NATCHEZ &045; There was the first knee surgery to repair his torn ACL. Then a second. Then a broken bone in his foot.

Now Cole Bradford feels a pop in that same knee every now and then. He’s got the brace on it just like the doctor said. But in a game like this in his senior season, there’s no way he’s going to sit out with Adams Christian on the verge of winning its first district title in 23 years.

&8221;It’s all right &045; it’s coming along,&8220; Bradford said. &8221;It’ll pop, and I’ve got to come off for a play or two. It doesn’t feel too good. It was feeling great up until the Prairie View game. I can play a whole game if I need to.&8220;

Bradford isn’t about to sit when the Rebels visit Central Hinds, and others won’t, either, if they can help it. For a team that’s been dogged by injuries for most of the season &045; and most of last season, for the record &045; players have found a way to regroup and keep a solid season going in the right direction.

The Rebels will visit Central Hinds as MPSA schools in the Miss-Lou enter Week 9. A win locks up the championship and a first-round playoff game at home, a loss by five points or less gives them the No. 2 spot and a loss by six or more puts them out of the playoffs.

&8221;Not quite (healthy),&8220; quarterback Timmy Foster said. &8221;Cole has been here and there. We’ve always had people with injuries every year. We’ve always had a lot of injuries. But I think we’ve got a good chance. We’ve got to work hard. We just can’t quit during the game.&8220;

The injury situation may not be much better by the time Friday night rolls around. The Rebels will have Tel Faulkner back on offense but may be without Tim Cupit, who suffered a concussion Friday night on a kickoff against WCCA and checked out early from school Tuesday.

Cupit (6-1, 220) is an anchor up front on the offensive line at tackle.

&8221;What scares me now is Cupit hasn’t been hurt all year,&8220; Adams head coach Bobby Marks said. &8221;If he can’t play, that’s really going to hurt us. He’s not only a big kid, but he’s the quickest lineman we’ve got on the team.&8220;

Another big body on the line would be missed in this matchup against a Central Hinds team that has one of the better defensive lines in Class AA. The Cougars had a three-game winning streak snapped last week in a loss to Manchester, but they need a win Friday to stay in the hunt after falling to Copiah Academy 10-0.

The Cougars, who took a 21-7 win over Adams last year in Natchez to claim the district title, will line up Robert Ferguson (6-1, 250) and Tim May (6-2, 265) at tackles.

&8221;We’re going to mix it up,&8220; Marks said. &8221;It’s not going to be a one-thing deal. We’ll pass, run, screen &045; you name it. We’ll run a little bit of everything. It’s not like we’re practicing something new. We’ve been doing it all year long (in practice).&8220;

The Rebels have passed very little this season, partly because there hasn’t been a need. Bradford’s status put a damper on the passing game early along with Clay Floyd’s sore elbow that took away the team’s top two receivers.

The offensive backfield will have Matthew Guedon at halfback and put Faulkner back on the line.

&8221;We’re getting used to running it now,&8220; Foster said of the pass attack. &8221;We really haven’t ran it that much. We’ve got to get our timing down and stuff. They were real big up front last year, and they’ll be big up front again.&8220;

With those who played last year, there may be more incentive than to just get the district title. Watching the other team celebrate on your field is something that sticks in your memory.

&8221;Any time you get close and don’t get it, it makes it that much more important to get it the next year,&8220; Floyd said. &8221;You don’t want to do it again, and we’ve done it twice. We’re just putting it on the offensive line right now. If they can get a push, we can run the ball.&8220;