By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

NORTH SHELBY – The Briarwood Lions relied on a stingy defense and picked up plenty of yards on the ground to come away with an impressive 41-7 homecoming win over Parker on Friday, Oct. 12.

The Lions (6-1, 5-0) had a pick six and two other interceptions in the first half as Parker (3-4, 2-3) was shut down offensively.

“Yeah, the defense really stepped up and set the tone all night,” Briarwood head coach Fred Yancey said. “That was the key and we feel like we’ve got a good defense. Watching them on tape we felt like they’re a better offense than they were able to show tonight. When you get three turnovers and big plays it just flips the game in a hurry so give credit to our guys.”

After forcing a three and out to start the game, Briarwood took over offensively and got on the board early as running back Luke Prewett scored from 11 yards out to make it 6-0 after the two-point conversion was no good.

Still leading 6-0 late in the first quarter, Briarwood’s first interception was made by Cal Reebals who caught it off a deflection and nearly returned it for a touchdown but was tackled just short at the one-yard line.

On the next play, J.R. Tran-Reno ran it in from a yard out on the right side to give the Lions a 13-0 lead with 11 seconds left in the first quarter.

Parker’s longest play of the game came on a screen pass that went for 75 yards. The Thundering Herd were inside the red zone looking for their first points of the game but Briarwood’s defense had other ideas.

Facing a third-and-11 from the Lions’ 13-yard line, Briarwood’s Mark Hand intercepted Parker and returned it 87 yards for a touchdown for a huge play that made it 20-0 Briarwood with 8:45 to go until halftime.

On Parker’s next offensive possession, Briarwood’s defense got another takeaway as Luke Hand picked it off to give the Lions the ball at Parker’s 31-yard line.

Prewett then ripped off runs of 19 and 12 yards on the way to the end zone to make it 27-0 Briarwood with 7:34 left until halftime.

Yancey said Prewett is starting to show what he’s capable of after recovering from an injury early in the year.

“Luke is a real good player who has missed a few games early in the year from an injury so he’s coming back just at the right time,” Yancey said.

Briarwood’s final score of the first half came on a 4-yard touchdown run by Tran-Reno who capped off a 64-yard drive to give the Lions a 34-0 halftime lead.

With the big first half cushion, Briarwood gave plenty of guys playing time in the second half.

The Lions lone score in the second half came midway through the third quarter when quarterback Jonah Carroll found a seam up the middle for a 31-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 41-0.

Although Briarwood never gave up a defensive touchdown, the shutout was lost late in the game as Parker returned an interception for a touchdown with 3:42 left in the game to make it 41-7.

The big win capped off a festive night for Briarwood, as the Lions celebrated homecoming and also honored members of all branches of the military prior to the game.

With the win, Briarwood now turns its attention to a road game at Ramsay on Friday, Oct. 19, that will have big implications in the Class 5A Region 4 standings.