Lake Brantley’s Bernhardt leads Ferris St. to first D-II title
MCKINNEY, Texas — Quarterback Jared Bernhardt, the Orlando Sentinel boys athlete of the year in 2016 as a two-sport standout for Lake Brantley High School, had 3 touchdown runs in the first half to lead undefeated Ferris State to its first Division II championship.
The 58-17 rout of Valdosta State late Saturday night was the most points scored in a D-II title game since Delta State beat Bloomsburg 63-34 in 2000. It was also the largest margin of victory since Northern Colorado’s 51-0 win against New Haven in 1997.
Ferris State (14-0) finished with 581 yards of offense, 459 yards on the ground, to cap its dominate season. Twelve of the Bulldogs’ 14 wins were by double digits.
Bernhardt, a graduate transfer from Maryland playing in his only collegiate football season, was one of the nation’s top lacrosse players in his four seasons with the Terrapins. He finished with 148 yards rushing on 14 carries, didn’t throw a pass and sat out most of the second half.
He played in five seasons for the Terrapins with an abbreviated 2020 season not counting as a year of eligibility due to the COVID19 outbreak. He shifted to Ferris State for one last shot at football.
“At the beginning of the season, I was fighting for a spot and didn’t know if I would get to play at all,” Bernhardt said in a recent interview with Big Rapids Pioneer news outlet. “That was fine with me. I just wanted to help the team anyway, even if it
was just at scout. I’m fortunate to be here.”
Bernhardt scored on a 56-yard run on Ferris State’s first play from scrimmage. He added a 78-yard TD run and later a 2-yard score that stretched the lead to 27-17. The Bulldogs broke the game open when Mylik Mitchell threw a strike to a wide-open Tyrese Hunt-Thompson, who ran untouched into the end zone for a 47-yard score with 11 seconds to play in the first half.
The Bulldogs racked up 365 yards rushing and had just 2 pass attempts for a 41-17 halftime advantage. Mitchell threw both passes with Bernhardt on the sideline resting a sore ankle. Bernhardt had 12 carries for 145 yards in the half. Jeremy Burrell added 95 yards rushing and Tyler Minor had 45 and each ran for a score.
Minor finished with 125 yards on eight carries. Burrell ran four times for 103 yards. Liam Daly had a 37-yard pick-6 late in the third quarter.
Ferris State coach Tony Annese, in his ninth season with the Bulldogs, is 41-2 in the last three seasons.
Ivory Durham was 14-of-34 passing for 158 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for Valdosta State (12-2).
The teams also played in the 2018 championship at McKinney ISD Stadium, with the Blazers collecting their fourth title since 2002 in a 49-47 victory.
Marcus Taylor, a freshman running back from Oak Ridge High, had 1 catch and 1 reception for Ferris State. Linebacker Shaderrick Bradford of Apopka, a sophomore, also plays for the Bulldogs.