If you attended Campbell’s spring football game in April, you likely noticed redshirt senior Sincere Brown. The 6-5 wide receiver from Charleston, S.C., created some of the afternoon’s biggest plays — two touchdown catches — and provided some of the best photos as he celebrated with teammates.
“He is just dynamic with the ball in his hands,” Campbell coach Braxton Harris said after the contest.
Brown made a splash in Campbell’s season opener Saturday night at Liberty. He caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from Chad Mascoe Jr. that gave the Camels a 10-7 lead in the second quarter against the heavily favored Flames. Brown ended up with five receptions for 126 yards, including a 74-yard play.
He joined the Camels roster last season but only saw time in the season opener against William & Mary and didn’t have a touch. Brown transferred to Campbell after spending three seasons at South Florida.
Now, he’s expected to be a centerpiece of Campbell’s offense as Harris takes command of the program and tries to steer it upward in the Coastal Athletic Association.
Brown was one of five players from North Carolina to enjoy a 100-yard receiving performance in week one of the season. He joined NC State’s Kevin Concepcion (121 yards, three TDs), Duke’s Jordan Moore (112 yards), App State’s Kaedin Robinson (103 yards) and Wake Forest’s Taylor Morin (100 yards, 1 TD).
Each week during the season, NC Football News will recognize our state’s the top performing players and teams on offense, defense and special teams.
Here’s are highlights of some of the best performances from week one:
Top Individual Performances
* Seven running backs from North Carolina schools broke the 100-yard plateau this week — and we gave them their own story as a reward. Click HERE to reach that content.
* App State’s Christian Horn recorded the longest scoring play of the weekend on the Mountaineers’ second play against East Tennessee State. Horn caught a pass from Joey Aguilar over the middle and raced for an 83-yard touchdown.
Horn, a senior, has been a part of some big-time catches in his App State career. He hauled in a 53-yard Hail Mary to beat Troy in 2022 (when ESPN College GameDay was in town). He recorded an 80-yard TD against The Citadel that season and had the game-winner last season against Southern Miss.
Two plays. Seven points.
Look at that protection up front! Joey Aguilar and Christan Horn set career highs with this 83-yard scoring connection!#GoApp pic.twitter.com/eAxoAXXTnG
— App State Football (@AppState_FB) August 31, 2024
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* KC Concepcion burst on the scene for NC State last season. He already has three TD receptions to his credit, a big reason the Wolfpack survived an upset bid by Western Carolina last Thursday.
* Speaking of Aguilar, the App State signal caller was one of three this week to hit 300 yards passing. Aguilar finished with a state’s best 326 passing yards and two TDs on 22-of-37 passing. NC State’s Grayson McCall put up 318 passing yards (and those three TDs to Concepcion), while East Carolina’s Jake Garcia enjoyed a 308-yard, four-touchdown day against Norfolk State.
* Johnson C. Smith’s Quavaris Crouch ripped off a 75-yard scoring run. (We featured Crouch in our recap of 100-yard rushers).
* Our state featured three defensive touchdowns in week one — interception returns by Justin Fleming (Winston-Salem State), Gavin Gibson (East Carolina) and Kole Jones (NC Central).
* Taylor Morin from Wake Forest provided the first special teams touchdown, returning a punt 73 yards against North Carolina A&T to go with his 100-yard receiving day.
* Louisburg College got four sacks from Letraskey Pressley in its season debut, a 30-0 win over the Georgia Warhawks.
* Wake Forest’s Nick Andersen and Campbell’s Jojo Pace were our tackles leaders for the week, earning 14 each. Nine of Andersen’s were solo hits.
* We can’t forget the kickers! North Carolina’s Noah Burnette hit the longest field goal of the weekend, a 52-yarder at Minnesota. North Carolina A&T’s Andrew Brown added a 51-yarder against Wake.
Burnette made four field goals in all for the victorious Tar Heels. He led the state in kicker points with 13 total, adding a PAT.
* Campbell’s Jack Brady booted the longest punt of the weekend, covering 66 yards at Liberty. He hit three inside the 20. Charlotte’s Michael O’Shaughnessy (62 yards) and Elon’s Jeff Yurk (60) also launched rockets. Yurk had the best average of any NC punter this week, 51.9 yards on seven kicks at Duke. He was named the CAA’s Specialist of the Week.
Team Accomplishments
* Duke made plenty of defensive headlines, recording eight sacks and 16 tackles-for-loss against Elon in a 26-3 triumph. The Blue Devils held the Phoenix to 30 rushing yards (while only managing 59 themselves against a stout Elon stopping unit).
* There were no shutouts this week, but Duke (Elon), Winston-Salem State (Bluefield State), Appalachian State (East Tennessee State) and East Carolina (Norfolk State) all surrendered just a field goal to their opponents.
* Wake Forest put the most points on the scoreboard among North Carolina teams, notching 45 against NC A&T. ECU hit 42 in its win over Norfolk State.
As for out-of-state opponents, Erskine led the way in points with a 52-0 shutout of St. Andrews. Delta State scored 47 on Mars Hill, while Georgetown put up 46 against Davidson.
* East Carolina had the most prolific passing attack of the weekend, throwing for 358 yards and four touchdowns. Jake Garcia provided most of that, earning 308 yards on 23 completions, and all four TDs.
* NC State, meanwhile, produced the most total offensive yards, 521, against Western Carolina. The Pack had 203 yards on the ground and 318 through the air. Grayson McCall was 26-of-40 for 326 yards and two TDs.
ECU also was the statistical champion for the weekend in total defense. The Pirates allowed Norfolk State a mere 114 yards on 64 plays (1.8 yards per play).
