The match-up between Wichita East and Wichita Heights was hyped as the battle to decide the City League Championship and coming off of an upset loss to Kapaun Mount Carmel the East squad was determined to take care of business.
Bigtime players play their best in big games and it did not take long for Wichita East stars Arthur Brown and Bryce Brown to show that they were the players that everyone in the stadium should be watching on every snap. The brother’s play at critical moments in the game is what eventually helped seal a 34-21 victory for East.
From the first snap of the game it was apparent that East High head coach Brian Byers was going to hinge the team’s offensive success on the shoulders of his star running back Bryce Brown. On the first series of the game Bryce capped off an 80-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown scamper and the East coaching staff just kept calling his number.
Heights quickly battled back to tie the game 7-7 on a long touchdown pass on the second play of their first offensive possession, but they just could not stop Bryce Brown, who eventually scored on the next East possession on a 28 yard run (His brother Arthur provided a key block on the run from his fullback position).
Like the “Energizer Bunny” Bryce just kept going as he added another touchdown in the first half and he would be barreling over and running around defenders for the rest of the night to the tune of 275 rushing yards.
“We executed and we did a good job,” Bryce said of the win. “Coach has been preaching all week that if we execute nobody can beat us and we proved that tonight.”
Arthur Brown
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Because of the way that East controlled the clock in the first quarter it took Arthur Brown, who is rated as the top player in the country by Scout.com, a little longer to make his presence felt.
Early in the second quarter Arthur blitzed off the edge, and while making a play on the complete opposite side of the field on a quarterback bootleg, the ball was knocked loose and he was right there to scoop up the fumble and race 50 yards to pay-dirt.
On the play Brown was shaken up and missed the rest of the first half with what was described as dizziness, but his night was not quite over.
Brown returned to the game in the third quarter, but Heights still managed to score two quick touchdowns to cut the East lead to 27-21. On one play it appeared that Brown’s ankle was twisted up in the pile and it was an apparently painful injury, but he would not be kept out of a game that ended up getting very interesting very fast…
Down by six Heights once again moved the ball inside the East five-yard line, and Brown showed his grit by hobbling back out on the field. Brown's pain only lasted until the whistle blew as his presence and skills helped to turn back the Heights offense at the one yard line.
After the stop East pounded out a long 99-yard touchdown drive that was helped along by a first down run by Bryce Brown on fourth and inches from the Heights 10-yard line.
Heights would have another crack at the end zone with enough time on the clock to make a run, but an absolutely crushing blow by Arthur Brown on a run up the middle on second and goal seemed to zap all of the energy out of the Heights offense.
In the end it was just too much of the Brown brothers for Heights to keep up with…