Photo by Todd Lester
Briarwood’s Cal Reebals (23) and Cole Garner (46) celebrate a safety during a game against Fairfield on Oct. 25. The Lions defense allowed just 11.1 points per game.
The final game of the 2018 season is not one that will go down as one of the most memorable for the Briarwood Christian School football team.
Coming off a Class 5A state championship game appearance in 2017, the Lions reached the second round in 2018, where they fell to Vigor 26-0 to end the year.
Despite the playoff loss, head coach Fred Yancey said the year remains an overall success.
“I’ve always felt like when you win nine games and have some big wins like we’ve had, and with the kind of effort our guys give, that’s a great season,” Yancey said following the season-ending defeat. “We always wish we’d won the state championship; that very seldom happens. But the guys did everything we asked of them. They gave their best.”
Briarwood finished with a 9-3 record and finished second in Region 4. The Lions only region loss came to Ramsay, as the Rams won 21-7 on Oct. 19.
Their 6-1 region record propelled the Lions to an astounding 26th straight playoff appearance. The last time Briarwood posted a losing record in region play and missed out on the playoffs was 1992, Yancey’s third year as coach.
Briarwood’s defense was stout, as has become tradition. The Lions allowed just 11.1 average points per game and pitched three shutouts on the season (Woodlawn, Wenonah and Fairfield).
The offense saw transition throughout, some changes made by choice and others forced by injuries. The Lions began the season with Vanderbilt University signee JR Tran-Reno at quarterback. A few games in, the team began using sophomore Jonah Carroll as the primary signal-caller, allowing Tran-Reno to play running back and wide receiver. Luke Prewett also put together a strong season at the running back position.
Briarwood opened its season with four straight wins, over Chelsea, Pleasant Grove, Woodlawn and Wenonah. The Lions suffered their first loss (a 14-7 overtime defeat) on Sept. 28 at Hartselle, a team that went on to the second round of the 6A playoffs. The Lions then sandwiched wins over John Carroll, Parker, Fairfield and Hueytown around the loss to Ramsay to go 8-2 in the regular season. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lions ran past Valley 42-28.
The 2018 season marked the 19th time Briarwood has won at least nine games under Yancey.
Chelsea, Oak Mountain and Spain Park were not as fortunate to qualify for the postseason, but each program showed positive signs in the 2018 campaign.
Following a disappointing six-game losing streak, Spain Park rebounded to win its final three games of the year to finish with a 4-6 mark.
“Our kids kept showing up on Sundays [during the losing streak] and worked. And as a coach, that’s the most I’ve been proud of a team,” said Jags head coach Shawn Raney.
Chelsea lost the first seven games of the season under first-year coach Dustin Goodwin, but the Hornets turned the corner in the final month. They knocked off Minor and Calera in back-to-back weeks to go 2-8 on the year.
Oak Mountain broke in a freshman quarterback and picked up resounding victories over Chelsea and Center Point to bookend the year. Unfortunately for the Eagles, those were their only two wins on the season, despite being particularly close in games against the likes of Thompson and Hewitt-Trussville.
“We were in an awful lot of ball games,” Oak Mountain head coach Cris Bell said following the win over Center Point. “We just couldn’t find ways to pull it out at the end. … I’m just happy for them, particularly for our seniors. They could go out with a really good taste in their mouths.”