Photo by David Leong.
Briarwood Christian head coach Matthew Forester speaks to his team after a game between the Briarwood Christian School Lions and the Pelham High Panthers on Sept. 15, 2023 at Lions Pride Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
Briarwood Christian School Athletic Director Jay Mathews was staring at his phone.
Mathews stood around the 30-yard line last Friday night at Lions Pride Stadium, some 10 minutes after the Lions shut out Oak Mountain 21-0 on homecoming. He was on Facebook, posting a graphic that was designed during the week. It features the number 400 with photos filling out the digits, photos of players from years gone by.
It has taken Briarwood just 589 games to reach 400 wins, a 68% winning percentage since the program began in 1973. The most successful of the program’s seven coaches is Fred Yancey, who led the Lions to a 278-95 record from 1990 to 2018. He was on hand for the 400th win Friday, though he was unaware of the milestone.
“But I like it,” he said.
Briarwood reached the state playoffs every year from 1993 to 2021, the streak snapped a season ago. The Lions have already matched their win total from a season ago with three, and there are five regular season games to go. The win to reach No. 400 was done in typical Briarwood fashion.
“That’s what Coach Yancey put the emphasis on years ago, back in ’96 when he had a conversation with Don Woods who was up at Hartselle,” said Lions head coach Matthew Forester. “He told him the formula and Coach Yancey stuck with that formula, and I’m not going to fix it if it ain’t broken. Good defense, ball-control offense, be physical.”
There have been stars to come through Lions Pride Stadium over the years. Tim Castille, Simeon Castille, Joe Craddock, Barrett Trotter, Michael Hiers, J.R. Tran-Reno, Tyler Waugh and Christopher Vizzina stand out. There are certainly many more.
“I’m very proud to be a Briarwood Lion, and I am blessed to have played for such a historic program,” Vizzina said. “The best part about Briarwood football is winning with your best friends, and it’s really cool to check back in and, as expected, we are still winning.”
Vizzina, now a freshman quarterback at Clemson, follows the Lions closely. He texts for updates about games on Friday nights. It’s impossible, even as a heralded college quarterback in the era of name, image and likeness deals, to leave a prep career in the past. Vizzina remembers watching games as an elementary student from the “shelf” atop Lions Pride Stadium, and before he knew it he was in middle school learning about the program, and just a couple years later he was wearing a gold helmet building a legacy.
“That’s where it all starts,” Vizzina said.
Mathews has been a part of 244 of the 400 wins over a 25-year span.
“[I] can attest that the hard work and effort of everyone involved has been a treasure to witness,” he said. “Each win was special because few people understand how difficult it is to win even one game in the state of Alabama. I’m thankful to be a Lion.”
Yancey, sitting on a blue chair at halftime, said his favorite part of being on hand for the 400th win was seeing former players he coached with their children.
“That encourages me that they want for their children the experience they had when they were at Briarwood,” Yancey said. “That’s probably the best. The second thing is that I like watching the players on our team. They’re really into the idea that they’re still fighting hard and alive and can bounce back from a couple losses early. They’ve shown a lot of guts and courage.”
Of Yancey’s 29 teams, only the 1998 squad went undefeated, reeling off 15 wins en route to the Class 3A state championship. Here’s Yancey, five years after retiring, still teaching, still coaching.
“We were always trying to overcome a loss somewhere,” he said. “I think that’s part of the deal that matters as far as character. We’d all love to go undefeated, but that’s pretty rare. What we really love is to see our boys bounce back, fight hard and never give up.”
Forester is 36-16 as the head coach following his mentor. He became the second-winningest head coach in Briarwood this season, a mere 242 wins behind Yancey. But there’s time. Legacies aren’t built quickly or easily. Maybe Forester will be leading the program when it reaches 500 wins.
“In a lot of ways, you’re just living off the work of giants before us,” Forester said. “I’m grateful to have learned so much from him to be able to have this chance to carry on this tradition.”
