Photo by Ted Melton
Briarwood Football
Briarwood's Carson Eddy catches a touchdown pass last week.
The Briarwood Christian School football team is looking to build on its season-opening win, as it opens Class 5A, Region 5 play at Moody on Friday night.
The region road was kind to the Lions last fall, as they responded from a season-opening loss to run through the region unblemished in the seven-game slate.
That road begins again at 7 p.m. Friday night at Bill Morris Stadium.
Moody has not beaten Briarwood since 1993, with seven meetings taking place between the two teams since then. Last fall, the Lions took care of business, winning 42-6 in a runaway victory.
Senior quarterback William Gray only had to throw five passes – completing all of them for 190 yards and four touchdowns. Carson Eddy scored three touchdowns in the contest as well as the Lions took a 42-0 lead by halftime.
Obviously, Briarwood hopes for a similar fortune this time around, but will face a Moody team coming off a 23-7 win over nearby Springville to open its season.
But the Lions are coming off their own encouraging performance. They knocked off Chelsea, 19-7, a year after getting blown out in a 43-15 decision.
This year’s starting quarterback, Michael Hiers, found Eddy for a 25-yard touchdown to give Briarwood a 6-0 lead at halftime. Hiers hit Eddy again for an 18-yard score in the third quarter to put the Lions up 12-0.
A long touchdown drive from Chelsea narrowed the margin to 12-7, but a late touchdown – a 33-yard pass from running back JR Tran-Reno to Eddy on fourth down – gave the Lions the 19-7 win.
“We actually hadn’t practiced that,” Tran-Reno said. “We just drew it up right there. It just kind of happened. My offensive line did a great job of protecting me.”
Eddy and Tran-Reno had big nights. Eddy caught eight passes for 105 yards and the three touchdowns, while Tran-Reno picked up 93 yards on the ground.
Performances like that on Friday should lead to another Briarwood win.
Gary Lloyd contributed to this report.
