Bradley Central overcomes deficit, outslugs Rhea County
EVENSVILLE, Tenn. — Bradley Central overcame a 14-point deficit and outslugged Rhea County in an explosive second half of nonregion football Friday night.
The visiting Bears trailed 21-7 in the third quarter but won 42-35 after posting 35 points in the second half — 22 in the fourth quarter alone.
Leading the charge was quarterback Dylan Standifer. He played a part in four of the Bears’ five touchdowns after halftime and tossed a two-point-conversion pass. Standifer threw for 245 yards and added 35 on the ground.
“It wasn’t just me,” Standifer said. “It was my offensive line — I don’t think I got sacked once in the second half — and my receivers. I just threw it up and they went up and got it and made me look good.”
Rhea County (3-2) did not back down as Bradley Central (3-2) roared back, putting up 21 points after the break, and built on a 14-7 halftime lead by striking first in the third quarter.
Zack Pemberton foreshadowed the quarterback battle to come with a 32-yard scoring run with 6:30 to go in the third quarter. A 36-yard strike from Standifer to Clark and a 60-yard fumble return for Cole Reyher cut Bradley’s deficit to 21-20 after a missed PAT.
Then Pemberton opened the final quarter by connecting with Smith for 66 yards. He finished with 149 yards rushing on 21 carries and threw for 101 yards.
On the first play of the Bears’ next possession, Standifer and Clark linked up again for 72 yards. The conversion tied it and the hosts marched back downfield with Pemberton punching it in from the 1 to retake the lead.
Standifer threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Vaughan and ran in from 5 yards out to seal the win.
“We’re improving,” Rhea County coach Mark Pemberton said. “The guys we have plugged in have battled, and we’re building depth that way. Hopefully this is something we can build on.”
In the first half, Bradley’s Parker Johnson had a touchdown sandwiched between rushing scores by Aulbrey Smith and Pemberton.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress. com.