BY JEFF CATE (TEAM FYN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR) – Bradley Central head coach Damon Floyd said about his team, “it’s fun to coach this group, it was a team win”. If you were one of many that attended Bradley Central-Walker Valley at “The MAC” on Friday night, then you saw all three phases contribute to the Bears’ 35-0 victory over the Mustangs.

Walker Valley got the ball first after Bradley Central won the toss and deferred. The Mustangs offense, lead by senior quarterback Evan Schwarzl, went for it early on 4^th down inside their 30-yard line and were able to keep their first drive going for just a few more plays on a Malachi Martin run. The Bears defense flexed their muscle and forced Walker Valley to punt. Schwarzl pulled off a beautiful punt that Boo Carter had to chase back inside the 10-yard line. Carter, a Tennessee commitment, showed why he is one of the best recruits in the state by locating the punt when it bounced off the turf, making several Mustang defenders miss, and showing his speed on his way to the endzone on a 92-yard return.

“I never say no with him”, Floyd said when asked about Carter on the punt. “Just let him go out there and play and usually he makes good decisions. He’s a special player and we’re lucky to have him”.

Bradley Central was off and running with a 7-0 lead. The rest of the 1^st quarter saw both teams trade mistakes with each other. Bears’ quarterback Kaleb Martin threw an interception to Spencer Makuch on Bradley Central’s first offensive play of the game, which gave Walker Valley possession inside Bear territory. The Mustangs drove inside the red zone, but the drive stalled and a field goal attempt bounced off the right upright. The 7-0 lead Bradley Central lead that the Bears’ got on Boo Carter’s punt return was the only scoring in the first quarter.

The first play of the second quarter saw Martin find Carter on a 35 yard touchdown pass that extended the Bradley Central lead to 14-0. The Bear offense had another opportunity to extend their lead before halftime when they were driving with a little over 3 minutes left in the second quarter. Martin, Carter, and J’Alan Terry, who was making his return to the Bradley Central offense after a week one injury, helped get the Bears inside the Walker Valley 30-yard line, but the Mustangs defense held on fourth down to stop the drive.

Jarrius Rogers scored the second special teams touchdown for Bradley Central as Walker Valley kicked the second half kickoff short. Rogers came up to field it and sprinted down the turf to push the Bears’ lead to 21-0. Martin, Terry, and Tito Williams helped lead a statement drive about midway through the third quarter, which ended with Kaleb Martin running it in from 12 yards out and pushing the Bears’ lead to 28-0.

Rogers began the fourth quarter the same way he began the third quarter: with a Bears touchdown. This time it was on the receiving end of a Martin 25-yard pass and Bradley Central brought the lead to 35-0 and mercy rule status with a running clock the rest of the game. The win was the 9^th consecutive for the Bears and 18^th overall in the 19-game series.

Bradley Central, which took the top spot in the 6A AP Prep Poll after last week’s win against Maryville, remains unbeaten (4-0) and has a week off before hosting Heritage (GA) on September 22^nd. Walker Valley drops to 3-1 on the year and jumps into region play next week when they travel to Ooltewah

Follow Jeff on “X” at @TheJeffCate.