Yahoo Movies How Rolesville QB Byrum Brown led the Rams to the 4AA title game on one leg
Byrum Brown is too young to know who Willis Reed is, but he knows Justin Fields.
When it comes to returning to a big game with an injury, Brown had his Justin Fields moment last Friday.
In the national semifinals in January, the nation watched Fields, the quarterback for Ohio State, take a shot to the ribs against Clemson. Fields, who was picked in the first round of the NFL draft by the Chicago Bears last week, sucked it up and returned to help lead the Buckeyes to a win over Clemson.
Brown, the junior quarterback for Rolesville High School, was watching. Brown said he looks up to Fields and in the first half of the 4AA eastern regional finals, it dawned on the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Brown that this was his chance to gut it out and do the same for his team — lead them to a title game.
“That’s actually what my coach was saying,” Brown told The News & Observer on Wednesday. “He said, ‘You’re having your Justin Fields moment right now.’ ”
To set the scene, Brown and the Rams (9-0) were battling rival Wake Forest for a chance to advance to the 4AA title game. In the first quarter, Brown was running and was forced out of bounds. As he planted his foot he was pushed at the same time and right away something didn’t feel right with his hip.
Brown limped to the bench to be examined by the medical staff and figured he would shake it off and go right back in.
“I thought it was going to be a quick sit down, and I would be good to go,” Brown said. “But that didn’t happen so I just gutted it out.”
After missing one offensive series, Brown led Rolesville to a 24-21 win over the Cougars in double overtime, playing a majority of the game on one leg. Brown finished that game with 154 yards passing and another 49 on the ground, including a 27-yard touchdown run.
Level 10 pain
Brown couldn’t imagine not finishing the game with his teammates. It never crossed his mind, not once.
The Rams were a game away from their first trip to the state championship. With all that went into this unusual COVID season — not knowing if they would play, playing the spring — there was no way he was going to sit this one out. Add to it the fact they were playing rivals in such a big game didn’t make as much a difference as one would think.
“I definitely think I would have played regardless,” Brown said. “It’s the playoffs, you either win or go home, and I did not want to go home. I wanted to be out here for another week with my guys.”
Brown said he’s 100 percent healthy and ready to lead the Rams into battle against Vance (9-1). The Cougars are the defending 4AA champs and will be playing in their third consecutive 4AA title game. Vance fell to Wake Forest at Wallace Wade Stadium in 2018 and defeated Cardinal Gibbons last season in Chapel Hill.
Rolesville opened in 2013 after Wake Forest-Rolesville High School split up. Since that time Wake Forest won three straight championships from 2016-18 and played in two more title games where they came up short. The Rams have played in the shadow of their county neighbors, but finally stepped out of that shadow this season, beating Wake Forest twice, including a 33-6 drubbing on March 26.
A big part of the power shift has to do with the emergence of Brown, who took over as the starting quarterback as a sophomore.
Brown, who was a finalist for the N.C. High School Heisman, passed for 1,879 yards this season and 20 touchdowns. He rushed for 602 (second on the team) and another 10 TDs. Perhaps his best overall performance this season was the first matchup with the Cougars, when he accounted for 371 yards of total offense and two touchdowns.
Facing Wake Forest once again, this time for all the marbles, Brown managed to finish strong, even when he was in intense pain.
“It was 10,” Brown responded when asked how much pain he was in. “Ten for sure.”
To get win No. 10 this year, the Rams will need Brown at his best.
He spent this week rehabbing the hip muscle, which meant a lot of ice, heat and stretching. He says he’s 100 percent, but even if that weren’t the case you get the feeling there would be nothing to stop Brown from playing Saturday. After the win over Wake Forest, Brown’s teammates came up to him and let him know how much they loved him for gutting it out.
“That just meant the world to me,” Brown said. “To be able to go out there and play for my guys and come out with a victory.”
Team win
Brown never thought for one second that the Rams didn’t have a chance if he didn’t return last week.
“It’s a team game,” he said. “The defense played a huge game, they got so many stops, special teams played a huge role, Devin (Versteegen) making the (game-winning) field goal. I was just one contributing factor.”
Another major contributing factor was junior running back Davon Dunn, who finished with 87 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Dunn is the team’s leading rusher with 759 yards.
The Rams will need to be clicking on all cylinders when they face a Vance team known for its tough defense. The Cougars have pitched three shutouts and have given up an average of just 15 points in the playoffs.
Brown, who currently holds offers from A&T, Campbell, Georgia State, Appalachian State, Furman, Miami of Ohio and FAMU, needs to be as close to 100 percent as possible for the Rams to bring home their first state title.
If it’s anything like last Friday, he’ll fight through the pain if that means there’s a chance for a celebration at the end.
“That feeling was great, just knowing we got a gutsy win, a close win in double overtime,” he said about the scene after beating Wake Forest. “I totally forgot about my leg, I was jumping and stuff, overwhelmed with joy and excitement, thankful that we were able to play this season and knowing all the hard work came to fruition.”
ROLESVILLE (9-0) vs. VANCE (9-1)
WHEN: Saturday, 5 p.m.
WHERE: Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh
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