New Hope head coach Allen Glenn uses words “leader” and “mature” to describe his speedy sophomore quarterback Tyrekus Brooks – but after last Friday, if you’d ask Houston’s football program how it would characterize him, you’d likely hear words similar to “fast” and “nigh uncatchable.”
The Trojans’ man under center put on a rushing clinic in Week 4 of the football season against Houston as he scored from just about everywhere on the field with his legs to help his team score the most points in a game in program history with a 63-18 victory. When the dust settled, Brooks had totaled 223 rushing yards and five touchdowns on just 13 carries in a performance that left Hilltoppers’ defensive players scratching their heads and Brooks with The Dispatch’s Player of the Week honor.
He took off running from long distance to score two of New Hope’s three touchdowns in the first quarter, the first of which was from 34 yards out and the second from 76 yards as he scurried up the right sideline, and added a 50-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to pull New Hope ahead for a 33-10 cushion. His other two scores came from shorter yardage in redzone packages designed by Allen and the offensive staff.
“I respect Houston a lot in the job that they do, but they were just giving us some things in our run game that allowed our quarterback to run stuff that we have within our system that we were able to take advantage of,” Allen said. “Friday night was kind of a night that the quarterback was kind of the guy.”
It was another breakout game for Brooks since taking over the starting spot in the middle of last season. Even though he’s still pretty young, he boasts tons of experience from last season’s 8-3 finish, something Allen said is invaluable to his team.
“Being able to play in big-time football games just gave him a ton of experience moving forward,” Allen said. “He’s still just a sophomore, but he’s a really good football player. His stats are probably more so from the rushing side than the passing side, but he’s a dynamic passer of the football, too. He’s a legitimate dual-threat guy; he’s one that’s a leader for our football team, so we’re excited about Tyrekus.
“He’s just a mature kid for his age. He’s still a young kid, but you can tell as a young guy last year that he had leadership qualities and was very mature. I think he’s a guy that when he speaks, our team listens. They know he is one of the leaders on our football team, it just so happens that he is a sophomore doing it.”
Honorable mentions
Fellow Trojan and New Hope running back Jacob Jefferson finished the game with 125 yards on 19 carries for a touchdown. West Point’s MJ Hall posted seven tackles, one for loss, forced one fumble and hauled in an interception during the Green Wave’s 28-21 win over Tupelo, and running back Mike Williams had 16 carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns. Oak Hill fullback Simon Reynolds charted two scores, one catch and one run, during the Raiders’ 44-14 win over Carroll Academy. Starkville defensive lineman Christopher West had seven tackles, two solo and three for loss, two sacks and forced a fumble that led to a safety during the Yellow Jackets’ 22-14 win over Brandon.
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