Former West Catholic star in 'Monday Night Football' spotlight

Brian Fluck's cellphone was exploding with calls and texts on his way home from West Catholic High School's regular-season football finale against Lansdale Catholic on Monday night.

All the activity wasn't to congratulate the Burrs coach on a 40-8 victory or ask him about the tearful and heartfelt goodbye ceremony for Jim Algeo, who stepped down as Lansdale's head coach after 44 years.

The sudden hubbub was over the key contributions ex-West Catholic standout Curtis "Boonah" Brinkley was making for the San Diego Chargers in the NFL Monday Night Football game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

"There were four or five phone calls right in a row," said Fluck, also the school's athletic director. "I said to one person, 'Let me get in the door so I can turn on the TV and watch it like everyone else.' "

Brinkley, a second-year running back who carried the ball just twice in his rookie season, rushed 10 times for 43 yards in the Chargers' 23-20 overtime loss. His 2-yard touchdown run and conversion catch forged a tie with 7 minutes, 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

The 5-foot-8, 208 pound speedster, a special-teams player before Monday, also had three receptions for 24 yards, including a spectacular 20-yard grab along the sideline that set up his first NFL score.

"I'm real excited, but it's not a shock to me," Brinkley said Tuesday afternoon. "This is what I've been working toward my whole life. It's why I train and practice as hard as I do."

Brinkley's chance to shine in the late going came when running back Ryan Matthews, the Chargers' leading rusher, left on the game-tying drive with a strained groin. Backup Mike Tolbert was inactive because of a hamstring strain.

"I've been on standby for a few weeks," said the 26-year-old Brinkley. "I was patient waiting for my turn. I knew my time would come, though. And I knew I would be ready if I was called on."

Many thought Brinkley, who rushed for 1,164 yards and scored seven touchdowns in his senior season at Syracuse, would not cut it in the NFL after he was shot twice in Elkins Park in a case of mistaken identity in July 2009.

Then a newly signed free agent for the Chargers, Brinkley had to work his way back into the football shape that helped him rush for 7,429 yards and score 85 touchdowns in high school.