Academy Park quarterback Barry Brown dives into the end zone for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t enough as the Knights dropped a 43-42 decision to Cheltenham in the District 1 Class 5A championship game Friday night. (Pete Bannan/Media News Group)
By Matt Smith
The final play in Friday night’s District 1 Class 5A final was a curious call that Academy Park coach Jason Vosheski would like to have back.
Why wasn’t the ball in the hands of his outstanding senior quarterback, Barry Brown?
Brown had thrown an 18-yard scoring strike to Malik Johnson to pull the Knights within one point of top-seeded Cheltenham with mere seconds to play. Brown was unstoppable all night, both on the ground (225 yards, 25 carries) and through the air (7-for-12, 94 yards).
Brown accounted for a touchdown scamper and two-point conversion on the Knights’ previous score, which gave the visitors a brief one-point lead with 1:48 to go.
Cheltenham stormed back, leaving Academy Park with 22 seconds (but glorious field possession due to three Cheltenham penalties) to score the winner. AP took over at the Panthers’ 18-yard line. Brown needed only one play to find Johnson alone in the end zone.
