Bedford’s football team had a slew of play-makers step up during their come-from-behind win at their home opener Friday. They defeated the Alliance Aviators for their first win of the season by a score of 26-23 following a nail-biter of a fourth quarter.
De’sean Courts sprinted into the end zone untouched on a second and goal from the 3-yard line to put Bedford up three points with about a minute left in the game, and Bearcat Stadium erupted. Alliance had one last try as they took over the ball at midfield after the kickoff, but Courts showed up again and intercepted a pass near the sidelines to seal the win.
The game had started off strong for the Bearcats as well, with two scoring drives in the first half capped by quarterback Raymell Hester hitting receiver Jaylon Clark with two separate passes for touchdowns. Both completions were short pass plays that the hard-to-catch Clark turned into long gains after breaking multiple tackles. The Bearcats did not score during the first half against Padua Franciscan the week before, so this was a pleasant turn of events for the Bearcats.
The teams went to the locker rooms at halftime with Bedford up 14-6. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, it only took the Aviators one minute and 15 seconds to score at the beginning of the second half, knotting up the score at 14 after a 2-point conversion. The Bearcats could not answer that score with one of their own, as their offense went dormant for the third quarter, giving up an interception, botched punt and a safety. The offense was struggling, but the defense was another story.
In fact, there were two defensive series by the Bearcats early in the second half which proved crucial to keeping them close and allowing them to eventually come back and win. With the score tied at 14, Hester threw an interception on a third-and-14 deep in Bedford territory, giving Alliance the ball first down on the Bearcats’ 11-yard line. The momentum was definitely now in Alliance’s favor, and Bedford desperately needed a stop.
On a second-and-8 from the 9-yard line, Alliance ran the ball, and it looked like they were ready to cross the goal line on a sweep. At the last moment, defensive back Chazz Hunter grabbed the runner and took him down at the 1-yard line, saving a touchdown. The run had gained Alliance a first down though, so they still had four more downs to get only a yard.
Bedford rose up for a goal-line stand, as the defense stuffed the runner on the next play for a 1-yard loss. Then, on second-and-goal, Hunter blasted through the line, and nailed the quarterback for a four-yard loss. Alliance moved back even further after a broken reverse play on third down. Finally, they were forced to pass on fourth, and the ball fell incomplete. The defense had held, and the Bearcats got the ball back on downs with no damage done on the scoreboard.
The next offensive series turned out dismally for the Bearcats, however. They were only able to squeak out three yards from their 20-yard line before they were forced to punt. Hester, Bedford’s punter, was backed up toward his goal line, and the snap was bad. By the time he scooped up the ball, and tried to punt, it only traveled a few yards before it was picked up by one of the Aviators and taken down to the 3-yard line.
Bedford again had its back to the wall. Could they hold for two series in a row? Alliance lost a yard on their first-down run, and only gained a yard on second down. Then, on third-and-goal from the 3-yard line they decided to go to the air once more, and that is when Hunter again stopped a touchdown by jumping in the way of a pass in the end zone and intercepting the ball. He ran the ball out of the end zone and Alliance was once again kept from scoring.
The third quarter ended with Alliance ahead 16-14 after a safety, but it wasn’t long until the Aviators were finally able to get the ball in the end zone. It almost seemed like Bedford had them stopped again when quarterback Brandon Alexander coughed the ball up when he was hit on a first and goal run. The ball toppled forward and landed in the end zone, where Alliance lineman Cody Thompson recovered it for a touchdown.
After the extra-point, the Bearcats found themselves down 23-14 with a little less than 10 minutes left in the game. Their offense needed to get things going as time was starting to become a factor, and get going they did.
Bedford struck quickly. They started their drive at their own 28-yard line after the kickoff, and on a third-and-3, Hester hit Courts once again for a long pass play that moved the chains all the way down to the 20-yard line. The next play was a pass to Clark, who danced his way down to the 1-yard line before finally being taken down. Hester kept the ball on a second and goal, and the offensive line moved the pile allowing the quarterback to cross the goal line for a score.
Now, Bedford trailed only 23-20 with about seven minutes left in the game and more spring in their step. Alliance took the ball after the kickoff at their own 35-yard line, and was only able to gain three yards on the next two runs. Still, the clock was ticking. Faced with a crucial third down and 7, Alliance had to burn their last timeout to set up the play. The call was for a pitch out, which was stopped by defensive back Hester for only a three-yard gain. The defense did its job again, and the Bearcats would be getting the ball back at around the 5:40 mark after the punt.
The next series of plays were kind of a whirlwind, however. Alliance set up in punt formation around their 40-yard line, and the ball was blasted past the Bedford punt returner deep in Bearcat territory. The ball was downed, and this would have given the Bearcats a long field to conquer in order to score. But there was a flag on the play; a chop block was called on Alliance, which required them to punt again from further back toward their end zone.
This was a second chance for Bedford to get good field position, but unfortunately that was the opposite of what happened. The second punt was kicked high but not so deep, and the Bedford returner called for a fair catch in a crowd. He missed the catch and tried to recover the ball, but Alliance players jumped on it, and now the Aviators had the ball on Bedford’s 31-yard line with about about five minutes remaining and a 3-point lead.
That was the type of play that could have taken the wind out of most team’s sails. But instead of folding up, Bedford hunkered down. Alliance began the drive with a delay of game, which put them back to Bedford’s 36-yard line. They lost two yards on the next play as the Bearcat defense stymied the run attempt. An injury timeout stopped the clock with Alliance staring at a second-and-17. Bedford’s defense only gave up five yards on the next play and then they called a timeout. Alliance decided to run again on third-and-12, seemingly satisfied to keep running out the clock, and Bedford again stopped them, this time on a four-yard gain.
Alliance had a fourth-and-8 on Bedford’s 30 with about two-and-a-half minutes left. They decided to go for it, and it was Brandon Alexander who they went to on the pass play, this time as the receiver. A score at this time would have probably put the game out of reach. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior was lined up as a receiver to the far right in man-to-man coverage against Bedford junior Malik Baker. Baker had impressively grabbed an interception for Bedford in the first half. On this play, the well-thrown ball was lofted into the end zone, with both players vying for itl. Baker ended up coming away the winner of the one-on-one as he was able to knock the ball away at the last second, giving the Bearcats one last hope with not much time.
Bedford took over the ball at their own 30. A first-down pass from Hester to Daniel Lymon went for four yards. The next two plays were incomplete passes setting up a tense fourth-and-6 with 1:52 to go. With the game on the line, Hester dropped back and delivered a beautiful strike to Malik Simmons upfield for about a 26-yard gain. On the next pass, Hester found Lymon again, and he was able to get the ball down to the 2-yard line. Following that, Courts was then able to finish off the drive with the winning touchdown with only 34 seconds to go. The point-after kick missed, and Bedford won 26-23.
The Alliance players were a class act as some of their lineman took time to congratulate their Bearcats counterparts on their victory. Bedford head coach Charles Saulter and the other coaches brought the team back out to the 50-yard line for the post-game talk. The players knelt on the field as they soaked in the coaches words.
Bedford’s next game is Friday, Sept. 11 at rival Maple Heights.
