French Camp senior Bradley Edwards suffered a freak injury the second game of the season against Starkville Academy that continues to bother him, but it has not kept him off the field.
“I hit one of the backs and my face mask pushed backwards. My (ear) lobe ripped inside my helmet,” he said.
“He finishes a game with blood all over the place most of the time,” said coach Nathan Wright.
Edwards will need stitches, but that will wait until after the season.
As a linebacker, he leads the Panthers in tackles with 78 in eight games. On offense, he is the proverbial Swiss army knife, moving around wherever needed, whether its tight end, tailback or full back.
“Bradley brings all he has, every ounce of the 170 pounds he has,” Wright said.
He prefers defense. “It’s a different feel, a different vibe. It’s more man on man, more aggressive.”
Edwards hope to play junior college ball next year, if he receives an offer. “If not, I’ll probably still go to community college to further my education. I’d like to get an associate degree in pre law.”
His ultimate goal is to be a corporate lawyer.
After a week off, French Camp returns to the gridiron Friday with a home game against Hamilton.
Prior to the break, French Camp played a murderer's row, with losses to Tupelo Christian, Nanih Waiya, West Lowndes and Noxapater. Those are the top four teams in MHSAA Region 2-1A with a combined record of 27-8. Nanih Waiya and Noxapater are ranked one and three in Mississippi 1A by the website MaxPreps.
The next two opponents aren't as daunting. Hamilton is 2-7 and Vardaman 0-8.
“We have to play better than we did against Noxapater. That was one of the worst outings I have had in a long time,” Wright said.
The Panthers managed only 72 yards of offense in a 39-7 loss.
“There's no doubt the teams we will be facing are not quite the caliber of the teams that we have been facing. But you have to play the games,” Wright said.
Hamilton is coming off a 61-6 loss to Nanih Waiya
French Camp is 1-7 overall and 1-4 in the region. After the game at Vardaman, the Panthers will conclude the regular season with a November 8 home game against Smithville.
French Camp did not work on anything in particular during the off week. “The main thing is just trying to polish things up. To do a little better,” Wright said.
