Photo by Todd Lester
Chelsea's Collier Blair (1) fights off a defender in a game between Oak Mountain and Chelsea on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, at Chelsea high School in Chelsea.
Chelsea High School and Briarwood Christian School will be thankful to take on someone other than a Class 7A, Region 3 opponent.
The Hornets and Lions took on teams from arguably the toughest region in the state last week to open the season. Chelsea fell to Oak Mountain, 21-10, while Briarwood was defeated by Vestavia Hills in a jamboree game.
At 7 p.m. Friday, Chelsea travels to Briarwood to renew a longstanding rivalry between the two programs.
The series between Chelsea and Briarwood has long been dominated by Briarwood, as the Lions ripped off 14 wins in 15 years from 1993-2011. The teams did not play in 2012 or 2013, but since renewing the series in 2014, the Hornets have come out on top in each of the last three contests.
Last year, Chelsea ran away to a 43-15 victory in the Matthew Marquet and Zalon Reynolds show -- a common refrain for many Chelsea opponents over the previous three seasons.
Chelsea (0-1) is attempting to replace its entire offense from one of the school’s most successful seasons in 2016. The team held its own against Oak Mountain for the majority of the contest despite the offense struggling to gain its footing against an improved Eagles defense.
The Hornets scored their points on a 43-yard Colby Lambert field goal and a 4-yard TD pass from Turner Griffin to Lando Nichols that was completed with less than 30 seconds to play.
But the decisive blow came with a pair of Luke Percer touchdown runs in the second half to open up Oak Mountain’s lead and send the Hornets home in defeat.
Briarwood (0-0) will officially open its season after taking on Vestavia Hills last week in a traditional jamboree.
The Lions struggled to get much going on the offensive side of the ball. Running back JR Tran-Reno found no room to navigate in the first half, but racked up 62 yards in the second half. Briarwood’s only points on the evening came on a Noah Nall 39-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Andrew Sherrod was a bright spot on defense, intercepting a Vestavia pass in the second quarter.
Sam Chandler and John Phillips Jr. contributed to this report.
