Waugh's pick-six lifts Lions over Jackson, into quarterfinals
JACKSON – Tyler Waugh typically finds the end zone a different way.
Since the third week of the season, Waugh has served as his team’s bruising option near the goal line, taking a direct snap and plunging into the end zone from a short distance.
But on Friday night in the Briarwood Christian School football team’s Class 5A second-round game at Jackson, Waugh made the game-sealing play from his primary middle linebacker spot.
He intercepted a pass over the middle early in the fourth quarter and darted about 35 yards for a touchdown. The score put the Lions up by two scores, and they went on to win 24-14 at Simpkins Stadium.
“The defensive line got great pressure, the secondary were in their spots, so I was just kind of sitting back there and luckily it came right to me. I just took off and ran for my life,” Waugh said of the interception that put Briarwood ahead 21-7.
Jackson quarterback DeyJon Hunt presented a significant challenge for Briarwood’s defense all evening as a dual-threat player. But having someone like Waugh in the middle of the defense gave head coach Matthew Forester confidence.
“Man, he is a smart, heady kid,” the first-year coach said. “Does a great job at middle linebacker and I’m so proud of him. They challenged him tonight, and he rose to the challenge all game and specifically on that pick.”
Hunt threw for 76 yards on 13-of-27 passing and rushed for 63 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown to open the game’s scoring in the second quarter. Second-half sacks from the likes of Christian Ferguson and Cole Garner helped the Lions slow the Aggies offense.
“I was proud of our boys of just fighting hard, just being gritty,” Forester said. “We knew we were going to have to gang tackle, we couldn’t tackle them one-on-one. The fight and desire of our boys to continually go after the ball, I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Briarwood tied the game at 7-7 late in the second quarter, as quarterback Chris Vizzina lofted a 43-yard pass to Blake McKenna in the end zone. McKenna initially bobbled the football as he dove for the ball, but secured it before he hit the ground. Vizzina finished the night 8-of-13 passing for 92 yards, with McKenna getting 63 of those yards.
Jackson effectively limited Briarwood’s run game, as neither offense eclipsed 200 total yards on the night. The Lions rushed for just 83 yards, with Luke Reebals going for 44 yards and Luke Prewett gaining 28 yards.
“We were going to try and run it,” Forester said. “They did a great job of stopping it. We weren’t going to turn the football over. We’re going to play sound, playoff football and part of that is not turning the ball over. We’re going to run it and when we think we’ve got a shot, we’ll take a shot. I’m proud of our offensive staff for the adjustments they made.”
Waugh put the Lions ahead in the third quarter by finding the end zone from his offensive role. He converted a fourth-and-1 from the 6-yard line and found the end zone from 1 yard away on the next play.
“It’s really fun,” Waugh said. “I just like to have opportunities to help my team out any way I can, and that’s an opportunity for me to do that.”
After Waugh’s pick-six, Jackson (6-6) scored on a 31-yard pass from Hunt to Jamaal Pritchett. But Noah Nall’s 26-yard field goal with 1:35 to play following a time-consuming Lions drive effectively sealed the deal.
Briarwood (11-1) heads home to face Bibb County in the quarterfinals next Friday.
“It’s not easy to come to Jackson. It’s a far way off. I’m really proud of them for being disciplined to fight, disciplined to do the right thing, but I’m glad to be home next week,” Forester said.
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