Cougars blow past Briarwood with dominant 2nd half
CLAY – Briarwood Christian School could only hold Clay-Chalkville at bay for so long.
The Cougars looked like the top-ranked team in Class 6A on Friday night, blowing past the Lions in the second half for a 56-21 victory in the second round of the playoffs at Cougar Stadium.
Briarwood (10-2) cut the deficit to 22-21 with 34 seconds to play in the first half, but Clay-Chalkville (12-0) scored again before the break and blew it wide open with a dominant second half.
“Clay’s the real deal,” Briarwood head coach Matthew Forester said. “We knew it going into the week, and we had them at the half and things just kind of snowballed. I’m proud of the boys’ fight and how well the seniors led us and how hard they played until the end.”
Briarwood made some headway on offense in the first half, but that was all but stymied in the second half, as Clay-Chalkville outscored the Lions 26-0 over the final two quarters.
“The defense made good adjustments,” Clay-Chalkville head coach Drew Gilmer said. “Coach (Matt) Glover did a good job making adjustments at halftime, to come out and hold them scoreless in the second half.”
The game was closer than the final tally indicated, but Clay-Chalkville still put on an impressive showing on its home field.
Clay-Chalkville running back Edward Osley began the game’s scoring with a 1-yard plunge less than two minutes into the contest. It was just the start of a monster game, as he went for 190 rushing yards and three scores on 24 carries.
Briarwood countered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with Luke Reebals’ 13-yard run. In the senior’s final game as a Lions player, Reebals led the team with 16 rushes for 86 yards.
The Cougars went ahead 14-7 in the second quarter, as Jaylen Mbakwe returned a punt 45 yards for a touchdown. The Lions countered again, this time with quarterback Christopher Vizzina getting to the edge and scoring on a 49-yard run. Vizzina finished the night 9-of-17 passing for 130 yards and rushed for 62 yards, a total that would have been much higher if not for a few big sacks.
Clay went ahead for good on its next drive, as Marquarius White scored on a 6-yard pass from Khalib Johnson and Johnson hit Mbakwe with a pass for the two-point conversion to make it 22-14. Vizzina then hit Jay Butler on a 20-yard pass with 34 seconds to go before the break.
But the Cougars needed just two plays, scoring on Johnson’s 39-yard heave to the end zone for Nate Owens with six seconds on the clock, giving Clay a 30-21 edge at halftime.
The second half was all Clay-Chalkville. Osley scored on runs of 2 and 1 yard. Rodriguez Johnson scored on a 3-yard run and Rondarius Sykes intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards for a score.
Johnson limped off the field with an injury late in the first half, but was able to return in the second half and looked no worse for the wear. He finished 13-of-17 for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Mario Craver was his leading receiver, catching four passes for 86 yards. Mbakwe also finished with 40 receiving yards.
For Briarwood, Butler wound up with 61 yards on three grabs, and Peyton Fox had a 35-yard reception as well.
Briarwood finishes the season with a 10-2 record, with its only losses coming to the Nos. 1 and 3 teams (Clay and Mountain Brook) in the final Alabama Sports Writers Association poll of the season.
“10-2 in 6A, that’s pretty doggone incredible,” Forester said. “I’m proud of this senior class. They’re the first group to be sophomores, juniors and seniors under me. Love these guys.”
Clay-Chalkville moves on and hosts Gardendale next week in the quarterfinals. In the regular season, the Cougars thrashed the Rockets 46-0.
“Yeah, we get to go to next week, so I feel really good about it. We’ll go back to work tomorrow,” Gilmer said.