Photo by David Leong.
Briarwood Christian head coach Matthew Forester speaks to his team after a game against the Pelham High Panthers on Sept. 15 at Lions Pride Stadium.
Briarwood Christian School Athletic Director Jay Mathews stood around the 30-yard line at Lions Pride Stadium, some 10 minutes after the Lions shut out Oak Mountain 21-0 on Sept. 29. He was staring at his phone, posting a graphic to Facebook that featured the number 400 with photos of former players filling out the digits.
It took 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, though he was unaware of the milestone.
“But I like it,” Yancey said.
Briarwood reached the state playoffs every year from 1993 to 2021, though the streak snapped a season ago. 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 University, follows the Lions closely. He texts for updates about games on Friday nights. He remembers watching games as an elementary student from the “shelf” atop Lions Pride Stadium and learning about the program in middle school, and then 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 more than 245 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.”
Forester became the second-winningest head coach in Briarwood history this season, although he’s still nearly 240 wins behind Yancey. But there’s time. Legacies aren’t built quickly or easily.
“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.”
