CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Don Jones found himself behind some talented football players on Bradley Central’s depth chart the past few years.
Jones knew there was an opportunity to get on the field and help the Bears as a senior this season, though, so he worked. And worked. And worked.
Friday night against rival Cleveland, that hard work paid off.
Jones made multiple tackles for loss while leading the Bears’ dominant defensive performance in a 16-10 home win over the Blue Raiders, Bradley’s eighth consecutive victory in the series. It came a week after the Bears (3-0) kicked a last-second field goal to beat another intracounty rival, Walker Valley, 22-21.
This win had to be sealed on the defensive end after a Bears fumble on a snap was recovered by Cleveland’s D.J. Adams, who ran the ball to the Bradley 20-yard line with 3:32 remaining in the six-point game. But an unsportsmanlike penalty on Adams after the play brought the ball back to the Bradley 35, and the Bears, who harassed Cleveland quarterback Drew Lambert all night, stalled the visitors’ final attempt at the 17.
“We fought for each other. That’s what we do,” Jones said. “We are a family, we fight for each other, and so when it pays off, that’s all that work. This win means a lot to me because it’s my last ride, and I’m trying to bring it home. I’ve got to give everything I’ve got every game.”
It was 3-all at halftime, but an interception by Finn Mertens set up the Bears at the Cleveland 22, and J’Alan Terry — who had 81 yards of total offense — took a sweep 10 yards for the game’s first score.
The Bears built a 13-3 lead, but the Blue Raiders (1-2) then marched downfield, with Lambert’s 30-yard scramble followed by runs of 7 and 21 yards by sophomore Isaiah Davis, the latter for a score to cut it to 13-10 with 8:43 remaining. Bradley kicker Grant Haney capped the next drive with a field goal for the game’s final points.
Davis rushed for 112 yards. Bradley junior Jackson Wilson totaled 85 offensive yards (68 rushing, 17 receiving) before going out in the third quarter with a lower-body injury.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.