Waugh shines in Briarwood win over Hartselle
BIRMINGHAM — Briarwood Christian School head football coach Matthew Forester was asked to compare senior Tyler Waugh to another player.
It was a tough question, considering the game Waugh had just played was beyond comparison.
“I’m just incredibly proud of him and grateful for what he’s doing,” Forester said.
Waugh rushed for four second-half touchdowns and intercepted two passes after halftime to lift the Lions to a 31-17 home win over Hartselle in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.
Waugh scored on runs of 2, 1, 7 and 8 yards, and intercepted two passes in the game’s final 1:08.
“We always say ‘Seniors die hard,’” Waugh said. “That was our mentality. We’re not dying tonight. We’re going to try to stay alive in this and all that counts is to win. That was the ultimate goal. It didn’t matter if it was ugly or good or not. We were just trying to win.”
Down 14-3 at halftime, Briarwood (8-2) needed a spark. Enter Waugh. The Lions went 81 yards in eight plays on the opening drive of the third quarter, capped by Waugh’s 2-yard scoring run, to cut the deficit to 14-10. Hartselle’s Crawford Lang drilled a 51-yard field goal to put the Tigers (7-4) ahead 17-10.
On Briarwood’s ensuing drive, Waugh carried the ball four straight plays for 44 yards, punctuated by his game-tying 1-yard score. Briarwood took a 24-17 lead on its next drive early in the fourth quarter when Waugh found the end zone from 7 yards out.
With 1:08 to play and facing third-and-25, Hartselle quarterback Parker Sawyer was intercepted by Waugh, who returned it to the Tigers’ 8-yard line. He scored four seconds later to extend the lead to 31-17. With 22 seconds remaining, Waugh picked off quarterback John Blackwood to seal the win.
“There’s no doubt about it that he is a dominant force,” Forester said. “What we ask him to do on offense he’s incredible. And then defensively he’s just second to none, in my opinion.”
It was a sluggish start for Briarwood in the first half. The Lions led 3-0 on a Jakob Brower 33-yard field goal midway through the first quarter, but Hartselle answered with a 17-play, 78-yard touchdown drive capped by Kaleb Moore’s 1-yard run. The Tigers converted five third downs on the drive. On Briarwood’s next drive, a pitch from Christopher Vizzina was tipped and recovered by Coleman Mizell, who housed it from 43 yards out.
“A little bit of nerves getting into the playoffs and there’s more tension in the playoffs and they felt it a little bit,” Forester said. “Let’s calm them down in the second half and play disciplined football and we’ll be all right.”
They were all right. Waugh finished with 97 yards and four touchdowns on eight carries, all in the second half. He didn’t do it alone. Quarterback Vizzina completed 19-of-27 passes for 241 yards, and running back Luke Reebals rushed for 82 yards on 16 carries and tallied 99 receiving yards on eight receptions. Brooks Donnelly caught five passes for 66 yards and Nicholas Dicen grabbed four passes for 61 yards.
“The offense did a great job,” Forester said. “Settled down and played football. We knew if we could get some stops and we could get our offense with the ball that they would commit. Every week somebody shines. Our offensive group, our heavy package, was pretty awesome tonight. I’m pretty proud of it.”
Hartselle finished with 180 total yards, 143 of which came through the air. The Tigers managed only four first downs in the second half.
“It’s awesome to see them choose to work really hard and buy into it,” Forester said. “It’s amazing to see what happens when we’re all on the same page.”
The win was a complete one. Briarwood blocked well on both sides. The offense did not turn the ball over. The defense was stingy. But the night belonged to Waugh.
“I like to compete,” Waugh said. “Winning is fun. I don’t like to lose. The ultimate goal is to win, so I’m just trying to put my team in a position to win.”
Briarwood will travel to top-ranked Oxford (10-1) in the second round.
“Especially being a senior and playing in the COVID year you can’t take anything for granted, so I’m going out there trying to play my best game like it’s my last,” Waugh said. “I could not do it without my defense, coaches, and the offensive line did great. I thought we had a great team win tonight.”
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