Lions roll past Woodlawn
BIRMINGHAM – The Briarwood Christian School football team took care of its business on Thursday night, toppling Woodlawn 42-21 in a Class 6A, Region 5 contest at Lawson Field.
“Played hard, played well, did what we asked,” Briarwood head coach Matthew Forester said following the game. “We’ve still got to improve. We’ve got to get better each day. We took some strides to get better and improve tonight, so I’m happy with it overall.”
Briarwood (4-0, 2-0 in region) scored five touchdowns in the first half and cruised to victory over an undermanned but scrappy Woodlawn (1-3, 0-2) squad.
Christopher Vizzina was a perfect 11-of-11 passing in the first two quarters, piling up 206 yards and three total touchdowns. He hit another long touchdown in the third quarter and finished the night 13-of-17 for 280 yards.
On the first drive of the game, Vizzina completed six passes, the final one a 30-yard strike to Cooper Higgins, who had a big night of his own. Higgins scored on a 7-yard run in the second quarter and took a screen pass 65 yards for his third score of the night in the third quarter. He had 113 all-purpose yards in the contest.
Riley Margene scored on a 1-yard plunge to make it 14-0 midway through the opening frame, but Woodlawn countered with a long kickoff return and scored to cut the deficit to 14-7.
The second quarter belonged to the Lions. A Peyton Steed interception set up Vizzina’s 59-yard touchdown pass to Jay Butler on the very next play. Grant Bruce recovered a fumble to end Woodlawn’s next possession, and Vizzina finished off a quick drive with a 4-yard run to make it 28-7. Jackson Barnes caught all three of his passes on the night for 42 yards on that drive.
Higgins’ second score made it 35-7 at the halftime break.
In the third quarter, Brady Waugh came up with an interception and Briarwood capitalized, as Higgins’ long reception made it a 42-7 game.
Woodlawn added two touchdowns in the final minutes, as Briarwood was able to play several backups and junior varsity players.
“Those guys have worked so hard and to get the young guys in is a testament to their hard work and allows them to really prove all that they’ve been learning,” Forester said.
Ethan Anderson caught three balls for 47 yards, while Will Clark and Colton Williams each accumulated 37 rushing yards in the contest.
Quarterback Chris Allen led Woodlawn in rushing, with 87 yards and two touchdowns on the night. Asher Hawkins piled up 82 yards on 17 carries.
Briarwood and Woodlawn stay in region play next week. The Lions head to Huffman for another Thursday night contest, while Woodlawn takes on Homewood.