The Briarwood Lions spent little time dispatching B.C. Rain Thursday night, dropping the Raiders, 30-0, and advancing to the quarter-finals of the AHSAA 5A playoffs.

The Lions used their defense to shut down B.C. Rain on every front.

&8220;Our defense did a great job shutting them down,&8221; Briarwood head coach Fred Yancey said. &8220;We kept them off the field and gave our offense chances to score.&8221;

Briarwood held its opponent to 95 yards rushing and 74 yards passing on the night, causing five fumbles and intercepting a pass in the process.

Matthew Gordon kicked off the scoring for the Lions with a 42-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter. Briarwood’s defense followed that play with a sack of B.C. Rain’s quarterback in the end zone for a safety by Riley Scruggs and Andy Davis. Davis finished the night with 10 tackles.

The Lions’ offense was led by running back Jonathan Sillers, who finished with two touchdowns on scampers of 14 and 13 yards. Briarwood quarterback Barrett Trotter finished the night completing 13-of-22 for 119 yards and two interceptions. Despite the slow evening, Yancey said he was still pleased with his QB’s composure.

&8220;Barrett managed the game well for us,&8221; he said. &8220;He threw two picks in this game, but he’s only thrown six all season.&8221;

Yancey said field position played a big part of the Lions’ win, as they forced B.C. Rain to punt six times.

&8220;We got great field position all night from our defense and our special teams.&8221;

The Lions now turn their attention to their third round rematch with rival Benjamin-Russell at home Friday night.

Briarwood soundly defeated the Wildcats in Week 7, 34-20, but Yancey said this weekend’s matchup is starting with a clean slate.

&8220;They are a very good ball club,&8221; he said. &8220;He can’t count on how we did in the last game this time. They can play with anybody and they’ve proven it this year. Both teams are going to line up and play each other, and it

will not be the same game.&8221;