By Linden Wilson
In the spring of 1994, Southlake Carroll's varsity baseballbrteam was well into the playoffs. Up against Reagan High School — whose studentsbrhailed from the rural West Texas town of Big Lake — the Dragons would advancebrto the state semifinals if they won this game. Down by one run with loadedbrbases, Kris Brown stepped up to the plate. Yet the athletic junior, who wasbrborn in Irving and moved to Southlake before the start of his sophomore yearbrand also excelled at basketball, track and football, struck out. While thebrteam's dreams of making it to state were dashed, the heartbreaking loss played abrpivotal role in altering Kris Brown's fate forever.
By the timebrthe Reagan baseball team defeated the Dragons in the quarterfinals that spring,brKris had already won two 3A football state championships under the leadership ofbrCarroll coach Bob Ledbetter, in 1992 and 1993 (Ledbetter led Carroll to itsbrfirst state championship in 1988). As both a starting quarterback and kicker,brKris was clearly a standout on the football field and knew he had a significantbrpassion for the sport.
“Thebrpageantry of high school football in Texas is different than anywhere else,” hebrsays. “The home games are so much fun, and there's just a different energy withbrplayoff games. Winning those two state championships was a dream come true.brThat's the pinnacle of what you're trying to achieve.”
Had thebrDragons beat Reagan nearly 20 years ago, they would have played the next roundbrof playoffs in Austin the following weekend — the same weekend the Universitybrof Nebraska held their football camp. Because they lost, Kris was able tobrattend. He demonstrated his skills to the Nebraska coaches, who werebrimmediately impressed by his talent — they offered him a scholarship. “My lifebrchanged forever because I got to go to that camp,” Kris says.
In 1995,brKris began his freshman year of college, kicking off the first of four years hebrwould start as the kicker for the Nebraska football team. That same year, hisbrdad and stepmom welcomed their first child, a boy named Drew. Kris didn't knowbrit then, but his little brother — nearly 20 years his junior — would followbra similar path.
Kris'brfootball success continued during his undergraduate career — his team won twobrnational championships, in 1995 and 1997, and Kris set a record as the all-timebrleader in points (388) and field goals (217) that wasn't broken until more thanbr10 years later. During his senior year, he connected on 14 of 21 field goalsbrand 47 of 48 PATs to finish the year with 89 points. During the 1998 HolidaybrBowl against Arizona, he provided two field goals plus two extra points, and hebrrounded out the season as a second-team All-Big 12 selection.
In 1999, Kris graduated with abrdegree in education, and it wasn't long before he achieved yet anotherbrmilestone: The most accomplished Nebraska kicker in school history was draftedbrinto the NFL in the seventh round, selected by the Steelers. His new wife, Amy,brjoined him in Pittsburgh, where he was a member of the team for three years.
Meanwhile,brback in Southlake, Drew Brown was growing up in Dragon Nation, practically the homebrof all-star athletes. Not unlike his older half-brother, he played many sports,brincluding football.
“I startedbrat age 10,” he says. “I loved the competitiveness and the friendships that Ibrmade with my teammates.”
Drew soonbrrealized an older brother who played professional football offered an advantagebrmany other kids his age weren't as lucky to have.
“It was sobrcool to have him in the NFL growing up because I was around football so much. Ibrlearned more and more about the game,” he adds. “He gave me some basics on howbrto kick and a starting point, and I excelled from there.”
In 2002,brKris left Pittsburgh for the Houston Texans, then in their first season as anbrexpansion team. In 2007, he set a record — three field goals in a single gamebrthat each distanced at least 54 yards — that other kickers have since only beenbrable to tie. Kris admits that tops his list of favorite accomplishments.
“It wasbrsuch a memorable experience,” he recalls. “That day was just one of those days.brI felt good and the ball was coming off my foot really well.”
Four yearsbrlater, Drew, a sophomore at Southlake Carroll, was carving out a name forbrhimself as a standout kicker in his own right (and, like Kris, a member of thebrbaseball team). It was then, in 2011, that the younger Brown brotherbrexperienced what he calls his best memory: winning a 5A state championshipbrafter a 36-29 victory over Hightower at Cowboys Stadium. The following year,brDrew made three field goals to beat Euless Trinity 16-7 during a quarterfinalbrplayoff game that advanced his team to the semifinals. Although Drew's seniorbrseason recently came to an end with a loss to Euless Trinity in the semifinals,brhe secured nine field goals and 89 extra points throughout the season. Thisbrpast summer, Drew made the same move Kris made so many years before — he acceptedbra full scholarship to Nebraska, the third commit for the university's 2014brclass.
“I love thebrtradition and the people of Nebraska,” says Drew, who attended multiplebrNebraska football camps throughout high school. “The atmosphere during games isbrelectric and unlike any other school in the country. I will be closer to mybrgrandmother and my brother and his family. The university is an amazing placebrto be.”
Just priorbrto his retirement from the NFL in 2012, Kris and his family — Amy plusbrtheir sons, Kolby and Burke, and daughter, Carly Bea — moved back to Omaha,brjust an hour's drive away from Lincoln, where Drew will spend his next fewbryears.
“I love thebrpace of life here,” Kris says. “The people are what really make Nebraska sobrspecial. It's an unbelievable place to raise a family, and it has everythingbryou'd need in a big city without the big city problems.”
Family isbrespecially important to Kris, who now coaches his young sons in various sports.brWhen he played for the Texans, he and Amy founded a charity called Kris Brown'sbrKick Club, which partnered with local sponsors to donate money to the TexasbrChildren's Hospital for every point he scored. Over the years, they raised nearlybr$800,000 for a cause close to Kris' heart.
“When webrwere young, my sister, April, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer,” hebrsays. “I saw the struggles a family can face when a child is diagnosed with anbrillness like that, and I got to experience firsthand those challenges. One ofbrthe things I promised myself was that at some point in life, I was hopeful thatbrI'd be able to help other families. Texas Children's Hospital didn't refusebrservice to any patient who walked through the door, regardless of their abilitybrto pay.”
KrisbrBrown's Kick Club donated the money to the hospital's Charity Care program,brwhich awarded funds to different families. It provided them with the financialbrresources to cover medical bills, so parents could stop worrying about payingbrfor their child's recovery and instead focus on future well-being.
Throughout his NFL career, Kris knewbrhe'd eventually have to transition into something else upon retiring, so hebrcompleted several internships during the offseason for his first six years inbrthe league.
“I wantedbrto figure out what I wanted to do while I was playing to make that transitionbrgo a little bit easier,” he explains. When Kris' good friend, Zach Wiegert, anbroffensive tackle who played alongside him at Nebraska and in Houston, proposedbra business plan to open a Dunkin Donuts in Omaha, Kris loved the idea. Thebrcoffee shop officially opened this past September.
“It's goodbrfun,” he adds. “It's been a challenge. It's different but also similar tobrfootball in some respects. You wake up every day and you're still keepingbrscore. It's just a different medium of a game.”
Kris, whobrwas recently inducted into the CISD Hall of Honor alongside former teammatebrDane Johnson, says he can't wait to see his younger brother excel at his almabrmater and forge his own successful path.
“Drew was just 3 years old when I left Nebraska,”brKris says. “He doesn’t really remember that time, but he was around Nebraskabrfootball at a very young age. His mom is from Nebraska, so he’s always been abrreally big fan. I can’t wait for my little brother to be able to run out ontobrthe field at Memorial Stadium. With my family and I living so close, we’ll bebrable to see him play and mature into a man. I think that I’m most excited forbrDrew to get a chance to live his dream.”