Lions level Crossville in first round of playoffs
BIRMINGHAM — The Briarwood Christian School football team ran through a pregame banner on Thursday night that featured a giant, red boxing glove.
It proved a fitting symbol, as the Lions (11-0) landed punch after punch in a 62-0 victory over Crossville at Lions Pride Stadium in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs.
“The thing I’m proud of is the guys came out really excited about playing, and that was good,” said Briarwood head coach Fred Yancey. “That’s the way you’ve got to hit the playoffs, no matter who you play, no matter what the situation is.”
Briarwood wasted no time in throwing its opening jab. After Crossville (4-7) attempted an unsuccessful onside kick to start the game, Lions quarterback Michael Hiers rifled a 48-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Carson Eddy on the first play from scrimmage.
Briarwood owned a 7-0 lead nine seconds in.
“Give my offensive coordinator, Coach [Bobby] Kerley, a lot of credit,” Yancey said. “He noticed they got out here late, and he felt like they wouldn’t be ready very quickly.”
Hiers connected with Eddy on the next drive as well, tossing the ball to him on a sweep route toward the right flat. Eddy hauled in the pass, juked a pair of defenders and galloped for a 55-yard touchdown.
Carson Donnelly’s 26-yard interception return for a score on the ensuing Crossville possession officially signaled that the rout was on.
Briarwood led 35-0 after one quarter and 55-0 at the half. The Lions outgained their opponent 308-32 over the first two quarters.
“They just did their job,” said linebacker Mark Hand of his teammates, “and together we were extraordinary.”
Hand deflected an early punt that led to the first of four touchdowns from running back JR Tran-Reno. He went untouched on scoring scampers of 4, 5, 6, and 55 yards. Andrew Sherrod accounted for Briarwood’s final first-half touchdown, as he returned a punt 55 yards.
The Lions sent their second- and third-string players onto the field in the second half. The starters, meanwhile, stood along sidelines munching on warm Chick-Fil-A sandwiches.
Freshman running back Andrew Hill notched the final points of the night on a shifty 24-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Hiers finished the game -- of which he played about 15 minutes -- 3-of-4 for 117 yards. Eddy hauled in all of them. Tran-Reno paced the rushing attack with 109 yards on nine carries.
Briarwood will now have an extra day to prepare for next Friday’s second-round playoff game at Lee-Huntsville.