BEMIDJI 鈥� Not many quarterbacks wear No. 31 and are listed at 5 feet, 6 inches tall and 135 pounds. Then again, not all quarterbacks are Kobe Brown.
The Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 football team closed out the regular season against Waconia with a 42-14 loss last Wednesday. More importantly, it lost senior quarterback Peyton Neadeau to a season-ending injury. The captain of the Lumberjacks鈥� triple-option offense was ruled out for the season, forcing Brown, a junior, to move into the starting role in a do-or-die game against St. Cloud Tech.
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But Brown never wavered, leading the BHS offense to a 49-point showing in a miraculous first-round win over the Tigers on Tuesday night.
鈥淚鈥檓 just proud of us for getting a win,鈥� Brown said.
His simplicity is rooted in his ability to stay level when the pressure cranks up. But with only a week鈥檚 worth of first-team reps, head coach Bryan Stoffel threw him to the wolves. What followed was a performance that the Lumberjacks won鈥檛 soon forget.
Brown threw two touchdown passes before leading the Jacks down the field in just over a minute on a game-winning drive. He scrambled, threw and pitched his way to his first varsity win.
鈥淗e鈥檚 put in the work all year,鈥� senior Sam Gish said. 鈥淚 trusted him. The team trusted him. We doubled down and went all in on him, and it paid off.鈥�
Brown is the kind of football player coaches love. His do-anything attitude is coupled with a desire to win for the people around him. He鈥檚 the latest BHS junior football player to make an impact this season, and it came at a time when his team needed it the most.
Long before Tuesday鈥檚 playoff bout, Dawson Degelder and Owen Frazer were ruled out for the season, leaving holes in the Jacks鈥� offense that Waconia exposed. And without Neadeau quarterbacking the offense, Stoffel put his trust in the hands of the unproven.
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鈥淥ne thing about Kobe Brown that I鈥檝e continued to see is that he鈥檚 a gamer,鈥� Stoffel said. 鈥淗e is ready when the bright lights are on. You can鈥檛 teach that with kids. They either have it or they don鈥檛. This is a testament to a kid that鈥檚 only had a week of practice at quarterback.鈥�
Brown was tested in practice in the seven days BHS had to prepare for a rematch with St. Cloud Tech. Stoffel admitted to being skeptical about in-game situations that the Jacks didn鈥檛 have time to cover extensively before Tuesday. Lo and behold, Brown led a two-minute drill for the win, a situation he wasn鈥檛 entirely prepared to run.
鈥淚t was a lot, but I felt like I (stepped up),鈥� Brown said. 鈥淚 think that builds my confidence to do this in a game. It feels good, and I鈥檓 hoping for a lot more.鈥�
Brown will get another chance to double his win total on Saturday in Alexandria. The top-seeded Cardinals cruised to a 35-0 win over the Lumberjacks on Oct. 6. The Cardinals earned a first-round bye as one of the state鈥檚 top Class 5A teams with a flawless 8-0 record. While Bemidji will continue to rejoice in a remarkable win over St. Cloud Tech on Tuesday night, Stoffel is confident in his team鈥檚 ability to turn the page.
鈥淭he result of our previous game against Alexandria should bring us back down to earth,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t should get us focused on putting a better product on the field. I think our kids are excited about another opportunity. (Alexandria) is a fantastic football team, and they鈥檙e going to have their hands full. I thought the last time we were down there, we didn鈥檛 put our best out on the field.鈥�
For now, Stoffel will appreciate the game his players, no matter how big or small, will remember forever.
鈥淔ootball players come in all shapes and sizes,鈥� Stoffel said. 鈥淎s long as they have a little grit and a little pride in what they do, we can find roles for those kids. Specifically, our kids tonight showed the toughness 鈥� mentally and physically 鈥� that they needed to have to be successful in a playoff football game.
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鈥淚鈥檝e been doing this a long time. When you get kids to buy in, and they give you their effort, it shows you that this is worth it. When they move on outside of our four walls at the high school, they鈥檙e going to learn that if they put the time in, no matter what they want to do, they will eventually get rewarded.鈥�
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