Football Preview: South Sumter Raiders vs. Bradford Tornadoes
South Sumter is 3-0 against Bradford since October of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The South Sumter Raiders will challenge the Bradford Tornadoes at 7:30 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
South Sumter took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Forest 41-7 at home. Given the Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 35th, while the Wildcats are ranked 306th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
South Sumter's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Landen Sherman led the charge by rushing for 37 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing for 31 yards and a touchdown while completing 100% of his passes. Stanley Young was in the mix too, providing South Sumter with two touchdowns touchdowns.
South Sumter's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB nine times. Semaj Shines led the group effort, picking up three of those sacks all by himself. With that strong performance, Walker Mears is now averaging an impressive 4.5 total tackles per game.
Meanwhile, Bradford strolled past Dunnellon with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 29-14. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Tornadoes.
South Sumter's win was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 1-1. As for Bradford, their record is now 2-0.
South Sumter came out on top in a nail-biter against Bradford in their previous matchup back in November of 2020, sneaking past 9-6. Will South Sumter repeat their success, or does Bradford have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
