Ramsay defense too much for Lions
BIRMINGHAM – All night long, the Briarwood Christian School football team needed some momentum.
But even when the Lions got some, it was never enough to get over the hump in a 21-7 loss to Class 5A, Region 4 foe Ramsay on Friday night at Lawson Field.
“Give Ramsay a lot of credit,” said Briarwood head coach Fred Yancey. “They had speed and size and a great will to win. They were terrific, so I give them a lot of credit for being a terrific team tonight.”
Coming out of the halftime break, the Lions attempted to create some magic of their own after a miserable first half saw them go down 21-0. Ramsay was penalized 15 yards for a delay of game and Briarwood took advantage, with Noah Nall executing an onside kick that the Lions recovered. It wouldn’t lead to anything, though, as the Lions were forced to punt four plays later.
“We were trying to do some of those kinds of things,” Yancey said. “We needed some momentum and we were trying to create it. But Ramsay kept snuffing it out. So give them credit, they were a lot better than us tonight.”
Briarwood got some more momentum early in the fourth quarter. After the teams exchanged a total of six punts in the third, Ramsay’s first punt of the final period was blocked by Matthew McKenna and scooped up by Cade Dickinson to set Briarwood up with first-and-goal at the 9-yard line. On fourth down, JR Tran-Reno went under center and plunged in for the 1-yard score, cutting the deficit to 21-7.
The Lions even recovered a second onside kick, as Nall recovered his own attempt following the touchdown. But once again, the Lions were unable to capitalize. It simply wasn’t enough against Ramsay’s defense, which had allowed an average of eight points per game entering the night.
Briarwood (6-2, 5-1 in region) suffered its first region loss in over three years on Friday night, as the Rams held the Lions to just 118 total yards on the evening.
Lions quarterback Jonah Carroll completed 10-of-30 passes for 33 yards, while Luke Prewett led the way on the ground with 67 rushing yards on 16 carries.
Ramsay (8-1, 6-0) struck first and scored all of its points over the first two quarters. After Briarwood turned the ball over on downs, the Rams drove 70 yards in 13 plays. The drive was capped off by Jaih Andrews’ 21-yard pass to Jaylin Peterson in the corner of the end zone to give Ramsay a 7-0 advantage late in the first quarter.
The Lions turned the ball over once again on their next drive, leading to a Jaquel Fells 36-yard touchdown reception from Andrews, who finished his night 15-of-21 passing for 241 yards. Jordan Embry found the end zone later in the quarter on a 2-yard run to put the Rams ahead 21-0. Embry was the workhorse on the ground, piling up 113 yards on 24 carries.
With the win, Ramsay wrapped up the Region 4 title, while Briarwood is still in position to host a first-round playoff game with a win next Thursday against Fairfield.
“Our boys will always come back and play the game like it ought to be played," Yancey said. "They like football and they’re going to do better, I know they will."
Click here to purchase photos from the game.