Lions prepared to host Moody

The Briarwood Christian School football team is about to find out how much a pair of years spent in Class 6A will help the Lions in the move back to 5A.

The Lions begin their 5A, Region 5 slate on Friday night, as they host Moody at 7 p.m.

The two teams have not played since 2011, but Briarwood holds a 9-5 mark all-time against the Blue Devils, including winning the past six matchups dating back to 2006.

Moody opened its season with a grinding 8-7 win over Springville last week. The Blue Devils scored late in the contest and converted a two-point play for the eventual game-winner.

Briarwood head coach Fred Yancey hopes the last two weeks have prepared his team for the road ahead, as the Lions played 7A Vestavia Hills in a jamboree before losing to 6A Chelsea, 43-15, last week.

“The best team won, and they beat us as bad as the score,” Yancey said after the game. “They did a great job. Give their coaches a lot of credit for having a very good team.”

Briarwood jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after scoring on its opening drive. Quarterback William Gray kept an option run and jetted around the right end. 23 yards later, he was in the end zone.

Briarwood caught Chelsea off guard following the TD and added a two-point conversion.

After that, it was almost all Hornets.

Collectively, Chelsea produced 456 yards of total offense to Briarwood’s 154.

Chelsea's defense stymied its opponent for much of the night, holding the Lions to only 11 first downs and forcing four turnovers.

For the second week in a row, Chelsea scored more than 40 points, also putting up 49 against Oak Mountain.