St. Paul's claims state title from Lions in final moments
TUSCALOOSA – The Lions were so close.
So close to their first state championship since 2003. So close to their first unbeaten season since 1998. So close to elation.
However, St. Paul’s Episcopal scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:54 remaining to secure a 17-14 win over Briarwood Christian School (14-1) in the Class 5A state championship game on Thursday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
“It’s a pleasure to be here,” Briarwood head coach Fred Yancey said. “It doesn’t feel like a pleasure right this minute. It’s great to be a part of this championship game, and we’re mighty thankful for that.”
The Briarwood defense was one play from getting the ball back with just over two minutes to play, and that one play separated the Lions from a massive celebration. But on fourth-and-14, St. Paul’s (14-1) quarterback Swift Lyle dropped back, surveyed the field and found Alabama commit Jalyn Armour-Davis streaking across the field for a 54-yard gain to extend the Saints drive and season.
“It was just one of those plays where the guy got loose,” Yancey said. “He’s a great player, the quarterback spotted him and let it go. It happens in football.”
The Lions held strong on the next three plays, but on fourth-and-4, Lyle hit Oliver Willman, who outran the defense and stretched the ball inside the pylon for a 6-yard touchdown. The Saints converted the two-point play to take the 17-14 edge.
Briarwood advanced to the 30-yard line on the final drive, but Michael Hiers’ fourth-down pass fell incomplete, setting off the Saints celebration.
Without the fourth-down conversions, Briarwood’s defense would have been the story of the game.
With Briarwood holding a 14-9 lead late in the third quarter, St. Paul’s was driving. On fourth down, Lyle thought he had plenty of green grass for the first down. But defensive tackle Dalton Brooks threw his blocker aside and grabbed the back of Lyle’s jersey, wrestling him backward a few yards shy of the first down.
The play prior, Brandon Kassouf made an outstanding stop. He had already been taken down to the ground, but reached his arm out and brought down the Saints ball carrier.
The Lions defense forced a pair of turnovers on the night as well. It forced its second of the game late in the third quarter, as Andrew Sherrod ripped the ball away from Jordan Ingram and Sam Hamner came away with the football.
The Lions capitalized on the opportunity, as Hiers connected with Hudson Hartsfield for the second time in the game. Hartsfield caught a 12-yard dart from his quarterback, finding pay dirt and giving the Lions a 14-3 edge.
Hartsfield caught five balls for 78 yards and the two scores on the evening. Hiers completed 8-of-18 passes for 113 yards.
The 11-point lead didn’t last long, as Lyle found big-play receiver Jarrett Eaton on a 57-yard strike to get the score back. The defender fell down, leaving Eaton wide open. Lyle hit him in stride, and the Saints cut the deficit to 14-9 with less than a minute to play in the third quarter.
Briarwood finished with 105 rushing yards, including 52 from Luke Prewett, who gashed the St. Paul’s defense on a fourth-quarter drive. JR Tran-Reno ran for 48 yards.
The two teams combined for less than 200 yards in the first half, and most of that came on the opening drive of the game.
St. Paul’s burned two timeouts and committed three false starts on its first drive but still managed points. The Saints drove 76 yards on 11 plays and chewed over half of the first-quarter clock. A pack of Lions stuffed a screen near the goal line, and Wilson Beaverstock hit a 20-yard field goal to put St. Paul’s ahead 3-0.
Briarwood got on the board on its first drive of the second quarter, as the Lions marched 53 yards. On the drive, they converted a critical fourth-and-9, as Hiers found Hartsfield on a deep slant. Hartsfield made a diving catch with his arms outstretched to set Briarwood up with a first-and-goal. Three plays later, Hiers rolled out and found Hartsfield in the end zone for a 6-yard score and a 7-3 Briarwood lead.
Both teams exchanged fumbles in the middle of the second quarter. Briarwood’s Joseph Mungenast came away with a fumble after Jordan Ingram coughed it up, but two plays later, Hiers fumbled while trying to buy time, giving the ball back to the Saints.
As for his recovery, Mungenast said, “It was a run play away from me. I got off my block and Jacob Hawk forced it. I saw the ball on the ground and just jumped on it.”
Gabriel Russell led the Lions with nine tackles on the night. Russell was one of three Briarwood players whose fathers played at Bryant-Denny Stadium for the Alabama football team.
“It’s something I’ll never forget,” he said. “Obviously, I would’ve loved to win. But playing with these guys I’ve played with all my life, I loved it.”
Briarwood’s season ends in a loss to St. Paul's at the state title game for the first time since 2007, when the Lions fell to the Saints, 14-13. Afterwards, Yancey recalled someone telling him it would take him 17 years to overcome the loss. Ten years later, the Lions suffered another narrow to defeat to the Saints.
He said, “It’s just competition. When you’re a competitor, you win some, you lose some.”