The Evans Knights edged region foe Bradwell Institute 35-31 on Homecoming night Friday, Nov. 1.
After the game, Knights Coach Barrett Davis praised Bradwell Institute for the Tigers’ performance and talent, but he emphasized that his players have to overcome the distractions and play better if they want make the playoffs.
“They got some very good athletes. We felt we were distracted this game with Homecoming, and we got to learn to play through that stuff,” Davis said. “We are happy we got a win, but we got to play better next week.”
The Knights began the game strong, pushing ahead 14-0 after a rushing touchdown from Jackson Swint and Breyden Johnson.
Bradwell battled back with its first touchdown on a 38-yard pass to Jacoby Pasley for a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 14-6 after one quarter.
Evans running back Jeremy Howard broke free for a 53-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.
After that touchdown, Bradwell scored 12 unanswered points to put them down only 21-18 at the half. The Tigers took the lead 25–21 later in the third quarter.
Johnson broke off for another run, but Swint rushed in his second touchdown to give the Knights a 28-25 lead.
The Tigers would get stopped on fourth down and miss a field goal with under 7 minutes in the fourth quarter. A 71-yard touchdown run by Toreco Harper pushed the Knights ahead 35-25 with little time remaining.
Bradwell scored late on a 50-yard touchdown pass, but failed to win as the Tigers had no time outs remaining and failed to convert the onside kick.
With many injuries throughout the game, Davis said all players must be ready to go for the must win game against Glynn Academy Nov. 8.
“We got to play better, and some of the backup guys have to be ready to go,” Davis said.
The playoffs start Nov. 15.
“I think we got a nine- or ten-year playoff streak that we’re trying to keep alive. It is just a tough region with nine or ten teams fighting for four spots. We are just trying to control what we can and that is getting ready for Glynn and trying to get to the playoffs,” Davis said.
Christopher Rickerson, an Augusta University graduate, has covered area sports for Augusta University, The Augusta Press and Augusta Good News. Subscribe to the Augusta Good News newsletter here.
