Griffith runs past Highland

Updated: October 1, 2011 4:34PM

HIGHLAND — A wet track? That didn’t slow down Griffith’s Austin Brown. The junior quarterback rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone as Griffith defeated Highland 49-14.

“He’s got some nifty feet,” Griffith coach Russ Radtke said of Brown. “We should get (injured running back Troy) Yarnelle and one of our injured linemen back next week for the Andrean game. It should be a good one.”

Griffith’s first drive lasted 16 plays and over eight minutes, but went just 49 yards. The Panthers reached Highland’s 27-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. That was in marked contrast to Griffith’s next three possessions. The Panthers needed just two plays on each of their next three drives to bust open a 21-0 lead.

Brown kicked things off, first squeezing up the middle for 29 yards and then speeding around right end for 33 yards and the touchdown.

A couple of minutes later, Griffith running back Brett Brinkley duplicated Brown’s effort with successive runs of 34 and 38 yards, the second for the score. Brown finished the trifecta with a 34 yard run for a score.

“They run a very nice option,” said Highland coach Ken Bye. “Their quarterback is outstanding at what he does and he tore us apart.”

Brown was not entirely flawless, though. His third quarter fumble gave Highland (1-6, 0-4) the ball deep in Griffith territory. Justin Thiele scored on a two-yard touchdown run to cut the Panther lead to 28-14 with 3:58 left in the quarter. But that was as close as the Trojans could get.

Brown finished the game with 242 yards rushing and four touchdowns for Griffith (5-2, 4-1). Brinkley added 179 yards on the ground and the Panthers racked up 541 rushing yards as a team.

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