Lions hurdle Mortimer Jordan en route to semifinals
KIMBERLY -- Briarwood went for the kill shot.
It was executed to perfection.
Following a shanked punt that gave Briarwood terrific field position at the 30-yard line, Lion quarterback William Gray took the snap and delivered a perfect deep ball to a streaking Carson Eddy down the sideline.
Eddy’s touchdown unlocked the scoreboard for the first time all night with 2:54 to play in the third quarter, and was all the Lions (12-1) needed in a 15-0 win over Mortimer Jordan on Friday night at Jimmie Trotter Stadium in a Class 5A quarterfinal game.
“That’s what a lot of people do and that’s what we do too,” Briarwood head coach Fred Yancey said of being aggressive following a momentum-changing play. “Any time you make a mistake like that, you’re just not as up.”
A personal foul pinned the Blue Devils deep in their own territory, and a three-and-out led to the miscue on the punt. Up to that point – through 33 minutes of game action – neither team showed a consistent ability to sustain a drive, much less score.
“We were both playing so even, it was just going to take one little something to help the other (team), and that’s what happened. They played a great game and we’re thankful and fortunate for what we got,” Yancey said.
Eddy consolidated his touchdown by running in the two-point conversion to give Briarwood the 8-0 lead late in the third quarter.
The drama did not end there, as Mortimer Jordan hit a big 34-yard pass play from Douglas Moore to Trey Peters to get the Blue Devils into Lions territory on the ensuing possession. But two plays later, Mortimer Jordan fumbled the ball away, recovered by Briarwood's Hudson Hartsfield.
Mortimer Jordan (10-3) was forced to punt on its first drive of the fourth quarter, and the Lions began work on a 10-play, time-bleeding drive to effectively put the game out of reach.
J.R. Tran-Reno capped off the key drive and a monster night with his 12-yard touchdown run. He had one man to beat on the perimeter and instead of attempting to elude the defender, he leapt over the grasping Blue Devil defender and plunged into the end zone.
“When I got the ball and saw that great perimeter blocking and saw I had one guy to beat, I just thought I’d jump over him,” Tran-Reno said of the scoring play.
Tran-Reno said he was “exhausted” before the play, with good reason. When all was said and done, he carried the ball 24 times, gaining 161 yards and the touchdown. He gave Briarwood a weapon to match Mortimer Jordan’s freight train of a running back, Spencer Brown.
There was no secret that Brown would be a focal point of the Blue Devil attack, but the Lions were able to prevent him from any type of back-breaking big play. Brown finished with 116 yards on 30 carries.
Tran-Reno’s highlight play was set up by a crucial third-down conversion a few plays earlier. Facing third-and-seven from the 40-yard line, Briarwood quarterback William Gray faked the handoff and rolled to his right. He connected with a wide open Kolby Kwarcinski, who looked the pass in like it was a fragile object.
Gray finished 7-of-11 passing for 80 yards, while rushing 19 times for 59 yards.
“This went right according to script,” Yancey said of the game. “They could’ve beaten us or we could’ve beaten them. It was just two good teams playing hard.
“Both teams were really rockin’ and sockin’ and it was one of those deals where there wasn’t any bend or give on the part of either team.”
With the win, Briarwood advances to the Class 5A semifinals for the first time since 2011. The Lions will host Region 5 foe Wenonah next Friday. The two teams played earlier this season at Wenonah, where Briarwood came away with a 15-14 victory.