Heel Tough Blog: 2018 Scouting Reports- Khafre Brown

Friday night, I was back pulling double duty as the West Mecklenburg Hawks met the Independence Patriots in their first home game in three weeks since the season opener against Vance. While I was in the booth fulfilling my duties as a play-by-play analyst for Network1Sports and the Carolina School of Broadcasting, I was still able to keep an eye on 2019 WR Khafre Brown, one of the Heels top targets remaining in the 2019 class. In a blowout 62–12 win for West Meck, let’s see just how Brown performed.
Brown didn’t have the best start to his night, as he dropped the first pass of the game on a screen play that should have been caught. From that point on, though, Brown was locked in. Brown would haul in a 38 yard pass from quarterback Preston Brown to set up one of the Hawks four first quarter scoring drives, beating the corner and safety over the top on a deep post route to the middle of the field. In the second quarter, on Brown’s only other target of the first half, he would haul in one of Preston Brown’s two deep throws that went for touchdowns when he simply out ran both the corner and safety and was able to catch a 63 yard pass in stride for the Hawks fifth touchdown of the first half.
The second half was much of the same for Brown. He would catch two passes including a 45 yard touchdown pass that was in similar fashion to his first touchdown of the night. Brown simply out ran the corner and safety once again and strolled into the endzone without an issue. Brown’s most impressive catch of the night, though, came on a pass that was actually ruled by incomplete. Brown ran a five yard out towards the right sideline and quarterback Preston Brown would fire the pass a bit high and behind his senior receiver, but Brown did not give up on the play. Instead, Brown reached back with his right hand and, behind his head, made a one hand stab as he was looking at the sideline to try to keep himself in bounds. Although he was unable to drag a foot in bounds, this catch showcased Brown’s ability to catch just about anything and will definitely stick in my mind for a while. Brown would finish the night with four catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns in the blowout win for West Meck.
Friday night showed that Brown, similar to brother Dyami, a current Tar Heel wide receiver, is a complete receiver. Brown can be that guy that gets open using his route running and rack up catches, as he was in the Hawks season opener against Vance. He can also be that guy that get open over the top using his quick acceleration and straight line speed, as he did tonight. Brown has the ability to make defenders miss in the open field, which allows him create the ever important yards after catch. Brown can also step into the backfield and take handoffs if needed, which makes him such a flexible offensive weapon.
Brown was not the player of the game on Friday night, however. Quarterback Preston Brown looked fantastic, as well, throwing for 345 yards and four touchdowns, but he wasn’t the player of the game either. Neither was running back J’Mari Taylor who scored three total times on the night. The player of the game honors had to go to cornerback Keonte Cherry, who finished the game with a state-record tying four interceptions on the night, returning two of which he housed for a touchdown. What an amazing performance from the junior cornerback. Linebacker Joshua Hudson was all over the field once again on Friday night, racking up double digit tackles and even intercepting his second pass of the season.
For Independence, running back AmarRay Green was fantastic running the football in the limited carries he saw. Trevor Bryan had a solid night out of the slot for Independence, but the struggles from quarterback Luke McPhail kept the performance from being even better. Outside of those two bright spots for the Patriots, it was hard for anyone else to really stand out.
Next Week: 2021 ATH Will Shipley

