CLEVELAND, Tenn. – As if 193 total yards and all three of his team’s touchdowns weren’t enough damage inflicted upon intracounty rival Walker Valley on Friday night, Bradley Central sophomore running back Jackson Wilson took the opportunity to pour a little salt in the wound with his final statement.
“We’re 16-1 against those boys,” Wilson proclaimed.
It was a dominating effort on both sides of the ball, but the Bears’ 24-10 win was far from easy. It started with their defense, which sacked Walker Valley quarterback Ryan Lay six times and held the Mustangs to 34 rushing yards on 33 carries. The Mustangs had 173 yards of total offense, with Lay scoring once but throwing a late pick to Marcus Goree, Jr. that sealed the win for the visitors.
“The offense put us in some bad positions,” said Bears coach Damon Floyd, who celebrated his birthday Friday. “We did have way too many turnovers, and we can’t do that and expect to win games. There was a lot of emotion in this game, it’s a big rivalry game in a lot of respects. It was a fun atmosphere, and I’m really proud of our kids for handling some adversity and sticking it out and getting a win, because it was tough.”
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area high school football games)