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Briarwood will head into the offseason with a five-game win streak as Luke Reynolds’ massive five-touchdown night helped the Lions outpace McAdory in their final game of the year. (For the Reporter/Kelsea Schafer)

By NIC YOUNG | Special to the Reporter

NORTH SHELBY – The Briarwood Christian Lions concluded their season on a five-game win streak after defeating the McAdory Yellow Jackets 55-35 on Nov. 1 at Lions Pride Stadium, which secured a 5-5 record after an 0-5 start.

“It’s a testament to these seniors and the legacy they wanted to leave,” Briarwood coach Matthew Forester said. “Obviously, season didn’t start like we wanted it to, but it really couldn’t have ended any better. Five straight wins, practices were excellent throughout the year and just the will to win these seniors had was pretty outstanding.”

The game got off to a slow start with both teams trading punts to kick things off.

Briarwood’s second possession of the game was a productive one as running back Luke Reynolds helped the offense cruise down to the McAdory 21-yard line before an interception ended the drive prematurely.

The ensuing Jackets possession was short-lived, however, as the Lions would force a fumble that would halt the drive after three plays.

Operating at the McAdory 12-yard line, the Lions could not generate much offense and chose to attempt a 33-yard field goal. The McAdory special teams unit managed to block the attempt, which was fielded and returned for the game’s first score, putting the Yellow Jackets up 7-0.

The Lions offense continued to stall into their next possession, leading to a punt after a short drive.

With the offense struggling early, it was the Lions defense that helped swing momentum into their favor. Defensive lineman Will Clark helped put Briarwood on the board with a pick-six to tie the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter.

The Lions defense did not relent afterwards, forcing McAdory to commit another fumble. The recovery placed the Briarwood offense at the Jackets 18-yard line.

This spark of momentum helped the Lions offense find their footing as Reynolds punched the score in from three yards out to take the lead, 14-7.

The defensive unit of the Lions remained stout on the following possession, forcing McAdory into a punting situation.

The Lions started their next possession with a big gain with Reynolds taking a reverse sweep 30 yards and up to the Jacket 12-yard line. Running back Eli Thompson cleaned things up from here scoring a 12-yard touchdown to give the Lions a two-score lead at 21-7.

The McAdory offense remerged the following possession as a 32-yard pass from quarterback Justin Patton to receiver Carter Feagin got the Jackets rolling. Running back Derrion Davis finished the drive off with a five-yard score to bring his team within a score at 21-14.

The next offensive drive for the Lions got off to a slow start. Lined up to punt five plays into their possession, the Lions opted to roll the dice instead of giving the ball back to McAdory.

On a fake punt play, Brayden Robertson hit Tram Walker for a 17-yard gain, and a first down to make the Lions’ gamble worthwhile and extended the drive.

This opened the door for quarterback Charles Dedmon to find Dane Whitehead for the 11-yard score to add to the Briarwood lead, which stood at 28-14 entering halftime.

The Lions began the second half on strong footing, piecing together a lengthy drive headlined by Reynolds’ rushing efforts to march down the field from their 30-yard line to the end zone. Reynolds concluded the drive with a three-yard touchdown run to make the score 35-14.

After another short-lived possession by McAdory, Briarwood took over at around midfield. It only took the Lions three plays to find the end zone. Once again, it was Reynolds who ran for a 45-yard score to give Briarwood a 42-14 lead.

The Jackets offense responded with a quick three-play possession of their own. After a 71-yard run from running back Micah Pleasant, McAdory found the end zone two plays later to cut into the Lions lead at 42-21.

Then, the Jackets defense put together a solid effort and forced the Lions into a three-and-out situation.

Starting at midfield, the new swing in momentum propelled McAdory to glide down the field. Quarterback Michael Barnes took in a 13-yard score to inch the Yellow Jackets closer at 42-28.

Seemingly on a mission to put the Yellow Jackets away for good, the Briarwood offense put together another time-consuming drive. Reynolds once again took the lead in helping the Lions move down the field.

He got his fourth score of the game off a two-yard touchdown run to make the game’s score 48-28.

On the next McAdory possession, the Lions’ defense came up big with linebacker Rylan Hamm coming down with an interception on the first play of the drive.

The turnover opened the door for another productive drive highlighted by the rushing efforts of Reynolds. Reynolds recorded his fifth touchdown of the night to round this drive out and give the Lions a commanding 55-28 lead.

McAdory managed to put together another scoring drive as the fourth quarter ticked to a close, once again it was Barnes who found the end zone to make the game’s final score 55-35.

Reynolds led all rushers with 206 yards and five touchdowns on 33 carries. Dedmon finished the game 6-for-10 for 65 yards and a touchdown. Whitehead had 42 yards and a touchdown on two receptions.

After the game, Forester said that the defense led the way in keeping McAdory out of the end zone so that the offense could have time to build up to another massive night from Reynolds.

“The big thing was the defense did a good job standing early, didn’t give up a score,” Forester said. “We were playing really sound, good defensive football, following our gaps and then offensively, just got a hold of a few key plays that really just burst through for us. Luke Reynolds was outstanding tonight. Brayden Robertson had another good night, and then we just hit some stuff, so I was really proud of the guys.”

Looking back on the season, Forester said Reynolds’ return elevated the offense as the young players continued to learn the system, clean up mistakes and play as a unit. Overall though, he complemented each player’s determination to improve and remain focused.

“We often talked about this early in the season: there’s this thing called hope and everybody’s good while they have hope, and what’s going to happen when you don’t have hope?” Forester said. “That’s where your determination, your will to win, your drive to be excellent in all that you do comes through. When we felt at our darkest time, they were still wanting to put their head down, and so it’s a testament to these seniors.

“I think the juniors and sophomores get to learn from them, learn how to do things the right way, learn that, yes, the scoreboard is important, but if we’re not great every day, we have real issues. I’m really proud of them, and then I think it sets a great precedent. It gives us a push into the offseason to go out and work hard to get better to continue to build a Briarwood program.”

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