Bay looks to build on big win

After a lopsided season-opening loss to Mosley, Bay High coach Keith Bland insisted the Tornadoes were a different team than they showed in 2019 when they finished 2-8, with one of those two wins coming via forfeit. 

They just needed a signature victory to validate that. The Tornadoes got just that by beating Arnold 29-24 last week. The next challenge? A winning streak, a feat that Bay hasn't accomplished since beating Mosley and Walton back to back in 2016. 

Bay (1-1) will try to make it two straight on Friday night at Tommy Oliver Stadium against Marianna (2-3), and Bland said his players' confidence about doing just that is at a different level following last week's win. 

"Yeah, definitely. You can feel the atmosphere change," he said. "It makes it a lot easier to come in on a Monday when the kids are upbeat and ready to get after it. We're hoping to build on that and have a good game Friday."

It won't be an easy task against a Marianna squad hungry to get back in the win column following a 27-7 loss to South Walton last week. The Bulldogs' previous losses this season came against Port St. Joe in the opener and Gadsden County in Week 3, and they boast victories over Blountstown and Walton. 

The Bulldogs are led by a veteran quarterback in senior Brady Donaldson and have a dynamic playmaker at running back in senior Ahmad Johnson, but it's the guys blocking for them that Bland said he is most concerned about. 

"Marianna is by far the biggest team we've played this year as far as size," he said. "We have some kids with some size as well, but they're young. It's one of those things where with your technique, you may be able to get away with (not being sharp) if you're facing a guy you outweigh by 30 pounds where someone that you're at least evenly matched with or is bigger than you, your technique has got to be sound. 

"Our young guys are still growing and getting better at things, so hopefully they can have a good game this week and show their growth and where they're heading." 

Bay will be missing one of its key guys up front in starting right guard Jordan Sikes, who is out this week with an ankle injury. That might make things a little more difficult for running back CJ Campbell, but the senior has looked up to whatever task he has faced thus far. 

Campbell put in a brilliant two-way performance in last week's victory, rushing 20 times for 121 yards and three touchdowns on offense and coming up with the game-clinching interception on defense. 

Bland said Campbell's production is no accident and that his impact on the team goes well beyond the numbers. 

"I think a lot of it started for CJ in the offseason," he said. "He sets a good example for his teammates to follow, just being that leader that they know is gonna be there. He's not as vocal as some of them, but he definitely sets an example for others to follow. He had a great game against Arnold. He's a big part of our team." 

Campbell is one of just a handful of Bay players that have been with the varsity program since the hurricane-ravaged season of 2018. The rest of the roster is comprised largely of underclassmen, though even the seniors haven't experienced much winning in a Bay uniform. 

If the Tornadoes are going to turn things around in Bland's second year at the helm, the coach said they need to have total buy-in and belief in what they're doing, and that last week's victory was an important step in getting that. 

"It really was. We've worked so hard the last two years. Even last year, the one win we had, man we had to work so hard," Bland said. "We were just so inexperienced with all of the freshmen we had to play. Those seniors that decided to come out, because we only had two returners from that (previous year's) team, they set a good foundation for where we needed to be.

"But to get that win, it just gives you that 'we know what it takes to get there,' and it's not gonna be given to us. We have to continue to work harder to make sure we earn it every week. It definitely makes it easier to come to practice when they see the work they put in in the offseason pays off. But we just can't settle with one. We've got to get better every week."