By Kenton Brooks
Phoenix Sports Writer
According to Muskogee coach Matt Hennesy and quaterback Archie Bradley, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test on the sophomore’s right (throwing) shoulder on Monday revealed a bruise and Bradleysaid he’ll play in Friday’s playoff game against Stillwater.
“Everything’s good,” Bradley said. “I was real worried about it and it was on my mind all weekend. I’ll just take Ibuprofen and tough it out.”
Bradley suffered the injury — on the muscle leading from his shoulder to his neck — while scoring on a nine-yard touchdown run in the 47-8 win over Tulsa Memorial last Friday.
Hennesy said that he’s “taking all of the precautions” with Bradley in getting ready for the first-round game against the Pioneers at Indian Bowl.
“He’s so young that we don’t want to take any chances with him,” Hennesy said about the 6-foot-3, 185-pound sophomore. “The doctor said the velocity on the ball may not be great, but it’s just a bruise.
“We’re using this time to make sure we get our backups ready if something should happen down the line. We fully expect him to go. “
Bradley ran for 62 yards and also a 53-yard touchdown, while completing 5 of 8 passes for 44 yards in one quarter of play before going to the sidelines.
Mitch Stevenson, Bradley’s 5-11, 180-pound junior backup, completed 6 of 10 passes for 82 yards and an eight-yard TD pass in the regular season finale last week against the Chargers.
Bradley, also a standout baseball player, has completed 115 of 207 passes this season for 1,269 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions. He also has a punting average of 38.7 yards per kick.
The 7-3 Roughers, the District 6A-3 runner-up, and Pioneers play at 7:30 p.m.
