Blue Springs South senior Briley Moore-McKinney sees breakout year after injuries

The brace is painted green and blue to match Blue Springs South's school colors. It holds four metal straps — two that fasten in front of the knee and two more bundled behind it — and senior Briley Moore-McKinney says he can feel them pinch his skin when he runs. The brace squeaks as he moves his right knee, so his football teammates joke they always know when he walks into the room.

It's worth the ridicule. The mechanism serves as a form of protection and a form of mental confidence.

And a constant reminder.

"It always makes me think back," he says. "And that just adds that extra drive and motivation."

Before every practice, game or any type of physical activity, Moore-McKinney binds the brace to his right knee, taking a moment each time to reflect on an injury-riddled high school career.

And that's a long, exhausting list.

The two-sport athlete broke his ankle in freshman basketball. He broke it again in his sophomore football season the following fall.

After returning in time for his sophomore basketball season, he reached for a rebound and suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee that required surgery. He was unable to even straighten his leg before undergoing rehab, which stretched into the summer.

But he was deemed ready for his junior football season. That was short-lived, too. Instead, in the jamboree a week before the year was slated to begin, he extended for the end zone and felt a pop. The news was as he suspected — another torn meniscus, and this time he added damage to his medial collateral ligament (MCL) and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

One right after another.

"It's been heartbreaking at times," Moore-McKinney said. "You get so excited to go back out there with your teammates, and then the season gets taken from you.

"Just like that."

The senior season offered a fresh start — one final chance to enjoy a full season on the football field. He capitalized on his first healthy season of basketball last winter, when he played an indispensable role on Blue Springs South's first state-championship team.

He's made the most of the first true football season, too.

Moore-McKinney has caught 11 touchdown passes for Jaguars, who are undefeated heading into a Missouri Class 6 district semifinal matchup Friday with Jefferson City. He's also tied for the team lead with three sacks while playing on a fraction of the snaps on defense.

"It hasn't been fair — not for someone who has worked so hard to have just one year of high school football," Blue Springs South coach Greg Oder said, before turning his knuckles to his wooden desk. "Knock on wood, we're always thinking about it. Our expectation has always been that if he could stay healthy, he could do great things for us."

So far, so good.

The Blue Springs South coaching staff says it tries to lessen his workload, but Moore-McKinney doesn't always oblige. A renewed lease on high school athletics strengthened his zeal for football.

So in the midst of a 56-0 playoff-opening win against Troy Buchanan last week, there he was, fighting for extra yardage in a blowout.

"I'm sitting there watching him — he hits, he spins, he fights for extra yards. And I'm just thinking, 'Go down. Go down.'" Oder said.

A glance toward his brace every day tells him something different.

"I can't play with fear. That wouldn't be fair to my teammates," Moore-McKinney said. "I have to give it everything I have for these guys if I'm going to expect the same from them."

This story was originally published October 29, 2015 at 8:07 PM with the headline "Blue Springs South senior Briley Moore-McKinney sees breakout year after injuries."