Las Vegas High quarterback O'Ryan Bradley is the Class 4A player of the year, awarded by the Review-Journal and Reno Gazette-Journal. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky. Las Vegas quarterback O'Ryan Bradley, left, celebrates with Zach Hocker after they hooked up for a touchdown pass against Canyon Springs in the Sunrise Regional semifinals on Nov. 17. One of Bradley's assets was spreading the ball to the Wildcats' many talented receivers. Photo by Sara Tramiel.

Las Vegas High's O'Ryan Bradley came into his senior season having started at quarterback in two state championship games.

But the left-handed passer had never been the focus of the Wildcats' offense, because the team had relied heavily on a pair of 2,000-yard rushers -- first Eric Jordan and then Jamal Lomax -- in his two seasons under center.

All that changed this year.

With no experienced running backs on the roster, Bradley became the man this fall and he responded with an exceptional season. He completed 58.8 percent of his passes for 2,758 yards and 29 touchdowns to drive the Wildcats to their second consecutive Class 4A state championship. He was intercepted just five times all season.

For his efforts, Bradley was chosen the Class 4A Player of the Year by the Review-Journal and Reno Gazette-Journal.

"We knew he was our best guy on our team with his hands on the ball," Las Vegas coach Chris Faircloth said. "He was better than any running back we had and better than any receiver we had."

Also, nobody on the Las Vegas roster was faster than Bradley, who used that speed to lead the team in rushing for most of the season. He finished second on the squad with 653 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.

"We had no idea how the running back situation was going to pan out," Faircloth said. "We knew coming out of fall camp he was our best runner. We didn't want to lose games on purpose just trying to find out who could run the ball and who couldn't."

As the season wore on and the running backs improved, Bradley relied less on his legs and more on his receivers and his strong left arm.

Bradley clearly was comfortable running the team's spread offense, which was installed before the 2005 season. By season's end, Bradley began to slightly resemble Peyton Manning before the snap as he barked out audibles and changed plays.

"He had a grasp of the offense, and it was actually a very complicated offense," Faircloth said. "The last half of the season, the kid basically called the offense on the field.

"Our offensive coach would send in a set of plays and (Bradley) could pick and choose what he wanted to go with when he saw the formation."

Bradley was nearly unstoppable during the run to the repeat state title. In four postseason games, he completed 68.4 percent of his passes for 1,015 yards and 14 touchdowns.

"He was a very, very good football player," Faircloth said. "He was the difference down the stretch. They had no answers for him."

Bradley was able to spread the ball around to numerous receivers. He completed passes to eight players in the postseason, and three receivers finished the season with 35 or more catches. Three more had at least 10 receptions.

"Most quarterbacks will pick one or two receivers and throw the ball to them all the time," Faircloth said. "He just had a feel for the game as far as what was going to open up. As long as people couldn't focus on one or two people, they were going to have a hard time stopping us. I doubt very much if anybody spread the ball around as well as we did."

That ability to feel what was going to open up didn't come by accident. Bradley spent hours studying opponents.

"He was such a student of the game," Faircloth said. "He used to watch film and film and film and film. He was so engrossed in learning what the other team did and recognizing what they were doing."

In addition to his physical skills, Bradley's attitude also was key to the team's success.

"I think he was a natural leader, and I think that kind of spread the confidence through our offense," Faircloth said.

"I don't know a person that does not like him. There's not too many other kids on our team that you can say that about."