CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Bradley Central football coaches stood around on their home field late Friday night, largely stunned by the outcome of the battle against intracounty rival Walker Valley.
The scoreboard was in their favor — Bradley 22, Walker Valley 21 — but the hosts had turned the ball over five times and racked up 138 yards in penalties, which usually isn’t a winnable game. So when Grant Haney’s 32-yard field goal for the Bears split the uprights with two seconds to go, there was just as much relief passing through the home sideline as there was jubilation.
“It was one of the worst games we’ve probably ever played,” Bradley coach Damon Floyd said. “A lot of that was self-inflicted, but you do have to give them (Walker Valley) credit as well. But very frustrating right now — you hate to feel that way after a win, but that’s the truth. If we don’t improve, we’re not going to be very good.”
The Bears (2-0) have now won eight straight in their series with the Mustangs (1-1), but that streak was in doubt after Walker Valley quarterback Evan Swartzel completed his third touchdown pass of the game, this one to Blaine Lowe from 13 yards out, to put the visitors up 21-12 with 9:57 to play.
Bradley cut the deficit to two on Jackson Wilson’s 2-yard touchdown, and then, after forcing a punt with 3:33 remaining, the Bears drove to the Walker Valley 16-yard line, setting up Haney’s kick.
Swartzel passed for 132 yards, with touchdown tosses also going to Jackson Gibson and Tucker Ownby.
The Mustangs played a far cleaner game than their rivals, but sometimes it’s just about having more playmakers and that’s what Bradley did have.
Wilson missed a fair amount of the game with a lower-body injury, but he still finished with 127 yards on the ground and a touchdown and passed for another score, a 76-yard catch-and-run by Marcus Goree Jr. that provided the first points of the game. Jarrius Rogers had more than 100 yards in kickoff and punt returns combined, and he had another 100 or so wiped off the stat sheet due to penalties.
J’Alan Terry slotted in place of Wilson and had 111 yards on the ground and a score.
“We just kept talking about how there was still time to go in the game,” Rogers said. “The defense never let up for us, and we had the energy. We’re family, and you’ve got to have faith in your family.”
Ownby finished with 78 yards on six catches and one of the Mustangs’ three interceptions. Braxton Smith had the other two.
The Bears will face another rival next week as Cleveland visits, while Walker Valley will play at Ooltewah.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.