Those accustomed to Friday night lights may not have been aware that there was gridiron action taking place at Bearcats stadium Thursday night this week, and with that activity came a Bedford victory over visiting Shaker Heights.
For Bedford, the first half of the contest was one of the best first halves they have played this season. Here are some highlights:
– After forcing the Raiders to punt on their first drive, the Bearcats came right out of the gates throwing the ball. Two big pass plays, one to Brandon Moore and the other to Daniel Lymon, took the Bearcats deep into Shaker territory. They eventually scored on a 17-yard pass from Raymell Hester to Jaylon Clark on a ball that was tipped in the end zone. Clark kept his eyes on the ball and pulled it in for the score. This was the first time this year Bedford scored on its first drive of the game.
– Bedford stuffed Shaker on their next two drives, forcing a three-and-out on the first. On the second drive, defensive back Malik Baker snagged an interception to stop the Raider progress.
– The defense was able to keep Shaker out of the end zone despite Bedford giving them the ball first-and-goal on the 9-yard line after a very short punt. The Raiders had to settle for a beautiful 33-yard field goal by kicker Carson Fowler. (A successful kick from that distance is not a normal sight at a high school football game.)
– Bedford again were hitting on all cylinders as they made another sustained drive downfield, this time from their own 20-yard line. They mixed in runs by De’sean Courts and Caleb Hunter, with passes to Malik Simmons. The Bearcats made it down to the 1-yard line and went for it on fourth down, but were stopped by Shaker. On the very next play, however, Shaker tried a fake hand-off in the end zone that did not fool Malik Simmons, and he chased the quarterback out of the end zone for a safety.
– On an ensuing drive by Shaker, Bedford’s Tyler Craft made an impressive stop on a third-and-14, forcing the Raiders to punt the ball. Punt returner Jaylon Clark called for a fair catch and Bedford had the ball at Shaker’s 48-yard line. (The Bedford return team has had some hiccups in previous weeks, but did a fine job this game discerning whether to try to run the ball, call for a fair catch, or just to let it go.)
– On the very next play, Hester hit Clark for a touchdown again. This time it was a gorgeous 48-yard strike up the right sideline. The speedy Clark was wide open, and the pass hit him in stride.
At this point the game was 14-3, with Bedford seemingly in control. There was 1:27 left in the half, and the Bearcats were facing the possibility of heading into halftime with a nice lead. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, the Raiders had other plans. They put together an impressive string of running plays, culminating in a 15-yard effort by quarterback Adam Diaz for a touchdown with 13 seconds left. The point after kick was blocked, and the score at halftime was 14-9.
After halftime is when things began to get a little strange. After no turnovers in the first half, the Bearcats had at least four lost fumbles in the second half, including one that the Raiders returned for a score.
Despite those miscues, the Bedford defense stayed strong in the half, even helping out its own cause by adding to Bedford’s lead when Kharon Fletcher picked up a Shaker fumble and rumbled a few yards for a score in the third quarter. Fletcher recovered another fumble on a Shaker first-and-goal from the 1-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter to thwart another possible Raider score.
After all the back-and-forth, the score was 21-16 with 6:25 left in the fourth-quarter, and Bedford holding on to a slim lead. Bedford’s defense was once again starting a series with its back against the wall. Shaker had the ball first-and-goal on the 8-yard line after a botched punt attempt by Bedford. The Raiders were not able to do anything on the first three downs, and instead of attempting another field goal, they decided to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 7.
Shaker tried a pass play to the middle of the field in front of the goal line. Right when the receiver wrapped his hands around the ball, defensive back Chazz Hunter came in and blew up the play with a bone-jarring hit. Bedford got the ball back on downs in the shadow of their own end zone, still with a five-point lead.
They ran the ball on the next two plays for roughly no gain as the clock continued to wind down. Third down was an incomplete pass that set up a very important punting situation on fourth. Bedford has struggle at times to get punts off this season, and did so twice in the game. This time Hester was able to nail this one fairly deep downfield. The Shaker return man, Alex Benson, got a head of steam going, however, and gave the Raiders a first-and-10 from the Bedford 25-yard line.
With only a few minutes remaining, the outcome of the game rested once again on the backs of the defense. Bedford’s Tyler Craft made a big third-and-7 stop giving Shaker a fourth-and-1 on the 16-yard line. Shaker was able to draw quite a few Bearcats off-side on the next play, however, giving them a first-and-10 on the 11-yard line with time winding down.
Malik Baker broke up the next pass play, and the Raiders gained only one yard on second and third downs. The game came down to a fourth-and-9 from the 10-yard line. With Donte Thomas leading the charge, the defense swarmed the quarterback and took him to the ground for a sack. Bedford took over on downs to end the game with a win.
Next week, Bedford (2-2) will play once again on the customary Friday night. Cleveland Heights will be visiting for the 7 p.m. kickoff.
