1st Place, Sports Picture Story - Ben Pennington / Ohio University, “Like Champions”Kevin Bradley, Whittier Regional Vocational Technical high school's head football coach raises a fist and cheers with his players in the school's home locker room before leading them to a victory against the Lowell Catholic Crusaders on Sept. 18, 2025 in Haverhill, MA. Kevin Bradley has never been a quitter. The 64-year-old believes that when you quit once, that habit sticks with you for your entire life. As the longtime athletic director, football coach, and girls’ basketball coach at Whittier Regional Vocational in Haverhill, he’s pushed athletes to their breaking point, but ensured they never break. This season meant more to Whittier football coach Kevin Bradley than any win he’s ever secured. As he battled tongue cancer, Bradley received an outpouring of support from the team, school, and community.
1st Place, Sports Picture Story - Ben Pennington / Ohio University, “Like Champions”Kevin Bradley gave a pep talk to his players during a scrimmage against Pentucket Regional in West Newbury on Aug. 29, 2025. He coached while undergoing a mix of chemotherapy and radiation. He travelled to Massachusetts General Hospital five days per week for a mix of chemotherapy and radiation, including a grueling eight hour treatment on Wednesdays that forced him to miss practice.
1st Place, Sports Picture Story - Ben Pennington / Ohio University, “Like Champions”Whittier players recited the Lord’s Prayer before the start of the State Vocational Large Super Bowl against Diman on Dec. 3, 2025 in Medford. Bradley expected this year would be like any other, but one day in late May, he experienced an unusual sensation in his tongue and had significant trouble eating and talking. He visited an ear, nose, and throat doctor, and eventually had a tooth removed, but the discomfort persisted.
1st Place, Sports Picture Story - Ben Pennington / Ohio University, “Like Champions”Kevin Bradley and his wife, Ellen, waited to be called in for one of Kevin’s chemotherapy appointments at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center on Sept. 3, 2025, in Boston. In mid-July, Bradley couldn’t talk at all, at which point close friend Dr. Dan Lyons advised him to go to the emergency room right away. Eight hours later, Bradley learned he had cancer. “It was like someone punched me right in the stomach,” Bradley said. “That was the biggest blow I ever had.”
1st Place, Sports Picture Story - Ben Pennington / Ohio University, “Like Champions”A nurse prepared Kevin Bradley’s IV during his chemotherapy appointment at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center on Sept. 3, 2025. After his initial diagnosis, Bradley and his wife, Ellen, wept in the emergency room. It felt like his life flashed before his eyes, as he thought about his family, his new grandson, the school, and the team.
1st Place, Sports Picture Story - Ben Pennington / Ohio University, “Like Champions”Kevin Bradley was greeted by current and former players Evan Losse and Jyzaiah Ferreira (left and right, white shirts) after a 44-28 victory during Whittier’s first home game of the season on Sept. 11, 2025. Bradley rang the bell in mid-October following his final treatment, but will not know if his cancer is in remission until Jan. 30, when he returns to Massachusetts General Hospital for tests. Recently, he started eating “real food” after months of using a feeding tube, he said.
1st Place, Sports Picture Story - Ben Pennington / Ohio University, “Like Champions”Kevin Bradley sat in the school's cafeteria during a pregame meal with his team Sept. 18, 2025. Tongue cancer is relatively common, and generally treatable through chemotherapy and radiation, so Bradley chose to stay positive.
1st Place, Sports Picture Story - Ben Pennington / Ohio University, “Like Champions”oWhittier football players (from left) Taylor Henderson, Miguel Robles, Ricky DiChicco, and Alejandro Domoracki, shared their excitement as they gathered to listen to their coaches following a 36-12 victory over Lowell Catholic on Sept. 18, 2025. “Coach Bradley isn’t quitting, so we can’t either,” said senior captain DiChicco. “If he can show up for us after getting treatment in Boston, we have no excuse not to give 100 percent every time we step on that field. And it’s more than just football. These are lessons every player is going to carry for the rest of their life.”
1st Place, Sports Picture Story - Ben Pennington / Ohio University, “Like Champions” “I didn’t know if I would make it … I was fighting for my life,” Kevin Bradley said to his team during an emotional pregame pep talk before the Massachusetts Vocational Large School Super Bowl on Dec. 3. Bradley steered the Wildcats to the State Vocational Large championship game for the second consecutive season.
1st Place, Sports Picture Story - Ben Pennington / Ohio University, “Like Champions”Whittier's Ricky DiChicco (center) rushed during the fourth quarter of the Massachusetts Vocational Large School Super Bowl on Dec. 3, 2025, at Medford High School’s Hormel Stadium. “This has been a great season,” Bradley said, proud of his team for having made it to the championship.
1st Place, Sports Picture Story - Ben Pennington / Ohio University, “Like Champions”Miguel Robles (left) and Kasey Cook listened to Kevin Bradley as he addressed the team following a loss to Diman in the Vocational Large School Super Bowl.“They carried me when I was weak, and we fought for each other like champions,” Bradley said. He credits his resilient and courageous players for guiding him to the finish line. “This team was a brotherhood and a family. It was a Super Bowl journey that saved my life.”
1st Place, Sports Picture Story - Ben Pennington / Ohio University, “Like Champions”“God has a plan for us,” said player Ricky DiChicco as he embraced Kevin Bradley following Whittier's loss in the Vocational Large School Super Bowl.
