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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

It’s a new look for the Briarwood Christian Lions this year as they move down to Class 5A and face a region full of old foes, but the expectation is the same.

Coach Matthew Forester is always game for the challenge of adjusting to a new set of faces on the field, and the players are all motivated to prove themselves and want to win.

“We talked about going into spring training this year, just the expectation is to win and just win a lot and win now,” senior receiver Ben McNulty said. “So, that’s what we’re looking to do.”

For Forester, after so many games came down to one or two plays, he knows that the little details make the difference between winning and losing. That means the emphasis right now in practice is working on those details so they can play more freely.

“Knowing that those tight games come down to two or three small things that in a bigger game, they don’t matter, and so always pushing that in practice, always that idea of trying to get the minuscule, small, normal details taken care of, it’s kind of a big part of being successful,” Forester said.

Do-it-all two-way star Luke Reynolds believes that their success will come down to how they work together and make plays as a unit.

“It’s really just going out there and playing football and making plays,” Reynolds said. “I’ve got a lot of good teammates that can help me do that all over the field so relying on them. If we all work together, then the plays will happen.”

The Lions will have a strong group of 26 seniors to lead the way, and each of them has a unique journey to getting to this moment, including players like Brayden Robertson, John Paul Harbor, Tanner Hutson and Patrick Wilson who will all step up into bigger roles as a senior.

However, no journey may be as unique as Ben McNulty’s. After coming close to a career-ending knee injury in Week 7, the senior wideout is getting closer to a return toward the beginning of the season.

That return is one of the moments Forester is looking forward to the most because of the work McNulty has put in to coming back.

“For me, one of the great parts of this season is watching him line up at receiver in a game,” Forester said. “That will be something that very few people know about, but to see his hard work that he’s put in because he cares about this senior class and what his parents have instilled in him, I’m really looking forward to that moment. That’s one of the small victories of the season, but it’s one year we’re really looking forward to.”

Those senior leaders will join Briarwood’s other talented stars, including the highly-touted defensive lineman Garrett Witherington, in replacing another big senior class for the Lions from last season.

However, Briarwood is no stranger to reloading after doing it in so many years past, building up its players over the course of their careers for big roles as they become seniors. It’s a strategy that’s worked to their benefit in recent years, including playoff trips in four of Forester’s five seasons.

Combined with their other calling card of a stifling defense, the Lions hope to replicate their recent form in Class 6A in a classification where they have found great success in years past.