Bratton does well north of the border

Former Lakeside High School standout Brian Bratton is making a bit of a splash in the Canadian Football League.

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Bratton plays for the Montreal Alouettes, who stand at 3-3 this season. He was named the CFL Special Teams Player of the Week after his July 26 performance against the Toronto Argonauts.

With the Alouettes holding a 19-13 lead, Bratton gave his team plenty of breathing room with an electrifying 79-yard punt return for the game-clinching 26-13 score.

Bratton's run was featured on ESPN's Plays of the Day on Sportcenter. He finished the game with eight returns for 170 yards.

Bratton spent 2006 in NFL Europe after being allocated to the Cologne Centurions by the Baltimore Ravens. Bratton caught 28 passes for 280 yards and two scores for the Centurions. His stint in Baltimore's camp was his second in the NFL. He also spent time with the Atlanta Falcons in 2005 after a record-breaking career at Furman University.

He was a national All-American as a freshman at Furman in 2001, when he led the nation in kickoff returns with a 37.2 yard average per return and three returns for scores. He would also go on to finish second in school history with 131 receptions. He also racked up 1,825 yards receiving and 18 touchdowns.

In all of his travels through football, Bratton has never played in front of the large crowds he is this year. The crowd came in the July 26 game against Toronto, which had a paid attendance of more than 31,000. For the season Bratton has 15 catches for 144 yards through 6 games, including a six-catch, 54-yard game July 19.

Bratton might get another NFL shot; however, if he does not, it seems he will have no problem carving out a career playing professional football somewhere.