Touchdown Brown
NPHS junior running back Chris Brown does it all
By Stephen Dorman sdorman@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers OFF TO THE RACES- Newbury Park's Chris Brown breaks away from the Agoura defense en route to his fifth touchdown last Friday night at AHS. The Panthers won, 35-25, to improve to 6-0.

Chris Brown is old school.

Whereas many high school athletes these days tend to focus their attention toward a single sport, Brown, a 17yearold junior at Newbury Park High, wants to try them all.

A basketball player by nature, Brown didn't start playing tackle football until his freshman season at Trabuco Hills High in Mission Viejo. As a sophomore transfer at Newbury Park the following year, Brown competed on the track and field and junior varsity football teams.

"With football, I just tested myself; I just went out there to see if I could do it," Brown said. "I've started to excel at football, and that makes me want to go out there and try these other sports to see if I can play them, too."

Later this year, once the Panthers' football season is complete, Brown said he'll likely try out for the NPHS soccer team. In the spring, he hopes to make the varsity baseball club. He's put basketball on the backburner for the time being, but it's still an option for his senior year.

All of this made Brown a popular man on the Newbury Park campus.

"The wrestling coach, the basketball coaches, the track coach is always on me trying to get me back," he said. "They'd all like me to play."

If Brown's football stats are any indication of his overall talent, the soccer and baseball programs may both be adding a special athlete.

With the Panthers (6-0, 3-0 in league) off to their best start in years, Brown has quickly developed into the Marmonte League's premier offensive weapon.

The 6foot1, 190pound ballcarrier has amassed 633 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in his last three games. Since running for 197 yards against Royal on Sept. 28, Brown has logged consecutive 218yard rushing performances against Westlake and Agoura, respectively.

Last Friday, during Agoura's homecoming, Brown scored five touchdowns as the Panthers remained undefeated with a 35-25 road win.

"They've got an outstanding running back and he took it to us," said Agoura head coach Charlie Wegher following his team's defeat.

"I'll tell you what, (Newbury Park) is a lot better than I thought. They really are. I looked at them on tape and I thought, 'You know, we can hang with them.' But he's the difference- Brown."

Brown is quick to credit the Panther blockers for any success he may have on the gridiron. Starting offensive linemen Steve Sandoval, Ashton Wood, Jack Knauer, Daniel Fesmire and Tim Ketaily have been creating running lanes all year, he said.

"Those guys are leaders for the whole team," Brown said. "Tim Ketaily is the offensive captain as well as a team captain. All those guys make the offense click just right. Without them, our offense wouldn't be anything."

Panther head coach George Hurley has been praising Brown's abilities since the team's offseason training sessions.

With Brown effectively toting the ball and senior quarterback Colby Cameron spreading his passes to various receiving options, the well-balanced offense Hurley and his coaching staff envisioned many months ago has taken shape.

"Chris is a special kid," Hurley said. "We haven't had a player that could run like him since 2000 when we had Marcus Crawford.

"He adds a whole new dimension to our offense. People have to stop (the run) now as well as our passing game. Being able to run will only make us a better passing team."

Last year, NPHS amassed 646 rushing yards in 10 games. They've already got 1,007 yards on the ground entering Week 7, 894 of which belong to Brown.

The ability to run has taken pressure off Cameron, who had 14 interceptions as a junior but has only four this season.

"Going from not having a running back to having one is unbelievable," Cameron said. "Chris can be unstoppable, so good. That helps me a lot in the passing game."

Brown, who's learning American Sign Language in school and prides himself on being a history buff, grew up watching Newbury Park football games. In the mid '90s two of Brown's cousins, Albert and Patrick Reddick, played for the Panthers. Three of his brothers, Ray, Dajuan and Rodney Hawkins, were also NPHS football players.

When he was a youngster in the NPHS stands, Brown hoped to one day make a name for himself as a Panther. These days, he's fulfilling that dream.

"Ever since I was 5 I used to go to the games to watch my big brothers play," Brown said. "Since then I fell in love with the program, and I always wanted to play for the Newbury Park Panthers. To do what we're doing now makes it all the more special."