Friday night’s Southeast Conference showdown between fifth-ranked Bradford and eighth-ranked Oak Creek at Carthage’s Art Keller Field had the makings of a heavyweight fight with the winner getting the early inside track to a conference title.

If this had indeed been a fight instead of a football game between two undefeated teams, though, the referee would have stopped it after a couple rounds.

The Red Devils were that dominating.

Bradford (4-0, 2-0 SEC) playing its first home game of the season, landed the knockout by halftime in rolling to a 34-6 victory.

“I think it makes a statement that I think we have a chance to be a pretty good football team,” Red Devils coach Jed Kennedy said after his team put up 453 yards of total offense while holding the Knights to only 180 and nine first downs (two in the second half).

“We’ve got to keep getting better. We’re still making mistakes that are fixable, but it’s Week 4. First off, hats off to our defense. A lot of people have talked about our offense the first three weeks, (but the defense) really stepped up and played a great game tonight.”

Bradford once again utilized its plethora of offensive weapons and hardly missed a beat after losing starting junior halfback Melvin Gordon to a knee injury midway through the first quarter.

Gordon hurt his right knee after being tackled on a 12-yard run while going out of bounds with about 5 minutes left in the first quarter, and he stood on crutches in the second half.

The Red Devils took a 7-0 lead after going seven plays and 58 yards on the game’s opening possession. Quarterback Gino DeBartolo (16 carries for 83 yards) ran up the middle and fumbled but right tackle Hunter Corrigan recovered the loose ball in the end zone.

Oak Creek (3-1, 1-1 SEC) took advantage of a fumbled Bradford punt for its only score, Kyle Veloz’s 1-yard run with 5 minutes, 51 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. But placekicker Darrol Inniss, who had recovered the fumble to give the Knights a first down at the Bradford 7, missed the extra point wide left.

Fullback Cody Brady (eight rushes for 54 yards) ripped off a 13-yard run to cap a 10-play, 91-yard drive and give Bradford a 14-6 lead, and DeBartolo (4-of-10 passing for 130 yards) hit a wide-open Tylerr Ortiz on an 88-yard bomb down the right sideline to put the Red Devils ahead 21-6 with 5:02 to play in the second quarter.

Bradford’s John Stevens kicked a 30-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to up the score to 24-6, and that was plenty of cushion for the staunch Bradford defense.

“They’re the best team we’ve seen so far, absolutely,” Oak Creek coach Mike Bartholomew said. “Their team speed is outstanding, and they’re disciplined. If you’re not disciplined defensively, they’re going to make you pay for it. And our inability to run the ball … just let it get away.”

Torrie Tyson, who had a team-high 121 rushing yards on nine carries, added a 3-yard run to pad the Red Devils’ advantage to 31-7 early in the third quarter, and Stevens kicked a 27-yard field goal early in the fourth to cap the scoring.

Kennedy said he was proud of the way his players stayed focused after losing Gordon, one of the team’s standouts, who tallied 43 yards on three carries.

“Melvin’s a heck of a player, but if you ask Melvin he wants us to keep going on,” Kennedy said. “It’s tough. We’ll find out what the doctor says and go from there. We talk about it’s a team game and if a guy goes down it’s our job to pick him up.”