Brown brothers have TRC, Jackson roots

Hillsboro quarterback Preston Brown (1) is brought down by a host of Poplar Bluff Mules defenders during a high school football game last season at Mules Stadium.

DAR file photo

HILLSBORO — Brothers Preston and Payton Brown have become synonymous with excellence during their careers on the football field.

Both Browns helped the Hillsboro football Hawks reach the Class 4 state championship game last fall — and that success has continued in 2024.

Now a freshman at Southeast Missouri State, Payton Brown was named Most Valuable Player in SEMO’s nationally-televised win over North Alabama in August and had a career-high 124 yards rushing in a win at Southern Illinois last month.

Meanwhile, Preston Brown has thrown for 952 yards and ran for 591 more this season as the Hawks’ quarterback this season despite playing just six games because of a broken finger he suffered week two against St. Louis University High. The younger Brown will join Payton Brown in the collegiate ranks next season, as he has committed to play for Division I FCS power North Dakota State.

More than that, the Brown brothers have also helped Hillsboro win three games in a row against Poplar Bluff heading into the Mules’ contest Friday night at Hillsboro High School.

But what many people may not know is the Browns’ roots in Southeast Missouri go deep. Payton and Preston Brown’s mother, Mindy (Myers) Brown, is a 1997 Jackson High School graduate who played softball and basketball for the Lady Indians — then played both sports for two years at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff before finishing her college career as a member of the SEMO softball team.

Mindy Brown got to witness her sons lead the Hawks to a 56-25 win over Poplar Bluff last season at Mules Stadium.

“It’s just fun to be able to go back down to Poplar Bluff, since I haven’t been there since I left college,” Mindy Brown said, “being able to see the town and see people, maybe run into people that I’ve known down there. It’s just fun to go back and visit those places when my kids are playing in those areas.”

And with Payton Brown having a strong freshman season for SEMO, Mindy and her husband, Don Brown, have been making it to a lot of Redhawks’ football games to watch their oldest son play.

“We enjoy it because my family lives down there, so we get to go down there and visit,” Mindy Brown said. “There were 30 of us at the game (on Sept. 7), so he’s got his own cheering squad. I just enjoy that he’s out on the field and we get to watch him play some more — and more family time that way too.”

With Mindy Brown’s parents — and the brothers’ grandparents — still living in Jackson, the transition to college has been a little bit easier for Payton Brown.

“Most kids going to college may have a little bit of (an adjustment),” Payton Brown said. “It feels bad being away from home, but it’s not much of a drive back home. I’ve got family down there and I’ve always been down there growing up, so it feels like home already.”

And there’s one more benefit to Payton Brown having his grandparents living just up the road from SEMO.

“It’s nice to have them do some laundry,” Mindy Brown said.

Meanwhile, Preston Brown has had his own memorable moments on the gridiron this season despite missing time with a broken finger. He threw for 358 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Windsor on Oct. 4 and also has topped 200 yards passing on two other occasions this season. That is in addition to a 192-yard, two-TD rushing effort on opening night against MICDS and a 105-yard, three-TD rushing effort against Windsor.

Even though they no longer play on the same team, Mindy Brown has enjoyed watching her sons play together over the years.

“It’s been fun just having them be together on the same team,” Mindy Brown said. “That’s probably the best part of it is seeing them be teammates and not just brothers — handing off to each other and throwing passes to each other. It’s been a dream come true, enjoying my boys getting to play together in a sport that I love.

“I love football — never played it, but I’m obviously a competitive person, so just seeing them out there and being able to compete at the highest level is very exciting.”

Don Brown, who is also an assistant football coach for the Hawks, has also has enjoyed watching his sons get to be teammates.

“It was a joy just watching them continue to play together like they’ve been doing,” Don said. “For the most part, growing up in youth football, they were able to play together quite a bit, because Preston always played up on Payton’s teams until the sixth grade year. … (I remember against) Sikeston three years ago, that first time they got out there together (on varsity) was pretty cool — throwing passes, handing off and just watching them to do what they’ve done in the past was was a nice treat, being able to see it firsthand.”

Not surprisingly, Preston Brown enjoyed having his brother to hand the ball off to when they were teammates.

“It’s been great just being able to not have to have the ball in my hands all the time, to (be able to) give it off and get big chunk plays out of it,” Preston said. “Me and the team can rely on us if we need to get good plays out.”

Said Don Brown: “I’m speaking for Preston, probably, but it’s a nice comfort blanket knowing that you can turn around, hand off to your big brother and he’s going to carry the rock pretty good.”