Video: Journey Brown rushes for 722 yards, 10 touchdowns in 107-90 victory

Video: Journey Brown rushes for 722 yards, 10 touchdowns
Meadville standout was a star among stars in a 107-90 victory.

Ray Collins said he was trying to enjoy the highest scoring high school football game in 88 years on Friday night, but "I was doing everything in my power to help us win the game."

The second-year Meadville (Pa.) coach eventually let "Touchdown" Journey Brown do most of the power lifting, running and sprinting.

Brown, a fleet 5-foot-11, 180-pound junior back, rushed for the second-most yards in the history of high school football with 722 yards and 10 touchdowns on 30 carries.

His 93-yard touchdown sprint midway through the fourth quarter basically sealed one of the most remarkable high school football games imaginable: Meadville 107, DuBois (Pa.) 90.

Brown, who was suffering from asthma and leg cramps, actually got in one more carry in to push his team past the century mark, another 66-yard scamper. His other TD runs were 47, 18, 65, 25, 58, 1, 49 and 76 yards.

It helped offset the national record passing performance of DuBois sophomore Matt Miller, who passed for 787 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first varsity start.

"That game went a little crazy," Collins said Monday morning from his Pennsylvania State Police office. The Crime Section Supervisor is a 1985 DuBois graduate, making the victory even a little sweeter. And crazier.

"I guess it's a big deal. We'll definitely enjoy our five minutes of fame."

Collins, who owns an easy million-dollar laugh, said that his phone and e-mail have basically blown up since the finish of the 3 1/2-hour scoring fest. It set a national record for total yards — 1,908 — and rushing yards by a single team, Meadville at 1,004. 

"My prediction was both offenses could produce about 35 points apiece," Collins said. "DuBois always has a high octane offense and I figured the winning team would get maybe 42 points."

Each team had that total by the middle of the second quarter.

"I knew then we had ourselves a full-blown shootout," Collins said. "We had practiced all week to slow them down and nothing was working. We couldn't stop the water from leaking."

When DuBois took a 56-51 halftime lead, and many of his backs who were thriving in the team's Wing-T attack were cramping up, Collins knew Meadville would need to lean on Brown even a little more.

Brown, who Collins described as a "genuinely nice and humble kid whom everyone wants to be around," kept giving his coach the thumbs up.

Actually, the sequence kept going like this: Brown long touchdown run, Miller long touchdown pass, Collins to the sideline.

"I'd say to (Brown), ‘Can you go again?' and he would always just smile and say, ‘I got you coach. I'll give you all I got.'"

And what a performance he gave. Brown, rushed into service last season when starter Nathan Martin went down, responded as a sophomore with 1,651 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Asked if Brown is a Division I college recruit, Collins said: "I reckon he's going to get a lot more attention the next couple weeks."

Rushing for 722 yards in a single game will do that to you. As talented as Brown is — he was a conference sprint champion in track and field last spring — Collins just kept gushing about his attitude.

"There's not an ounce of arrogance about the kid," he said. "I mean, he's extremely athletic, has great vision, a real special talent. But honestly, he just runs so darn hard for his team. They all love him. He's got a great heart."