USJ can win district this week

Rusty Bradley’s job of motivating his team should be easy this week.

The University School of Jackson head football coach is leading the team into the district championship game at home against St. George’s. It’s a matchup the Bruins haven’t won since 2012.

But Bradley is taking a different approach.

“It’s a one-game season with no ramifications for us,” Bradley said. “Whether we win or lose, we know we’re in the playoffs and we’re playing at home next week.

“A district championship is nice, but our ultimate goal is a championship in December. So yeah we want to win, but the main goal is still down the road and not this week.”

That doesn’t mean the Bruins won’t try to win. In fact, USJ showed last week in a 13-7 victory at Briarcrest that there’s a quality defense to go along with the offense that’s averaging nearly 38 points per game.

“I knew our defense had that kind of potential all along, and last week was really the first game they showed what they’re capable of against tough competition,” Bradley said. “It started with the defensive line – particularly Rhett Peel and Trey Smith up front doing a good job leading that group.

“And the backers and secondary behind them all doing a good job of keeping Briarcrest from moving the ball effectively most of the night and coming up with stops when we needed them the most.”

St. George’s brings a team to Jackson that will test the Bruins on both sides, particularly with the Gryphons’ offense that features Chase Hayden at running back.

“Stopping him is definitely priority No. 1 because he’s been the driving force for them,” Bradley said. “We may have more experience up front, but that doesn’t mean their linemen aren’t good players.

“They’re younger than ours for the most part, but they’ve got some size in the younger classes. And any inexperience they might’ve had early on is gone for the most part since it’s the last week of the season.”

No matter how the game turns out, Bradley said the team is prepared to compete in the playoffs and see what they can do over the course of the playoffs.

“We’ve been playing better and better each week,” Bradley said. “We’re excited about the opportunities with this game and going forward from it, and we’ll see what we can do against a good St. George’s team.”

Brandon Shields, 425-9751