Lions welcome Russellville for second round game

Briarwood’s win streak has reached double digits.

The Briarwood Christian School football team lost its first contest of the season to Chelsea, but has yet to taste defeat since, including last week’s first-round playoff victory over Corner.

The Lions (10-1) jumped in front of Corner early with long touchdown runs from J.R. Tran-Reno and William Gray and never looked back in the 42-17 win.

Briarwood will remain home for the second round of the playoffs this Friday to host Russellville (8-3), which defeated Guntersville, 35-28, in the first round.

“I love playing at home,” Briarwood head coach Fred Yancey said. “We’re excited to be making it to round two. We try our very best to try not to look beyond whatever round we’ve got to play.”

Matching up against Russellville should bring back positive memories for Yancey. The Lions have faced off against the Golden Tigers twice before, both in the playoffs.

In 2003, the teams faced off in the Class 5A state championship game at Legion Field, with Briarwood winning 31-7.

In 2007, the two teams met in the second round -- as is the case this fall – with Briarwood taking a 34-14 victory en route to a state title appearance.

If this short pattern continues in the 2016 season, things are looking up for the Lions.

Russellville has put together a solid campaign to this point, putting together an 8-3 overall record, paired with a 6-1 mark in Region 8. The region record was good enough to finish tied for first in the region, but the head-to-head tiebreaker with Brooks was decided, as Brooks won 31-21 when the teams matched up.

The Golden Tigers are averaging nearly 35 points per game, while allowing 25.5 per contest.

Briarwood’s games have involved much less scoring this fall, and the Lions’ defense will present a stiff challenge for Russellville, as it has surrendered just 13.7 points per game. The Lions have a capable offense as well, eclipsing 40 points four times, including in last week’s playoff win.

The second-round playoff contest is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Lions Pride Stadium.

- Chris Megginson contributed to this story.