The Arizona Republic

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times. But when quarterbac­k Antonio Hinojosa looks to pass, he usually is dialed in on No. 2.

Brown has caught 50 passes for 1,178 yards and18 touchdowns. The bigger the stage, the bigger Brown plays. He jumpstarte­d Mountain Pointe’s offense in the second quarter Monday, catching a 38yard touchdown pass after Mountain Pointe had touched the ball only once (a fumble) on offense in the first quarter of the 27-9 victory over second-ranked Mesa Desert Ridge.

Brown caught 67 passes for 1,235 yards and 18 touchdowns last season when Mountain Pointe went 12-2.

With the power game going strong behind an impressive line, led by Washington-commit Natrell Curtis, and with a punishing runner in Wesley Payne and the outside speed of Paul Lucas and Brandyn Leonard, Mountain Pointe hasn’t had to make Brown the focal point of its offense.

But he is always there to make a play. He burned Hamilton twice on scoring plays in Mountain Pointe’s 37-27 regularsea­son victory.

“He is a great player and a great athlete,” coach Norris Vaughan said. “He is a lot more physical player. He’s going to be a great player no matter where he Tune in to Channel 12 at 6:30 p.m. Saturday for a special championsh­ip edition of “Friday Night Fever.” goes. And he’s a great student.”

Brown is a near-perfect student who locks away his ego in the locker room for practices and games. The spotlight doesn’t need to be on him. But he usually grabs it with his spectacula­r catches.

He got his hops from his biological father, Adrian Brown, who was an all-state basketball player at Tucson Sahuaro, before playing at Arizona State.

“It’s been fun,” Brown said. “Each year, it’s gotten better and better. I’ve gotten closer to my teammates, and I’ve been able to help the team. That’s the main thing.”

Brown was a star in the making his freshman year, when he was listed at 6-2, 160 pounds. That season, Brown had 25 catches for 282 yards and three touchdowns. He left more of his mark on defense, intercepti­ng six passes.

Brown still is a lock-down defender in the secondary, but it his offensive skill that evolved even more so since then.

He has 49 career touchdown catches, which, according to AIA365 archives, is a state record in 11-man football.

But Brown wouldn’t know it. Numbers have never crossed his mind. His mind is programmed for one thing on the football field: helping the team win.

“The mentality of the players have changed,” Brown said. “We had the athletes. Now we have the workload, and we’re ready.”

 ?? TOM TINGLE/AZCENTRAL SPORTS ?? Mountain Pointe’s Jalen Brown (front) and his teammates met the media Wednesday at Wolfley’s Neighborho­od Grill in Phoenix.
TOM TINGLE/AZCENTRAL SPORTS Mountain Pointe’s Jalen Brown (front) and his teammates met the media Wednesday at Wolfley’s Neighborho­od Grill in Phoenix.

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