Bradley finally gets noticed after Loyola kicking debut
Loyola All-Metro place kicker Jamie Dubyoski is so automatic when he steps up for a point after touchdown that he got credit for two points he didn’t even kick in Saturday’s game against DeMatha at the I-95 Kickoff Classic.
Dubyoski has been sidelined with back issues, so rookie kicker Bennett Bradley, a Dons’ volleyball player recruited by football coach Brian Abbott, stepped in and made two of three extra points. Bradley’s name was not on the roster handed out to the media, so he didn’t make it into the original box score as he should have.
When he walked out onto the Morgan State field for the first time Saturday to attempt an extra point, Bradley had never kicked in a football game. He had played rec football, but that was seven years ago and he played quarterback and safety.
“I was a little bit more nervous than I thought I was going to be actually,” he said. “Just all the pressure of it being the first game I’ve ever played and against a powerhouse like DeMatha. It was pretty frightening.”
It didn’t look that way as he nailed the extra point.
“It was a good feeling to finally get the first one out of the way and not be nervous anymore,” said Bradley, who was in the stands for the Dons game last season against DeMatha.
He missed his second attempt but hit his third, which gave Loyola a 20-14 lead although the Dons eventually would fall, 24-20.
Bradley also plays basketball and lacrosse at Loyola and plans to play lacrosse in college, but when the call came from Abbott to fill in for Dubyoski, it was too good to pass up.
“I said I’d give it a shot, help out the team,” Bradley said. “I just thought it would be a lot of fun. I know pretty much the entire team and I have a lot of free time with volleyball, so on the weekends, I can do something else.”
Stepping in as the kicker, Bradley had a few things going for him. He had been a soccer player until he switched to volleyball last fall, so he had the foot for kicking. He had also watched his brother Eddie, the Dons kicker two years ago.
Abbot said one of his assistant coaches suggested Bradley try kicking when Dubyoski’s troubles lingered.
“It was hard, but he came out and did a pretty good job,” Abbott said. “He does what we like to see in our kids. We like to see them doing more. Part of the philosophy of the school is to do more and to try to help others out when they need it. He’s living up to that.”
Dubyoski, who hit 46 of 47 extra points last season and three of four field goals, should be back soon, Abbott said. In the meantime, Bradley appears up to the challenge – and he likes it too.
Would the junior like to stick around and perhaps take over the kicking chores when Dubyoski, a senior, graduates?
“I think so, yeah. I’m looking forward to it.”
