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By: Chris Evans
Quickly name the last Shawnee starting quarterback, who did not have the last name of Brown, or Whitson.
Yeah, not many can. You would have to date back to 1999 for the answer as a Brown, or Whitson have been under center for the past nine seasons.
The coaches son legacy will continue for a few more years thanks to the quality play that current sophomore, signal caller Brayle Brown has performed. Brayle replaces his brother Tucker, who was a stand-out for the Wolves. Tucker and Brayle's father, Billy Brown, is the current head coach for the Shawnee program.
Tucker Brown replaced Carter Whitson at the QB spot, who replaced his older brother Tanner Whitson. Both the Whitson brothers played for their dad as the head coach, in Brent Whitson. Carter Whitson is currently the holder for the University of Oklahoma.
Brayle Brown, who stands taller then his brother at 6'2", has led the Wolves to a 6-1 start, including a 42-14 win over Ardmore last week. Brown was 11 of 14 passing for 113-yards and rushed for 72 more yards as the Wolves pulled away from the Tigers.
According to dad and coach there are some similarities between Tucker and Brayle, but Billy Brown has said that Tucker would beat you with his feet and that Brayle is more of a passer.
Tucker as a sophomore (second full season) defeated Guthrie, 35-7, for the district championship in Shawnee. Could Brayle take the Jays down in his sophomore campaign?
Brown and the Wolves offense is averaging 41-points a contest and failed to score over 34-points just once this season in the loss to Carl Albert, (27-14) back in Week 6. In that game, the Titans took advantage of two late turnovers to secure the win as the game was closer then what the score indicated.
Of course, the success of the younger Brown is a pleasant surprise, but it is not a surprise of how senior Brett Davis has played. Davis, who has verbally committed to play at Tulsa University, is the glue to the team on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Davis, a primary target for Brown, had 6-catches a week ago for 68-yards.
Guthrie head coach Rafe Watkins continues to put Davis and former Carl Albert stand-out Joe Stoner as some of his favorite athlete's not only to watch, but the way they play the game.
"He (Davis) might be the best high school football player that we play against this year. The guy does it all, he's just a warrior," Watkins said.
Watkins also gave credit to the new offensive line that will bring four juniors to the trenches.
"Their offensive line is better then it was last year and they have one of the best tight ends with Josh Lennox. He is over looked a lot of the time. Why? I don't know," Watkins said.
Watkins also added that Shawnee will present a lot of different formations, but that defensive coordinator Kelly Beeby and the Jays defensive staff have done a great job this week in preparing for what they may see Friday night.
Defensively, Shawnee is just allowing 10-points a game and have allowed just three opponents to score in double digits, but those have come in the last three games as well. Carl Albert piled up 27-points, Durant added 17, and Ardmore stacked on 14-points.
The Guthrie-Shawnee winner is highly like to host the first round of the play-offs and the loser will have to go on the road. Both teams enter with 6-1 records with both losses coming to Carl Albert. It can very well be argued that the loser of the game could have an easier path in the play-offs.
The Jays have won four of the last five meetings and collected two wins last season with a 42-10 win at Shawnee and a 61-38 win in the second round play-off game, in Guthrie. Guthrie has won three of the last five meetings that were played in Guthrie.
Guthrie will conduct Senior Night despite playing next week at Jelsma Stadium and say thank you to 19 senior's.
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