By JOSEPH ANTONIO / Special to the Reporter

FORT PAYNE – The fourth seeded Briarwood Christian Lions shocked the number one seeded Fort Payne Wildcats Friday night. Briarwood, which has struggled mightily at times on offense, displayed their most consistent and balanced attack of the season.

Briarwood proved that they had come to play against the Wildcats when they took the opening possession 80-yards and scored on a 2-yard William Gray run. However, Fort Payne tied the game on the ensuing possession off a 9-yard rush by Turner Desmon.

After a back and forth battle, Fort Payne added a field- goal by Evan Mcpherson right before intermission to put the score at 17-15 in their favor. The Wildcats added another field goal in the third, but Briarwood struck pay dirt afterward, blocking a punt in the end zone. Sam Sherrod recovered and after a two-point conversation, the Lions led 23-20 late in the third.

Fort Payne answered Briarwood’s score with a 10-yard touchdown catch. However, the Lions blocked the extra point and only trailed 26-23 with a quarter to go. Early in the fourth, the Lions won the game off a two-yard Carson Eddy score. Briarwood was then able to play stifling defense and run out the clock on offense to secure a 30-26 win.

Briarwood Coach Fred Yancey was pleased by his team’s performance. “We really had a nice balance of passing and running effectively. William Gray really kept us alive throwing the ball.”

Briarwood hosts Austin next.