Here are some relatively important stats from the Top-10 clash between Creighton Prep and Millard West: the Wildcats won the turnover battle 3-0, Jack Stessman and George Egan combined for 25 yards total, Nathan Pederson had 5.4 yards a carry and 2 touchdowns, and Millard West had 20 less penalty yards.  Now here’s the really important stat: the final score was 28-21, Creighton Prep.  But how?

The answer: Marty Brown.  When things were at their bleakest, with Prep down 14-0, Brown carried the ball 7 times for 47 yards, including a 4 yard carry on 4th and 1, on a 68 yard drive that took 4 minutes and 20 seconds off the clock and resulted in Prep’s first score of the day and made the halftime deficit 14-7.  

The second half was an even higher dosage of Brown for a fatigued Millard West defense.  On Prep’s first drive of the third quarter, which took 10 plays, Brown carried the ball on 8 of them, including 7 carries of more than 5 yards.  On the next drive, Brown had 2 carries for 14 yards to take the Jays into the 4th quarter.  And that was when Marty Brown officially became a legend.

After a third interception by Millard West and the Prep defense (the underrated heroes of the night, especially in the second half) forcing a third straight punt, Prep took over with under 10 minutes to go, facing a tie game and 80 yards to the end zone.  Brown made it 74 yards to go with his first carry of the drive, and then on his second carry…he completely and utterly broke the Millard West defense.  A trap by the left guard opened up a hole, and a block on the middle linebacker by the right tackle allowed Brown to get into the second level.  From there, he split the safeties and turned on the afterburners for the score.  

Millard West, though, wasn’t fully beaten yet.  Thanks to a good mix of deep passes and Pedersen runs, they knotted the game back up at 21 apiece.  And the drive for Prep was going very well-until Brown finally appeared to break down.  After a 5 yard run that put him at exactly 250 yards for the evening, he limped off the field due to cramps.  However, thanks to the Jacks of All Trades (Piernicky at QB, Stessman at RB, and Kirkwood at TE), the Junior Jays were able to move the ball down to the Millard West 37.  And then Marty Brown came back into the game.  He ran a picture perfect wheel route and the linebackers on his side were far, far too late.  Then again, even if they had been in position, they couldn’t have caught Brown if they were in Formula 1 cars.

Credit, of course, should also go to the playcalling.  On the wheel route particularly, the play was designed as a clear out for Brown, with everyone else running routes towards the other side of the field.  Brown’s final stats look like something out of a Madden MyCareer game: 28 carries, 250 yards, 2 TD, 1 catch, 37 yards, TD.  He helped lead the Junior Jays to a big win, and if this game is any indication, he could lead them to an even bigger win in Lincoln this winter.