After the St. Joe Fighting Irish convincingly defeated the Indianola Academy Colonels 46-13, it gave St. Joe starting junior right guard Landon Brown a 2-0 record against his hometown team. The 6-foot-2, 250-pound interior lineman’s family still lives in Indianola, but Brown has been in the St. Joe system since kindergarten, following in the footsteps of his older sister, Yasmine. Brown’s father, Dr. Adrian Brown, said, “When time came for him to go to high school, I asked him if he wanted to go to Gentry or Indianola Academy. I went to Gentry and I wanted to let it be his choice where he wanted to go to high school.”
After having this critical conversation, the younger Brown responded, “I’ve been in the system over here so long and I enjoy being here, so I’m staying at St. Joe.” For Landon, the decision has meant that he has chosen a football culture that is used to winning at the highest levels. “I was a kid when they won the state championships but I know that playing at St. Joe means high expectations and Coach (John) Baker won’t accept nothing but the best from us.”
Like any player in any sport, Landon plays to win each time he competes. But there is something special about beating a team from your hometown two years in a row and seeing those players around town after the game. “It’s always good to win, but I know a lot of guys who play for IA,” Landon said. “It’s nothing but love and respect when I see them in Indianola.”
Dr. Brown continues to instill this sense of humility into his son. He says that much like his late father supported his exploits on the gridiron, he tries to keep the family tradition alive. “I started my ninth-grade year for Gentry and my son started his tenth-grade year because freshmen aren’t eligible to play varsity at St. Joe,” Dr. Brown explained. “I remember my father telling me after a game how proud he was of me because he said that he sees me becoming a man and that made me feel good to hear that. With my son, at some point during the game, he’s going to look around and find me in the stands and I’m going to give him a hand gesture to keep going and keep playing hard.”
During football season, the father and son watch a lot of college and pro games on Saturdays and Sundays and really talk about the nuances of the game. The younger Brown is working toward his driver’s permit and that, along with regular Sunday church service at Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church, account for quality father and son time. The two also do maintenance work on rental properties and are always up for a family trip on the weekend.
Landon said that he would love to attend Mississippi State where former St. Joe running back Dillon Johnson currently attends. He looks forward to history class at St. Joe and would like to study business once he graduates. But right now, the season is the business. “We fell short last year,” Landon said. “But I think that we have the talent to win the state championship.”
