FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The most consequential play of St. Michael Catholic’s season may already be behind it, and it happened seven minutes into the first game.
Senior quarterback Gunner Rivers, the No. 1 prospect in AL.com’s Best in Bama rankings and the top Class of 2027 recruit in the state according to 247Sports, injured his right knee late in the first quarter of Saturday’s 41-18 loss to Battle Ground Academy. He was scheduled to be re-evaluated Sunday. His father and head coach, Philip Rivers, offered a measured but not alarmed assessment afterward.
“He couldn’t go,” Rivers said. “He was going to try it. We’ll have to get it looked at tomorrow and re-evaluate it. I was a little more confident going into halftime, but they kind of looked at it again. We’ll have to see. I don’t think it’s season-ending by any means, but it’s not just a thigh bruise like we thought. Too bad, too, because that was a good team and a good game.”
How it happened
Rivers was hurt on what turned out to be his only carry of the afternoon. With 1:48 remaining in the first quarter and St. Michael driving inside the Battle Ground red zone, he scrambled out of the pocket and around right end, cut back to his left and was tackled near the 10-yard line. Observers at the game believed a defender’s helmet made contact with or near his right knee. He was initially reported to have a contusion at the point of impact.
He had to be helped off the field and spent the remainder of the first half under the medical tent, where trainers examined him repeatedly and his father checked in between series. At one point a priest prayed over the quarterback and holy water was applied to the knee — an image that traveled quickly on a nationally televised broadcast.
Rivers was seen bending the knee freely while seated, but he could not bear weight on it in a satisfactory way when he tried to stand. At halftime he walked into the locker room with his team. He came back out without shoulder pads or jersey, a brace on the right knee, moving gingerly along the Cardinals’ sideline and staying clear of any play that spilled out of bounds.
What was lost
In his brief appearance, Rivers was 3 of 4 for 84 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown throw on a screen to junior Nygel Mitchell — the 112th touchdown pass of his career. He entered the season sixth on the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s all-time passing list with 10,200 yards, after throwing for more than 3,100 yards and 46 touchdowns as a junior.
Junior Marshall Pitre replaced him and finished 11 of 15 for 108 yards with a touchdown and an interception, a performance his head coach went out of his way to praise given the circumstances.
“I thought Marshall did a heck of a job,” Philip Rivers said. “He gets zero reps with the ones, which is what happens when you are backup quarterback. You run the scout team. I thought he did a heck of a job getting thrown in there against this team.”
A bye week arrives at the right moment
The schedule offers St. Michael something no coach can manufacture: time. The Cardinals are off next week and do not play again until Friday, Sept. 4, when they host UMS-Wright in the Private Class Double-A Region 1 opener for both teams. That gives Rivers nearly two full weeks of recovery before a game that actually counts in the region standings.
“He’s going to do everything he can to play,” his father said.
A different kind of season, either way
The elder Rivers had spoken during the preseason about wanting to use his son as a runner more often this fall. At 6-foot-4 and roughly 230 pounds — up about 20 pounds from where he finished his junior year — Gunner had the frame for it. Saturday complicated that plan on the first attempt.
“I was really looking forward to him running it more this year because he’s 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, and he can run,” Rivers said. “But if he is limited to where he is stuck in the pocket, he’s not a bad one to have stuck in the pocket. We’ll be OK.”
For a program coming off a 13-1 season, its first region championship and a state semifinal appearance, the calculus for the fall now runs through a knee. St. Michael’s region slate — UMS-Wright, McGill-Toolen and St. Paul’s in consecutive weeks — begins the moment the bye ends.