What can Brown do for you?
Barion Brown can deliver the most clutch plays during the biggest matchup of the season.
The Pearl-Cohn senior four-star wide receiver did everything for the Firebirds in his season debut – a 26-21 win at MBA on Friday night.
He took direct snaps out of the wildcat, was used in jet sweeps and ran from the traditional tailback position. It was his first game back after serving a TSSAA-mandated suspension last week for being ejected during a playoff loss at Milan in 2020.
“He’s a great athlete, he can do a lot of things,” Pearl-Cohn coach Tony Burnetti said. “We just give it to him, and he gives us his all every time.”
Brown finished with 14 carries for 217 yards and two touchdowns (29 and 93 yards) that bookended the game.
The Big Red (1-1) showed promise early, as senior running back Rhett Hayles broke away from the Pearl-Cohn defense and got loose on the sideline for a 45-yard touchdown on the first possession. However, it called back due to a holding penalty and MBA was forced to punt.
After high-scoring season openers for the Firebirds (2-0) and the Big Red, this game was all but that.
Brown’s 29-yard touchdown capped a 9-play, 61-yard Pearl-Cohn drive. The visitors failed their two-point attempt but still led 6-0 early in the first quarter.
Neither team found much footing in the first half. MBA scored via an 8-yard run from junior Johnothan Moore, and Pearl Cohn benefitted from a crazy touchdown run from sophomore quarterback Keshawn Tarleton.
Pearl-Cohn held a 12-7 advantage at halftime.
But the Big Red came out of the break on a mission. The defense forced two three-and-outs and the offense was able to convert those stops into two touchdowns. That gave MBA a 21-12 lead with just under four minutes left in the third quarter.
“Coach never wants to get our heads out of the game, and I just tried to keep my team up,” Brown said. “’Watch this, watch that, stay in the game and make tackles.’”
Then, Brown did it again, and again and again. He broke off runs of 93, 36, 29 and 26 yards when the Firebirds needed him the most.
“I’m just doing what a leader does,” Brown said.
The play that arguably changed the game was a screen pass to Malachi Cromwell. The sophomore had struggled with only 47 yards on 14 carries. The screen came on a key third down late in the third quarter, with the Firebirds down 21-12.
Cromwell took it 52 yards to set up a 12-yard touchdown by senior running back Jayden Robinson two plays later. That cut MBA’s lead to 21-19 heading into the fourth.
After a fumble by Hayles, the Firebirds took over at their own six.
“We bend but we don’t want to break, and I thought they came through at the right time,” Brunetti said. “That was a big stop for us.”
The final minutes belonged to Brown. Three plays after MBA’s fumble, he broke off his 93-yard for the go-ahead touchdown.
“I called for it man, with the game on the line, deep in our territory, I’m gonna make a play,” Brown said. “Whether it’s a deep ball, or from the running back position, that’s what I’m doing, I’m gonna make plays.”
On the final drive of the game, Brown had two of his biggest runs (36 and 26 yards) and then a 14-yard dash on third-and-11 to ice the game.
Pearl Cohn 26, MBA 21
PC 6 6 7 7 – 26
MBA 7 0 14 0 – 21
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
PC – Brown 29 run (6-0)
Second Quarter
MBA – Moore 8 run (7-6)
PC – Tarleton 4 run (12-7)
Third Quarter
MBA – Zoller 10 catch from Reed (14-12)
MBA – Hayles 4 run (21-12)
PC – Robinson 12 run (21-19)
Fourth Quarter
PC – Brown 93 run (26-21)
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