Brown’s cheerful return keeps Academy Park undefeated

EAST WHITELAND – Academy Park junior Barry Brown is a team player. He does what the coaches ask him to do.

Late in the third quarter of the Knights’ nonleague game at Great Valley Saturday afternoon, Brown grabbed a kickoff and didn’t stop running until he he had crossed the goal line, which was located 87 yards from where his return had started.

That touchdown was Academy Park’s third of the third quarter and sealed Great Valley’s fate as the Knights earned their third consecutive victory with a 39-22 decision. The Patriots (1-2) bowed to a Del Val League team for the second week in a row. Last week’s loss was at Chester High.

Was Brown following AP head coach Jason Vosheski’s orders? Or was it those of another member of the coaching staff?

“The cheerleading coaches were the ones who had been telling me to take one to the house,” Brown said, flashing a big grin after his first scoring kick return as a varsity football player. “I had one touchdown wiped out today, but I got one on that kickoff.

“I saw the front line getting their blocks, and then I saw the second line clearing things out. When I got through the hole, I just took off.”

The game ended 21 hours after it began. The heavy rains and lightning that surrounded the stadium forced the officials and game management to send everyone home after only 10 seconds of the second quarter Friday night. Academy Park lost a fumble on its third snap after play resumed Saturday, and Great Valley turned the ball over on a fumble two plays later.

“It took us a while to wake up,” Vosheski said. “After that, we did what we are capable of doing. And because we did, we beat a very good football team.”

Knights quarterback Skylor Fillis gained 107 yards on 23 carries, scoring one touchdown, and threw for 120 yards and a pair of TDs. He also had a completion to Brown that ended up in the end zone wiped out by a penalty.

“We came back here to pick up where we left off (Friday) night,” Fillis said. “We wanted to keep the same energy we had when we got the lead before they stopped the game.

“The linemen were spot on and kept our offense moving. We’re 3-0, but we can’t just be satisfied. We have to keep getting better each time we play.”

Fillis had a pass intercepted by Great Valley’s Brendan O’Donnell (four receptions for 103 yards), who ran 42 yards to the GV 49. The Patriots needed only six plays to cover 52 yards and gain the lead 1:46 before halftime.

The Park answered with Fillis teaming up with Edward Soloku for 17 yards and Alphonso Hayes for 55 yards and six points. The Knights put together a nine-play march on their first possession of the second half, with Zion Bradley covering the final yard.

Shemar Simpson, who had just kicked the extra point, then recovered his short kickoff. AP didn’t take advantage of that break, but a second-down fumble by the Patriots was recovered by AP’s Tyree Estes. Three plays later, it was Fillis to Hayes for 16 yards and six more points.

Jake Prevost and Josh Burgess got together on a 63-yard scoring reception for Great Valley a minute later, then the Knights’ Brown waited for a kickoff and “took it to the house.”

“We kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” Great Valley head coach Dan Ellis said. “In the third quarter, they kept the ball for four or five minutes and scored, got it right back and then when we got the ball back we ran two plays and turned it over.

“If we execute, we’re a good football team. But we have to have consistency in order to be able to execute.”

Academy Park threw QB Prevost for losses six times and limited Great Valley to eight yards net rushing.

“Putting pressure on their quarterback was the biggest thing,” Knights linebacker Marcus McBurrows said. “The front line put on the pressure, and that let our linebackers go through and make plays. The whole time we were out there we couldn’t let them do what they wanted to do.”

On the other hand, Barry Brown did exactly what he was told to do. Which is one of the reasons his team can cheer a 3-0 record.