Photo by Richard Force
Briarwood's Cameron Harrington (8) during a game between Briarwood and Montgomery Academy on Thursday, April 4, 2025 at Briarwood High School.
The Briarwood Christian School boys soccer team is beginning to see the results from all the hard work, the tough days and the years of struggle.
The Lions won Class 6A, Area 8, in an intensely competitive area with Chelsea, Pelham and Spain Park. A difficult area is nothing new for Briarwood, but the Lions have chosen not to make excuses and now find themselves at the top of the heap entering the playoffs.
It hasn’t been roses from the start. An 0-3 beginning to the season was a “wake-up call” for Cam Harrington and the rest of the Lions. That wake-up call led to them winning 14 of the next 15 matches through April 9.
“It really pans out if you work for it,” Harrington said.
Sawyer Felton said the team knew how much potential it had, and remaining locked in at practice and staying positive with teammates helped get things on track quickly.
Those 14 match wins were far from a fluke. Following the end of last season, head coach Mike Bautista sat with the rising seniors and asked them what they wanted for their final season. The collective group told Bautista to build the toughest schedule possible.
“The idea is to prepare us for the playoffs,” Bautista said. “It just shows that these seniors have come a long way. These guys have gone through the ranks.”
Outside of area play, the Lions faced off against the likes of Thompson, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Bayside Academy and others.
Beating Mountain Brook 1-0 on March 11 was a first for the Lions
Photo by Richard Force
Briarwood's Carson Tucker (4) during a game between Briarwood and Montgomery Academy on Thursday, April 4, 2025 at Briarwood High School.
— one of several eye-opening moments for Briarwood so far this season.
“It gives us so much confidence as a team,” Carson Tucker said of that win.
Briarwood also prevailed in penalty kicks, 5-4, against Pelham on March 7. The Lions and Panthers have gone to PKs twice in recent years, with Pelham coming out on top.
“The things that didn’t go right in the last three years are going right in our final year,” Harrington said.
Felton is soaking in all the moments that have made this team special, as the Lions attempt to make one final push for glory this spring.
“It’s really special to play for a team that cares about each other, and that’s going to go out and win the ball for each other, not themselves,” he said.
Entering the season, there were questions for the Lions regarding midfield positions. There have been injuries and other obstacles to overcome, but what has resulted is a versatile team that has built trust with one another.
“It’s so interchangeable. We have so much consistency as far as quality goes,” Tucker said.
This year’s team has 11 seniors — four of them playing on varsity since eighth grade and a few others moving up to varsity in ninth grade.
“The guys have grown, they’ve worked hard, and this is the deepest team we’ve ever had,” Bautista said.
The Lions are determined not to look ahead and to finish strong for this storied group of seniors. Tucker said the team is focused on “going one game at a time.”
Harrington added, “Living in the moment, taking it one game at a time, is what you have to do.”
“We just have to prove to ourselves that we’re worthy of going all the way this year,” Felton said.
