"At first it got me down a little bit, but the more I think about it, you can't worry about the things you can't do, just worry about what you can," said Marcus Brinkley, senior.

"It does change, it changes the whole philosophy of what we like to do, especially with chris bracht at the receiving position," said Tony Braby, Tipton football coach.

Braby said Bracht is having an all-state kind of season. Bracht grabbed a season high nine interceptions, meaning now his hands will be valued mainly on the defensive side of the ball.

"We're gonna stick to defense this week, and as long as we get good pressure on the quarterback and cover the passing routes they run, I think we'll be successful,"said Chris Bracht, senior.

Even with the defense getting two shutouts on the season, the Cardinals will need some creativity on offense to give Brinkley some options.

An injury like this to the quarterback could mean receivers and other's performances suffer.

"Not one person said anything. Not one person was hanging their head and saying oh, Marcus is hurt, now that's going to hurt my performance as well. Everyone seems to play as a team and we pick each other up. He's captain of the team so it just helps, everyone is fighting for each other," said Braby.

And fighting to prove the underdog deserves to be there.

"We have the experience over them, which I think will be important, and another thing is third time's a charm, I'm hoping this is it," said Brinkley.

Brinkley's shoulder separation isn't going to keep him on the sideline. He'll still play quarterback against Valle Catholic. The game is Saturday at 1:30p.m.