Brown, a junior tailback, raced 60 yards for a touchdown in the first half and ran for another 60-yard TD after intermission to lead the Red Devils to a 28-21 victory.

The win boosts Penns Grove's overall record to 7-1 and 3-0 in the five-team division with one game to go, against Pennsville on Thanksgiving.

"I'm happy about this victory because we might be able to move up a seed" in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 1 tournament, said Brown, who rushed 13 times for 180 yards.

"I've had a couple big plays this season, but we made a lot of mistakes, and with playoffs next week, we need to correct the mistakes and get to the championship."

The "mistakes" Brown referred to were touchdowns scored by Gloucester, which slipped to 2-6, 0-4.

The Lions' Steve Kumpf (27 carries for 93 yards) scored on a 3-yard run, and Brandon Blackiston and Paul Walters scored on pass plays by quarterback Dalton Dunn.

The Lions, however, made a few mistakes, too, especially in defending against Brown.

Penns Grove was trailing, 7-6, in the second quarter when Brown faked right from his 40-yard line and sprinted left through a wide-open hole for the first 60-yarder and a 14-7 lead with eight minutes remaining in the half.

Brown's next long-distance trip, a toss to the left side, raised the Red Devils' lead to 28-14 with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.

"The big plays have plagued us," Gloucester coach Leon Harris said about his young team. "They hurt us again today.

"We just have to get better at tackling and get more guys around the ball."

Every scoring play by the winning Red Devils was a big play, from the game's opening touchdown, a 32-yard pass from Nick Elmer to Malcolm Chase, to Brown's runs and a 25-yard dash by DaRon Mills.

"Without those big plays we showed some good things on defense and offense," Harris said.

One promising sign came from quarterback Dunn. The Gloucester junior completed 15 of 33 passes for 136 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

"When he gets the time, and the line did a good job of getting him time today, he throws the ball great," Harris said.

Dunn zipped a 5-yard touchdown pass to Blackiston to close within six points of Penns Grove, 20-14, with 4:56 left in the third period.

In the fourth quarter, Dunn closed the gap again, to 28-21, on a 12-yard TD to Walters with 8:04 remaining.

Gloucester 0 7 7 7 - 21

Penns Grove 6 7 15 0 - 28

PG: Chase 32 pass from Elmer (run failed)

G: Kumpf 3 run (Acevedo kick)

PG: J. Brown 60 run (K. Brown pass from Elmer)

PG: Mills 25 run (run failed)

GL: Blackiston 5 pass from Dunn (Acevedo kick)

PG: J. Brown 60 run (Ransome run)

GL: Walters 12 pass from Dunn (Acevedo kick)

or biezzi@phillynews.com.