Homewood-Flossmoor’s Brandon Brigham picked up some pretty good advice last week.
Former teammate Kamrin Cox’s father, Jay, told the senior running back to play big by using an analogy from the animal kingdom to hammer home a pretty memorable point.
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“He’s always been a fan of me,” Brigham said. “He always gives me inspiration. This is exactly what he told me — ‘Do you want to be a dog among cats or a wolf among dogs?’
“I try to be the wolf. Yes, sir.”
The 6-foot, 200-pound Brigham had Vikings fans howling with delight Saturday as he put the finishing touches on a wild 54-47 nonconference win over Marian Catholic in Flossmoor.
Brigham delivered with a strong 7-yard touchdown run for the Vikings (1-1), who overcame a seesaw game with seven lead changes, including three alone in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings trailed 47-38 and needed to score two TDs in the final 1:38 to pull off the rally. Brigham was big for H-F, finishing with 137 yards and two TDs on 21 carries.
“I prayed to God we would get the ball back one more time,” Brigham said. “I told people, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna score.’ We scored, got that stop and won the game.”
Junior quarterback Randall McDonald, who was platooning for H-F until senior Trenton Roseborough suffered a wrist injury in the second quarter, threw for 250 yards and three TDs. Two of those scores went to sophomore receiver Myles Ellis.
Marian (1-1) had a few huge performances as well. Kansas recruit Austin Alexander opened the game with a 90-yard kickoff return TD while adding a rushing TD and an interception.
Kaleb Isom did damage for the Spartans with TD receptions of 28 and 64 yards from Carter Magerski and also contributed a 50-yard interception return for a TD.
But in the end, Brigham ran nine times for 41 yards during a frenzied fourth quarter that featured two successful fourth-down conversions and a third-down conversion to go with the winning TD that he muscled into the end zone.
“On that play, I just kept moving,” Brigham said. “I want to be the wolf, but there were some big wolves in front of me. Those dudes work hard every single day.
“They are the reason we got the win.”
Brigham was referring to an offensive line for the Vikings consisting of Emanuel Zambrano, Jalen Cole, Brandon Courts, DeAndre Clemons Jr. and Kellen Gamble.
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McDonald, whose first two passes were a 57-yard TD to Ellis and a 23-yard TD to Jayden Banks, is also a fan of Brigham.
“He’s a tough guy and a very hard worker,” McDonald said. “When it’s time to get the job done, he’s the one to call. He’s a great leader, too, on and off the field.
“He’s very smart with those books, man. He knows when it’s time to get an assignment done. And he’s going to get it done, for sure.”
After the Vikings got it done with the twist-and-turn victory, H-F coach Terrell Alexander had a surprise for the team.
He found the trophy the SouthtownStar sponsored for the rivalry game between H-F and Marian. The last time these two teams played was in 2012, with the Vikings winning 35-7.
The trophy has been in an office for the coaches ever since, but Alexander broke it out for the players to see. Thanks in part to Brigham, it stays at H-F.
“He’s a tough kid,” Alexander said of Brigham. “We’re proud of him. He’s fighting through some things, and he wasn’t fighting that adversity on his own. We have a bunch of kids who are fighting together.
“He’s steady. Steady and consistent. He’s someone you can count on.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.