Coffee senior Fred Brown has finished the regular season as one of the most prolific running backs in the state.
Brown broke both the official and unofficial single season rushing marks at Coffee High this season. His final total of 1,551 yards is seventh in the state and second in 5A. Brown broke the official school rushing record (1,287 yards, set by Louis Smith in 1997) on October 20 against the Jenkins Warriors. That night, Brown carried the ball 19 times for 167 yards.
The Coffee High athletic department always recognized Smith, and then Brown as of a few weeks ago, as the official record holder. However, there have been other backs who have rushed for more than 1,287 yards. Two come quickly to mind — Demetrius Davis in 2016 and Antwain McDuffie last year. McDuffie amassed 1,296 yards on 195 carries in 2022 — but he did so in 13 games. Davis, whom many considered unofficial rushing record holder, ran for 1,486 yards on 192 carries in 2016 — also in 13 games.
The quickest way to settle the debate was for Brown to break Davis’s mark. With two regular season games remaining after Jenkins, it was all but a given that he would do that very thing. Brown rushed for 140 yards against Greenbrier and 117 yards against Ware to put him all alone as the undisputed school rushing record holder.
For the season, Brown tallied 1,551 yards on 210 carries and 18 total touchdowns (17 rushing, one receiving), which puts him ahead of Davis by 65 yards. And, just for good measure, Brown did it in 10 games. As a result of his work on the field, he received the Offensive Player of the Year Award from WSWG CBS 44 earlier this week.
Statewide, Brown trails Quinton Slaughter (2,086 yards, Providence Christian), Mason Sullens (1,849 yards, Lumpkin), Matthew Fuller (1,837 yards, Wayne), Devin Ingram (1,811 yards, Stephenson), Jordan McCoy (1,667 yards — #1 in 5A, Tucker), and Toby Maddux (1,646 yards, Trion).
Despite averaging 21 carries per game, Brown enters the postseason healthy and poised to continue his dominance. Head coach Mike Coe and the Trojans have depended upon Brown and the stingiest defense in the state to roll through the regular season and into the playoffs. With what Trojan fans hope will be a deep playoff run, Brown will have plenty of opportunities to add to his total.
The Georgia High School Football Daily and MaxPreps contributed to this story.