Louisville, Kentucky: Christian Academy Receiver Ja'Hyde Brown Breaks Kentucky Record With 31 Touchdown Catches

Christian Academy senior Ja'Hyde Brown is now the most prolific touchdown receiver in a single Kentucky high school football season, and he set the record in the first quarter of the final game of the regular season.

Brown caught four passes for 90 yards and three touchdowns on Friday night as the host Centurions beat Fern Creek 49 to 13 in Louisville. His third touchdown, an 11 yard catch from quarterback Jackson Burke in the first quarter, was his 31st touchdown reception of the season. That broke the state record of 30 set by Owensboro Catholic's William Carrico in 2023.

The record night

All three of Brown's touchdowns came in the first quarter. Burke completed 9 of 11 passes for 197 yards and four touchdowns, with the other scoring pass going to Andrew Greene. Garyon Hobbs led the Christian Academy rushing attack with 99 yards and a touchdown on three carries.

"Really, I just kind of let it come to me," Brown told the Courier Journal. "I knew at some point I was going to get it. It means a lot to me. It just shows when you put your mind to something and you work hard towards it that you can get to it."

His coach saw a player who has made the extraordinary look routine. "Every time he steps on the field, he's creating history," Christian Academy coach Hunter Cantwell said. "It just flows through him. Defenses are doing their best. I think everybody knows where the ball's going, and he's just making it look easy out there."

A season of numbers

Through Friday's game, Brown has 69 receptions for 1,344 yards and 31 touchdowns this season. He is a four star prospect in the Class of 2027 and is committed to the University of Louisville, one of 18 commitments in that class for the Cardinals. USA Today named him to its midseason All-America team earlier this month, after a game against Western on October 16 in which he turned three catches into 207 yards and three touchdowns.

Two larger marks are still in front of him. Brown has 62 touchdown catches in his career, seven short of the Kentucky career record of 69 set by Somerset's John Cole from 2004 to 2007. The national single season record for touchdown receptions is 39, held by three players. A long playoff run would give Brown more games to chase both.

What comes next

Christian Academy finished the regular season 10 and 0 and ran its winning streak to 32 games, the longest active streak in the state. The Centurions are seeking a fifth straight Class 3A state championship and will host Mercer County in Louisville in the first round of the playoffs next week. Fern Creek finished 2 and 8 and will visit Ryle in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.

For Louisville fans, the record has a local ending already written: the receiver who set it has committed to stay home and play for the Cardinals.