CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The opening score of Thursday night’s 45-0 runaway home win for Bradley Central over Ooltewah was a special moment for senior standout Finn Mertens.
After showing promise at wide receiver in recent practices, Mertens got his first start at that position and did not disappoint for Class 6A’s seventh-ranked Bears.
On their third play of the game, he separated himself from the Ooltewah secondary, caught a pass from Damarius Ballard down the left seam and sprinted 76 yards untouched to the end zone.
“I saw the safety come down a bit, and once I caught it, I knew there was no one over the top,” said Mertens, who had a game-high 85 receiving yards. “It’s crazy. That was my first offensive touchdown in high school. It felt unreal. I totally blacked out and didn’t even realize I was running anymore. It was so much fun.”
Mertens has been a key player at defensive back with four takeaways this season for the Bears (6-1) who bounced back from last Friday’s tough 21-7 loss at Bearden, which dropped them to 2-1 in Region 2-6A.
Ballard was on fire Thursday night as he totaled four touchdowns while completing 11 of 15 passes for 230 yards and rushing for 66 yards on six carries. The junior completed a 46-yard touchdown strike down the middle to Jarrius Rogers in the second quarter, and he also spurred a 10-play, 99-yard scoring drive that included a 34-yard leaping sideline catch by Tito Williams over a defender.
Williams capped the drive by diving into the end zone around the left side for a 1-yard score on fourth-and-goal, and on defense he forced and recovered a fumble and made key tackles for loss, along with Marcus Goree Jr. and Knox Watson.
“The Bearden loss last week humbled us,” said Williams, whose scholarship offers include Southeastern Conference programs Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. “We were able to lock in this week and just focus on bouncing back. We played the way we needed to. Our defense came to play, and Damarius was feeling himself tonight.”
The Bears were without Jackson Wilson, J’Alan Terry and Landon Scott in the backfield, but fourth-string running back Simon Mullis had 76 yards on nine first-half carries, including a 3-yard touchdown, and a pair of catches for 14 yards.
Bradley Central’s offensive line was dominant, and kicker Grant Haney was perfect on PATs and drilled a 42-yard field goal for the final score with 2:40 left in the third quarter.
Class 5A’s Ooltewah (1-6) drove to the Bradley 38-yard line to begin the game, but a tackle for loss by Watson helped set up Mertens’ big catch to begin the rout.
McMinn County 43, Sweetwater 7: In a nonregion matchup, Class 5A’s Cherokees (5-2) earned their third straight victory by snapping a five-game winning streak for Class 3A’s fifth-ranked Wildcats (5-2). The hosts built a 29-0 lead in the first quarter as senior Jayden Miller ran for two touchdowns, including a 66-yard sprint, and he added an 80-yard run in the third quarter for his team’s final points.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.