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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

This year, the Briarwood Lions will get to call themselves something new: a Class 5A team. However, for those who have been around the team for long enough know what success the team has found at that level.

The last time the Lions competed at that level, they made it all the way to the semifinals after winning the Class 5A, Region 4 championship.

Briarwood now finds itself in Region 5 of Class 5A, but all it’s done in that region is win its last 15 Region 5 games, including undefeated region championship campaigns in 2016 and 2017.

Combined with the Lions’ recent success at Class 6A, including a trip to the second-round last season where their season was only ended by eventual runners-up Saraland, and that has many both inside and outside Briarwood Christian School hopeful for big things this year.

In order to get back to achieving those heights, Briarwood will need to replace several key contributors from that successful 2023 team, including All-State defensive lineman Luke Dickinson, quarterback Josh Thompson, linebacker Jack Cornish and wide receiver Sawyer Click.

However, reloading is something that the Lions are keenly familiar with, and coach Matthew Forester is confident that his team’s rising stars can aptly fill those spots.

Briarwood still has a question at quarterback between Brayden Robertson and Charles Dedmon, but with similar skillsets, that’s allowed the Lions to plan around them well.

One of those key pieces around them who needs to have another strong campaign in 2024 to help the team achieve success is running back/defensive back hybrid Luke Reynolds.

While he’ll be heading back to his natural position in the secondary this season, his breakout year in the backfield last year helped spur Briarwood’s offense forward. A successful running game won’t completely be on his shoulders with Eli Thompson and Gavin Gurtis assisting, but he is the biggest piece of the ground attack.

Like last year, it’ll be another group of receivers with expanded roles to fill the gaps of the seniors who were lost. Every year it seems there is a breakout senior receiver who emerges from this corps, and the versatile and smart John Paul Harbor looks to be that new No. 1 target.

Over on the defense, multiple pieces shifted around internally to make up for the lost graduates, including Reynolds to safety, Rylan Hamm to linebacker and Eli Stubbs to the four-man front, but there are still plenty of key playmakers in the starting 11.

None of those returners are bigger than Garrett Witherington who worked his way into an All-County selection as just a sophomore, a rarity for a usually veteran-laden Lions program. A three-star defensive lineman with Notre Dame and Miami offers to his name, he’ll move to the interior in hopes of making an even greater impact.

Overall, it’s another exciting Briarwood team that should make a lot of noise this season. People on the outside agree as the Lions are the No. 7 team in the Class 5A preseason poll, but now it’s up to the team to live up to the hype and expectations and reach the playoffs.

The road won’t be easy with a highly-regarded reigning region champion in Ramsay as well as a pair of Class 6A playoff teams in Homewood and McAdory and one of the best teams in Class 5A in Leeds on the non-region docket.

However, Briarwood will hope that its strong defensive style and upperclassman talent push it to success, and potentially even as much as the last time they were in Class 5A.

 

Prediction: 7-3. It’s practically an annual tradition for Briarwood to enter a season with multiple key holes to fill ahead of a challenging schedule. That remains the case here even with a move down to Class 5A thanks to a non-region slate that includes three playoff teams and a Class 7A rivalry matchup.

Even with multiple All-County talents gone over on defense, I expect the unit to largely pick up where they left off and continue to be a strength for the team. The big question is whether the offense can take advantage of those opportunities that the defense gives it with a new quarterback and reworked offensive line.

While a lot of those offensive struggles last year came against Class 6A’s top 10 and Class 7A sides, they’ll still need to be on their A-game against big region opponents like Ramsay, John Carroll and Corner to get the points needed to flip losses into wins.

However, I expect that the quality opposition that they face in both region and non-region play will prepare them for another solid playoff run.