One night after his mother died of cancer, New Jersey high school quarterback Alex Brown had a performance on the gridiron that he'll never forget. On Friday night, the Red Bank Catholic QB recorded six touchdowns in the air and two on the ground to help lead his team to a 58-34 win over Morris Catholic in the quarterfinals of the NJSIAA Non-Public B playoffs.
Those eight touchdowns are the new single-game record for Red Bank Catholic, according to Shore Sports Network. Brown finished the game with 238 yards passing and 76 rushing yards. He took to Twitter afterwards to commemorate the game and the life of his mother.
"Yesterday I lost my amazing mother. Today I scored 8 touchdowns, thank you for watching over me mama," Brown wrote.
Not only did No. 8 have an eight touchdown night, but he also got the attention of one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks ever. Tom Brady commented on an Instagram post about Brown, writing "proud of you."
Following the win, Brown spoke on Wednesday to his teammates at practice about the experience. Here's what he said, via Shore Sports Network.
"For 15 years my mom was a fighter and for 15 years she made me stronger. Having her battle in front of me and in front of my family, it made me who I am. It made me do what I do on the field, not only Friday night but throughout my whole career. Especially that night, given the circumstances and having my family around me, it lit the spark in me. She was watching over me. You could tell she was with us on that field."
Brown's coach Michael Lange told CBS New York that the senior showed "perseverance" and noted that it's "something I'll never see again in my coaching days."
With the win, Red Bank Catholic advances to round two of the playoff and will play Friday St. Joseph Academy at home in the NJSIAA Non-Public B semifinals. Brown has already committed to play college football for Bucknell.
