BY Terry Hedgespeth, Correspondent

The Branford Buccaneers continued their dominance at Buccaneer Stadium winning the 2004 spring jamboree with 13-0 and 14-0 wins over the Bell Bulldogs and Mayo Hornets respectively. In the 2003 fall classic at Buccaneer Stadium, Liberty County returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, but was held without a first down or positive yardage the remainder of the game. Since that time, Branford has scored 218 points, while the opponents have yet to dent the scoreboard.



That defensive trend seems to be continuing for the 2004 season. Defensive totals for the four teams for yards allowed was Bell giving up 177 rushing yards and 149 passing for a total of 326 yards, Mayo allowed 135 rushing yards and 171 yards through the air for a total of 306 yards, the area’s best defensive team from last year, the Chiefland Indians, gave up 218 rushing yards and 52 passing for a total of 270 yards allowed, while Branford gave up 40 rushing yards while allowing only 5 passing yards for a total of 45 total yards allowed. The Bucs only gave up 3 first downs. One was via a penalty, and one allowed after substitutions late in the championship game. Branford picked off three aerials, returning two of those for touchdowns. The defensive line recorded 12 tackles for losses, and the secondary was able to knock down four passes, while the linebackers were able to hurry the opposing QB’s twice. The defense also caused one fumble.

Branford started the jamboree against a very spirited Bell Bulldogs team. The offensive line did a great job as expected allowing the running backs to gain 110 yards on 20 carries, and 1-4 for 35 yards with one interception to out gain the Bulldogs 145-28. Bell was only able to get one first down with the deepest penetration being their own 48 following an outstanding opening kickoff return by Jared Tanner to the Bell 43. That drive was quickly brought to an end after the first play from scrimmage netted the Dogs a two yard loss thanks to the Bucs senior defensive tackle, David Bius. It appeared that Bell had an open receiver for the first down, but a nice play of stripping the receiver by Tyler Byrd forced a punt.



Branford would miss several opportunities against Bell. Branford would accumulate four penalties for 35 yards which actually cost them one touchdown on a Byrd 40 yard punt return. Byrd did a great job of following his blocks, and took advantage of a devastating block by Willie Daies to reach the endzone, but a clipping penalty nullified the TD. Another drive which was set up by the Bucs only pass completion of the night by David Campbell to Anthony VanScooter for 35 yards down to the 20 yard line. The Bucs would get a first-and-goal at the 9 yard line, but would suffer two penalties and an interception by the Bulldogs senior DB, Bobby Fisher to stop another drive. Branford moved the ball to the Bell 30 on their first drive, but fumbled the ball away.



Great defenses have the capability of winning games for teams. And this defense showed that it could do that after pressure by the Bucs senior linebacker Kurt Snipes forced the Bulldogs senior quarterback into an errant throw which Byrd graciously took racing 20 yards untouched into the end zone for the Bucs first score with 1:16 remaining in the first quarter. Byrd would strike again with 4:13 remaining in the half going 25 yards with the pick to score his second TD of the game. Tomlinson was short on the first PAT, but made true on the second to provide the final margin and move the Bucs into the championship game. Leading rushers for the Bucs was Byrd 4-47, Greek 5-36 and Snipes 3-14. Defensively, Cody Croft recorded four solo tackles, with two for losses along with one hurry. Junior defensive end, Travis Lockwood took advantage of the Bucs plan to pressure QBs this year by recording two tackles, both for losses.



The second half was sure to be spectacular as Mayo took the field against the Chiefland Indians. The Bucs had really thought that Chiefland would probably be the opponents. How can you lose a Marcus Edwards, Matthew Vann, Tyson Watson and Luke Page, and have only three weeks of practice to get ready for the Indians Cortez Gent and company in the spring? Mayo ,as usual, found a way as they came away with a 28-12 win to advance to the finals. Senior wide receiver Gent and QB Alan Strickland were outstanding for the Indians as expected. Strickland would throw for 171 yards on 7-14 with one interception, with Gent getting 144 of those yards on five catches for two touchdowns. But the Hornets combination of junior running back Morgan “Moose” Rutherford and the return skills of junior Thomas Parker was too much to overcome.



Chiefland saw their initial drive come to an end quickly after an Caleb Jackson interception gave Mayo the ball at the Indians 35. The Indians would hold and force a punt to their own 18. It only took two plays as Gent took a Strickland pass 64 yards to put Chiefland on top 6-0. The try for two was unsuccessful after a penalty wiped the first successful attempt. The first quarter would end with the Indians on top, but Mayo would raise the defensive level in the second quarter. The Hornets Darren Powe was able to break the ball loose for Aaron Gresham to recover, and gave the Hornets excellent field position at the Chiefland 21. Hornets quarterback Kalem Jackson would find Gresham for a four yard TD pass to tie the score at six to begin the second quarter. Guyton would break up the try for two points to keep the score tied. The Hornets Cody Weatherington broke up a pass to Gent to force the Indians to punt on their series. Parker would return the punt 42 yards to the Chiefland 43 yard line. It became Rutherford time as the “Moose” broke the first play for 25 yards to the Indians 20. Following a Jonathan Harris run for 10, Rutherford crossed the goal line from the 10 to put the Hornets on top 14-6 after Jackson ran the two point conversion in.



Chiefland would comeback with Strickland throwing three passes for 53 yards to Gent, with the last one resulting in a 25 yard TD reception. Strickland would overthrow Gent on the try for two, but pulled the Indians within 14-12 with 7:42 remaining.



Mayo would strike once again after a 29 pass reception by Parker from Jackson to the Indians 13. Rutherford would carry five Indians with him on the next carry for his second TD, and would also bull his way up the middle for the two points and a Mayo 22-12 lead.



The Hornets would once again get the ball on a turnover at the Chiefland 28 late in the half, allowing freshman running back Brandon Adams to go into the endzone from five yards out to close out the scoring for the final score of 28-12.



Rutherford would lead the Hornets on the ground with 63 yards on 8 rushes, 2 TDs and a conversion run. Parker would have three returns for 98 yards to give Mayo great field position the entire half.



Chiefland and Bell would close out their spring play in the consolation game with the Indians coming out on top 22-6. The Indians QB Strickland was once again impressive throwing 3-5 for 114 yards, 1 TD along with a two point conversion. Gent grabbed one reception for 60 yards, while Harriott retrieved one for 41 yards and a TD, along with a two point conversion grab.



It would not take the Indians long to score. They appear to be a quick strike team in 2004.



Bell hung tough the first two possessions on the fine play of Heath Hart chasing down Strickland for a sack and a loss of 18 on the Indians second possession. After forcing a punt, the Indians would get the ball back on a Gent interception of an Irvin pass on their own 39. Strickland would finally find Gent down the field for a 60 yard pass reception to the one yard line, and Strickland would finish the two play drive for a 8-0 lead following pass to Harriott for the two points.

Chiefland would again strike on their next possession after getting great field position at the Bell 42 following a punt for no yards. Guyton would go for 19 before Botton would go the final 23 yards for a 16-0 following a two point pass to Gent.



Bell would strike back on an outstanding 13 play drive with Irvin finding Tanner over the middle for a 24 yard pass reception for a Bulldogs Touchdown. The conversion was intercepted by Harriott, but Bell was in the game at 16-6.



The Indians would only need four plays on their next possession with Herriott breaking lose for 21 yards and a Chiefland TD. The PAT was blocked, but the Indians would be going home with the third place spot, while Bell certainly showed that they belonged with a very spirited performance in the jamboree against two very talented teams.



Guyton and Botton led the Indians rushing attack with 36 yards on 4 carries, and 38 yards on two carries, with a TD respectively. The Bulldogs Jared Tanner certainly did well for himself catching three passes for 41 yards and a TD, while rushing 8 times for 41 yards.



In what had been a very quiet jamboree quickly turned into pandemonium as the Mayo Hornets and the Branford Buccaneers were getting ready to take the field. Branford was expecting to see Chiefland here, but hey, this would certainly do as the Bucs seem to be on a mission as witnessed by the “How do you like us now?” banner that the Bucs entered through for this game. We knew that Bell was going to be stronger this year and could be looking at a 7-3 or better season, we knew that Chiefland was once again going to be a force to dethrone with the return of Gent, a healthy QB in Strickland and the return of Mike Rome from that outstanding linebacker crew from last year that took the Indians to the rural school finals. We knew that Mayo had lost Edwards, Watson, Vann and Page, but had Rutherford returning with a core of outstanding youth, and had just witnessed the Hornets literally run over the Indians. We anticipated that even with that, Branford was going to be a force on the defensive squad with the entire line and the return of the linebackers in 2004. All of these were exposed as the truth in this jamboree, particurily the Branford defense.



The opening kickoff went to Parker, but he was not able to go beyond the 24 after being met aggressively by Dustin Bonds, and then finished off by Snipes and Derringer to get this rivalry started once again. To nobodies surprise, Rutherford got the first handoff. He was only able to fall forward for one yard however as Jesse Derringer quickly stopped him in his tracks. Harris tried his luck next, but Scott Warren was quickly there to provide the same result. Randy Johnson brought the end to the series deflecting a Hornets pass to force a errant 16 yard punt. The Hornets were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct to dig the hole a little deeper moving the Bucs deep into Hornets territory at the 24. Daies, Byrd and Greek mustered some tough runs to gain first down yardage at the 13. A Branford penalty slowed the Bucs down facing a third-and-fifteen, but a pass interference call against Mayo after Johnson tried to pull in a Daies flanker option pass put the Bucs back in business at the 9. A beautiful cutback by Byrd put Branford on the 4, with Daies taking it to the one, and Greek taking the final honors to put Branford on top 7-0 after the Tomlinson PAT.



Parker was once again brought down quickly at his own 30. Rutherford would break through for 5 yards before meeting the entire Bucs defensive unit, but would be stopped for no gain on the next play thanks to the teamwork of Snipes, Byrd and Derringer. Mayo would pick up one of two first downs for the half on a pass interference call to reach their deepest penetration at midfield. Rutherford again found the running tough after a no gainer after meeting Derringer once again, along with Croft. Harris was actually able to gain a yard, but Byrd broke up a pass to force another punt.



Branford was only able to gain one first down before punting back to the Hornets. Croft would bring down Rutherford after only gaining three yards, and then Mayo tried the airways. After an overthrow, Derringer stepped in front of a short aerial for a Bucs interception for possession at the Mayo 44. Branford would not let this opportunity go. Greek would start the series with a 19 yard gain up the middle with only the Hornets sophomore John Licea stopping the TD. Greek would gain five more, with Snipes gaining the crucial first down yardage on the next carry. Daies and Greek moved the ball to the two yard line before Byrd cut back to the center to record his third TD of the jamboree. Tomlinson added the PAT for a Bucs 14-0 lead with 8:17 to go.



The next defensive series identified this Bucs team. The Hornets Travis Friar was met hard at the 35 on the kickoff by Dylan Schieder. Before Eric McIntyre could get a head of steam, Byrd came in and separated the ball causing a six yard loss. David Cedillo got the next call, but was dropped for a six yard loss himself after Croft, Snipes and Scott Warren put the brakes on. Rutherford would try again, but would be brought down for a yard loss by the entire Buccaneer team. That was pretty much the exclamation mark on the game as Branford gained 130 yards, while limiting the Hornets to 17 total yards and two first downs to win the spring jamboree for the second year in a row and continue their dominance at Buccaneer Stadium keeping the opponents off the scoreboard.



There were some outstanding performances considering that this is the spring jamboree in which as had these players only on the practice field for three weeks. Chiefland QB Strickland finished with 10-19 for 285 yards, 3 TDs, 2 two point conversions and 1 interception. His receiver, Gent finished with 6 catches for 204 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 two point conversion. Rushing honors went to the Bucs Greek with 104 yards on 15 carries and 1TD. The return specialist was certainly Thomas Parker from Mayo with 5 returns for 116 yards. On defense, it was very hard to single out one player. Yes, Byrd would finish with two interception returns for touchdowns, one caused fumble, 7 tackles with 2 for losses and broke up two passes. He would score a third on offense to go along with his 62 yards on 11 carries. But that offensive and defensive line play, along with linebacker play from Greek, Snipes, Derringer, Croft and Bonds makes it impossible to just recognize the fact that this entire Bucs defense is going to be a force in 2004 and recognized as the players of this jamboree. The stat of 45 total yards allowed is very hard to overlook.



The Bucs will be off for the summer, but will be returning in August to prepare for the fall classic in Fort White. I was able to catch a little bit of the Fort White vs PK Young Spring game. Fort White fell just short in this one losing 13-10 in a very well played ball game. Fort White is normally known for their offense, but this is a very well rounded squad in 2004 that will give Branford everything they want. Against the Blue Wave, the Indians did everything but win the game. This should provide the test that the Bucs need to enter the 2004 season. Even though it will be early, the Bucs second game of the season at home against Chiefland should set the stage for the district race and establish whether the Bucs are ready yet. I personally think they are, but we will just have to wait and see. If the jamboree was any indication, Branford should be going well beyond the close of the regular season. Chiefland and Mayo will certainly have something to say about that though. See ya in 2004.