Lameric Tucker had six receptions for 139 yards and Howell five catches for 86 yards. Adam Mullis added 64 yards on 16 carries.