By Laurence Hilliard
McAdams football was off to a fast start, 4-0 after a winless 2024. But misfortune struck the third game.
Senior quarterback Gavin Brown, the engine that ran the Bulldog offense, went down with a season-ending knee injury.
McAdams began the season with a 58-12 victory over Discovery Christian School to break an 18-game losing streak. Brown was 8 if 12 passing for 254 yards and four touchdowns and carried six times for 114 yards and one TD.
A week later the Bulldogs defeated J.A. George 28-21 Brown totaled 181 yards and three TDs running and passing including a 50-yard scoring run in the final minute to clinch the victory.
Brown was injured in a 44-21 victory over St. Andrew’s, but before the injury he ran 14 times for 173 yards and one TD.
The Bulldogs made it 4-0 without Brown with a 40-0 victory because the opponent was Riverside which had a winless season without scoring any points.
The next five games were losses, all in Region 5-1A, with the offense totaling 50 points to miss the playoffs. “I think our season would have turned out a lot differently if he had stayed healthy,” coach Sylvester Grays said.
The injury came early in the third quarter against St. Andrew’s. “I got tackled from the side. My knee buckled,” Brown said.
It was a Medial Collateral Ligament (MLS) injury, ligament tearing.
The injury has also sidelined him for the first half of the basketball season, robbing the Bulldogs of last year’s leading scorer.
The good news is that after months of physical therapy, Brown is ready to return to action just in time for region play.
“I’m feeling good. Ready to play basketball.”
Coach Kyeson Jackson is happy to have him back. “He was one of our leaders. I can’t wait to get him back.”
Both coaches sing his praise. “He was a big-time leader for us, a special player,” Grays said. “He never stopped showing up for practice every day. That’s a testament to his character. He was on the sidelines for us for moral support.”
Football is his favorite sport, the one he hopes to play at the next level. He has received interest from Coahoma and Gulf Coast junior colleges but has not made a decision.
