Top LB Gearing Up for Bishop Carroll

2014 linebacker Bradley Ivey has been a starter at Bishop Miege since his freshman year. As a sophomore, he was First Team All-State, and clearly a player on the rise in the Kansas high school ranks. Prior to the Stags’ matchup against Bishop Carroll, Ivey talked with Scout.com about the week leading up to the Class 5A State Championship Game. Go Inside for the latest…

Bishop Miege is a unique program in the Kansas City area. Nestled in a residential area in Roeland Park, Dixon Doll Stadium is surrounded by nearby homes. Residents host weekly backyard watch parties, complete with tailgating fare and crackling fire pits, offering some fans have a better view of the field than those in the stands. It’s a high school setting like no other in Kansas City, where barbecue smoke forms a canopy over the field as the bells at neighboring St. Agnes Catholic Church ring prior to kickoff. As the Stags get ready for the Kansas Class 5A State Championship Game in Topeka, linebacker Bradley Ivey understands the significance it has to the school’s supporters. “A title would mean more to the community than it would to me,” he said, smiling. Since making his first start as a freshman, the now three-year starter has grown into his role as the leader of the Stags’ defense. Having ended the seasons of fellow 5A contenders and Eastern Kansas League foes Blue Valley West and St. Thomas Aquinas, Ivey relishes the chance to face the undefeated Huskies. “It’s exciting,” he said. “Knowing that we get to go out and play against a very good team that will challenge us in every aspect of the game.” “We’ve put in all the work to get here,” he said, his eyes wide. “We knew we could. Now, we just have to go out there and show everyone who has been supporting us, everyone who has doubted us, who we really are.” Having led the EKL with 139 tackles, despite missing almost three full games with an injury, Ivey knows what it will take to send Carroll home with their first loss of 2012. “We’ve stuck with the game plan that has been working for us all year,” he said, without hesitation. “We are going to go out there and play our game and get the job done.”