Upper St. Clair running back with Florida roots hopes to lead Panthers on WPIAL playoff run

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, November 4, 2022 | 2:57 AM

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An injured ankle had Jamaal Brown sidelined at this time last year, making him an unhappy spectator when Upper St. Clair lost in the first round of the playoffs.

The Panthers haven’t won a WPIAL playoff game since 2019, back when Brown was a freshman attending high school in Florida, but he’s hoping that drought ends this week. As a 5-foot-11, 205-pound running back with 18 Division I offers, having Brown healthy will boost their chances.

“With as much as I wanted to play, it really hurt sitting on the sideline watching the guys go out there and lose that game,” Brown said. “To actually be able to play this year — it’s my last year — and give it all I’ve got in the playoffs, is more than special to me.”

No. 5 Upper St. Clair (8-2) drew a first-round matchup Friday at No. 4 Gateway (7-3) in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. Each team lost only once in conference play, but they were paired head-to-head in a tight eight-team bracket.

The Panthers enter this contest at close to full strength, unlike when they lost to Fox Chapel in the first round last year.

“We’re healthier than we’ve been in my four years at this point in the season,” USC coach Mike Junko said. “I’m real proud that we made it to the playoffs the last four years, but we’ve been at different states of health.”

The team discussed ways to stay healthy throughout the season and put an emphasis on injury prevention.

“Part of it is luck. Part of it is preparation,” Junko said. “But you need your guys.”

232 Total yards, 5 TDs, Playoff Bound! pic.twitter.com/X8GUl3lN5p

— Jamaal “JB” Brown (@Jamaal_Brown7) October 30, 2022

Brown is coming off his best game of the season. He scored all five touchdowns in a 35-0 win over South Fayette, while rushing for 176 yards on 24 carries and adding 55 yards on four receptions.

In his view, USC’s offensive line had its best game of the year, too.

“That’s really all them,” Brown said. “That’s what we expect from one another.”

Brown has scored 13 touchdowns and has 144 carries for 1,138 yards. That’s a big increase from his junior season when had 61 carries and saw limited action in some games because of injury.

This year, he’s proven his durability.

“As you play throughout the years, you gain more experience on how you should treat your body,” Brown said. “One of my coaches in track season has really helped me with stretching. I never really took stretching as important in years past as I have throughout this football season.”

Brown also tried to eat better and eliminated his favorite snack chips from his diet.

“I used to be in love with Takis,” he said, laughing, “and I haven’t had a bag all season.”

Junko said he has seen a difference this fall in Brown, who has scored at least one touchdown in nine of 10 regular-season games. He also topped 100 yards five times.

“He realized the grind that is 5A football and he knew he needed to prepare his body for it,” Junko said, “so a lot of credit goes to him.”

New school record as far as we know! pic.twitter.com/IOMsmyscOv

— Jamaal “JB” Brown (@Jamaal_Brown7) October 23, 2022

Brown has “phenomenal vision,” Junko said, along with a good combination of “quickness, elusiveness and power,” that will let him play at the college level. Brown showed his speed on a 99-yard touchdown run Oct. 14 against Canon-McMillan.

He also plays defense, but colleges are recruiting him at running back. Brown lists offers from Albany, Army, Bryant, Fordham, Georgetown, Indiana State, Lehigh, Maine, Monmouth, Navy, New Hampshire, Richmond, Robert Morris, St. Francis, Stony Brook and Youngstown State.

“No. 1, he’s coachable,” Junko said of what college recruiters like about him. “He’s loved by his teammates and his coaches. They voted him a captain, and I think that speaks volumes to his character. On Friday nights, he sells out. He gives you everything that he has. You couldn’t ask for anything more.”

In March 2020, Brown and his family moved from Florida to Upper St. Clair. The trek north was a homecoming for his stepfather, who’d played football for coach Jim Render at USC.

Brown said he’d never seen snow until the day he arrived. At times his new classmates teased him for wearing winter clothing on 60-degree days. Now, he’s just another Western Pennsylvania kid chasing a WPIAL title.

“I got a call one day from a guidance counselor saying, ‘Hey, you’ve got a kid down here who’s enrolling and wants to play football,’” Junko said. “Boy, those are the kind of calls you want to get, because he’s a pretty special player for us.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Upper St. Clair