Brand leads the Wolverines to win, a playoff appearance

MABEN – On senior night with the playoffs on the line, quarterback Charlie Brand was going to do whatever it took.

So when Keevon Patterson went down with a serious injury in the first quarter, Brand took over his spot on punt returns and at safety defensively. He made tackles, returned punts, threw and rushed for touchdowns as the East Webster Wolverines grabbed the final playoff spot in Class 2A, Region 2 with a 36-32 win over Leflore County on Thursday.

“We had a guy get hurt, but it was next man up and I was the next man up on the depth chart,” Brand said. “I was definitely nervous about doing new things, especially punt return. I had to go out there and play as hard as I could.”

The Wolverines (6-4, 1-3) started things off well driving the football down to the red zone on the opening possession before stalling. Luckily, they had the leg of Parker Burleson, who nailed a 37-yard field goal for the 3-0 lead.

Adversity set in for East Webster on the next possession when Brand's fourth down pass to Patterson was dropped and the junior wide receiver went to the ground in pain. An ambulance was brought to the field to take Patterson to the hospital as a serious leg injury appeared possible.

The Wolverines got a pep in their step with Patterson in mind and Brand returned the ensuing punt back 30 yards into Leflore County territory. Two plays later, Keevon's brother Issac hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass making it 10-0 late in the first quarter.

“I felt bad for Keevon Patterson getting injured,” Brand said. “He's big for our team. (Punt return) was his position so I had to do it just as good as he could. I got a good block and they made it wide open for me and then Issac made a great catch on the next play.”

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