HENDERSONVILLE — Is BGA football in trouble?
Those questions may be answered in the next few weeks after starting quarterback Bo Bryan suffered a right shoulder injury on the team's second possession of the first quarter against Division II-AA Middle Region rival Pope John Paul II on Oct. 16.
"I thought it was just a stinger when I hit the ground," Bryan said of the play in which a pair of JPII players landed on Bryan after a sack. "Once I got up I knew something was wrong. When I got to the sideline, I really knew something was wrong."
Bryan, who is the son of country music star Luke Bryan, spent the majority of the first quarter in the visiting team's locker room and emerged late in the quarter with his arm in a sling and ice on his shoulder.
Bryan said he'll immediately have an X-ray on the shoulder to determine the severity of the injury.
"I don't know what we're looking at yet," BGA coach Bobby Bentley said. "We'll have to figure this thing out. That's the challenge for us as a team and as coaches. What do we do? How do we do it? We're going to figure it out."
Bentley used Wildcats wide receiver Max Curry as quarterback for the majority of the game while teammate, and fellow star wide receiver Maddox Porter played QB in mop-up duty as BGA rolled to a 35-0 win.
Bentley used a hybrid of read option and the Wildcat offense with direct shotgun snaps to Curry. Curry finished the game with 11 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown. He was 3-of-6 passing for 53 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown to Porter. He also threw an interception in the third quarter.
"I've never even played quarterback before," Curry said. "It was all brand new to me but I had a lot of help our there. Fletcher (Fields) was making the protection calls for the offensive line and just helping me get settlted."
How does Bo Bryan's injury affect BGA in DII-AA?
Depending on the type of injury, the loss of Bryan could be significant. Bentley's offenses can score points in a hurry, thanks to its passing attack. The team is averaging 45 points this season and came into its Oct. 16 game vs JPII having scored 55 and 56 points, respectively, in its last two games. But as the season moves into the playoffs, the strength of competition will only grow.
BGA came into the season as the heavy favorites to repeat as Division II-AA state champs. The win over JPII moves the Wildcats to 7-1 and 4-0 in the Middle Region. If Bryan's out during the playoffs, it could give some of DII-AA's top teams a path to Chattanooga, including Franklin Road Academy (5-3), CAK (8-0) and Knoxville Grace (7-1).
The Wildcats end the regular season against its closest competition in the Middle Region. They will host Goodpasture (7-1, 4-1) on Oct. 23 and then finish the regular season at Franklin Grace (6-2, 2-2) on Oct. 30.
"You have to find a way to get (your skill players the ball)," Bentley said. "Whatever way that may look like, you got to find a way to do it. That's why it's high school football. The good ones still find a scheme to get the good players the ball and make plays."
Bryan is among Middle Tennessee's top quarterbacks, entering Week 9 with 2,006 yards passing, 30 touchdowns and three interceptions. That production may not be available to BGA in the coming weeks. Backup quarterback, Hank Bloomfield, is also injured, according to Bentley.
Reach The Tennessean's high school sports editor, George Robinson, at georgerobinsontheleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Does BGA quarterback Bo Bryan's shoulder injury change the dynamics in DII-AA?
