Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

GULF SHORES – The Briarwood Christian Lions made the most of their beach trip and kept their momentum going ahead of the postseason with a trip to the Shrimpfest Gold Bracket.

Briarwood went 3-2 at the Shrimpfest in Gulf Shores on Oct. 11 and 12 thanks to a 2-1 record in pool play and a bracket play win over the Shades Valley Mounties.

The Lions’ run only came to an end at the hands of the Montgomery Academy Eagles, the best team in Class 6A with a 47-3 record and the eventual tournament champions.

Briarwood started out the tournament with a matchup against the Hoover Buccaneers, the first-ever meeting between Lions coach Chris Camper and his former program.

While Briarwood came out on the losing end of a sweep, it held its own against one of the perennial powers in Class 7A.

The Lions got within a few points of the lead in the first set, but Hoover claimed the 25-21 win in the opening frame.

From there, the Bucs also got in front in the second set and held off Briarwood for a 25-18 victory to sweep the match.

The Lions took that result into their next pool play match against the Jasper Vikings and found themselves in a war to close out Friday night.

The first set required extra points to decide a winner as the teams remained deadlocked in the final moments of the frame.

After splitting the first round of extra points, Briarwood finished strong and won the set 27-25 to gain the upper hand in the match.

The Lions faced a close challenge from the Vikings in the following set but stayed the course to win 25-21 and take the match in straight sets.

Briarwood came back the next morning and faced the Robertsdale Golden Bears, knowing that a win would book a spot in the Gold Bracket.

The Lions took advantage of that opportunity and took a commanding lead in the first set that turned into a 25-14 win.

After taking the first set by double digits, Robertsdale closed the gap in the second set, but Briarwood continued to exert control over the match.

The Lions won the second set by a score of 25-17, sealing their place in the Gold Bracket with a 2-1 record in pool play.

Briarwood then faced another Birmingham area foe in the Shades Valley Mounties and took down the Class 6A side to keep its stay in Gulf Shores alive.

The Lions used a win in the first set to power another victory in the second set and sweep the match 2-0, extending their streak of set wins to six in a row.

After that, Briarwood found itself face to face with one of the best teams in the state in Montgomery Academy.

The Eagles took command of the match in the opening set and went on to win the first set 25-15, but the Lions made the second set a much closer affair in a bid to extend the match.

Just two points separated the teams as Montgomery Academy sat on match points, and the Eagles held on for the 25-22 win to advance further toward their eventual title.

Briarwood will now head on to the Class 5A playoffs, starting with the Class 5A, Area 8 tournament at Sylacauga High School on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

There, the Lions will face the Shelby County Wildcats at 6:30 p.m. for a spot in the championship match at 8 p.m. that night as well as a place in super regionals.