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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville Running Back #5 Zac McCray is able to outrun the Briarwood defenders during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville’s #9 Jaylen Mbakwe sliding into the Briarwood sideline during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Briarwood runningback #11 Colton Williams with a sweeping run for positive yardage during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Briarwoods students section is at full house capactiy during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville Running Back #5 Zac McCray stretches out for extra distance while being tackled during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville line backer #7 Matthew Yafondo strips the ball away from the Briarwood runner and get a tocuhdown during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville’s pep squad celebrates a Clay-Chalkville touchdown during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville Running Back #5 Zac McCray in the endzone for a Clay-Chalkville touchdown during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville quarterback is hit by the Briarwood defender right as he releases the ball aviding a sack during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Briarwood defenders have a hard time trying to tackle Clay-Chalkville Running Back #5 Zac McCray during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Briarwood cheerleaders during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Briarwood Head coach Matthew Forester during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Briarwood quarterback #17 Christopher Vizzina is sacked by Clay-Chalkville Line Backer ArShaun Davis during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville’s #9 Jaylen Mbakwe tries to outrun Briarwood line backer #25 Jack Cornish during at kickoff return at a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
The Briarwood defenders attempt to strip the ball from Clay-Chalkville receiver #2 Mario Byrd during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Briarwood band members during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville Running Back #5 Zac McCray fights for extra yardage before being tackled by the Briarwood defenders during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Briarwood quarterback #17 Christopher Vizzina has time to wait for a receiver to get open during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville Running Back #5 Zac McCray fights for extra yardage before being tackled by the Briarwood defender during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Briarwood quarterback #17 Christopher Vizzina avoids being sacked by Clay-Chalkville’s #41 ArShaun Davis during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville Head coach Drew Gilmer walks the sideline calling out plays during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville pep squad members do pushups after a touchdown during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Briarwood band members during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville’s #9 Jaylen Mbakwe outruns the Briarwood defenders for a long touchdown run during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville’s #96 Randell Cole almost sacks Briarwood quarterback #17 Christopher Vizzina during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville cheerleaders during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville pep squad members run onto the field before a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Briarwood players and cheerleaders run onto the field before a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Briarwood vs. Clay-Chalkville Football
Clay-Chalkville’s Ormond Wallace #3 during a game between Briarwood and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at Jerry Hood Stadium in Clay AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
CLAY — Did the calendar actually turn from 2021 to 2022?
Top-ranked Clay-Chalkville High School played like the Class 6A title-winning team of a season ago and blasted No. 4 Briarwood Christian 48-0 on Friday at Cougar Stadium.
The Cougars (1-0) got four offensive touchdowns, two on special teams and one defensive score en route to the season-opening win. Like most seasons, it took little time for Clay-Chalkville to click.
Jaylen Mbakwe scored on a 75-yard reception from new quarterback Kamari McClellan on the first offensive snap of the season. Zac McCray bolted 53 yards late in the first quarter to give Clay-Chalkville a 12-0 advantage. On the ensuing kickoff, Matthew Yafondo ripped the ball from Will Clark’s hands and took it 25 yards to the house, giving Clay a 20-0 halftime lead.
“You’ve got to start fast and get the ball in your playmakers’ hands,” said Cougars head coach Drew Gilmer. “We’ve got to be able to eliminate the big plays on defense, and those were things we were able to do tonight.”
The lone third-quarter score was a 17-yard run by Bravis Cave. Alan Cotton ran for a 9-yard score on the first play of the fourth quarter to put the Cougars up 32-0. Four minutes later, Mario Byrd ran back a punt 83 yards for a touchdown, and Jamarqus Jones added a 75-yard pick-six late in the final quarter.
“You play great teams like Clay-Chalkville because you want to be the best you can be at the end of the season, so it was a big-time learning curve for us,” said Briarwood head coach Matthew Forester. “They showed us a lot of things that we’ve got to improve. We can, and we will, and we’ll bounce back.”
Briarwood (0-1) felt the pressure all night, leading five-star quarterback Christopher Vizzina to rush 12 times for -29 yards, including sacks.
“The thought process was we’ve got to get to him, cause havoc on him,” Gilmer said. “We’ve got to make him make the tough throws and tough decisions all night. If you give him time to sit back there and deliver the football, he’s as good as I’ve ever seen.”
Vizzina finished 14-of-23 for 91 yards. He was replaced late in the fourth quarter by Josh Thompson, who threw for 16 yards and an interception, and rushed for 50 yards on four carries. Robert Beason and Colton Williams each caught three passes to lead the Lions.
“We didn’t play perfect,” Forester said. “The score gets away from you when you play a team like Clay, but defensively we gave up 14 points in the first half. Last year [in the playoffs against Clay] we gave up 28 points. There’s improvement there on the defense. I saw maturity from that defensive line. That’s what we’ve got to have. We’ve got a lot of new faces, and when you’re playing a really hard team like this, you’ve got to step up.”
McClellan, in his Clay-Chalkville debut, completed 8-of-18 passes for 143 yards and a score. McCray ran for 153 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Cave added 55 yards on eight rushes and Cotton chipped in with 35 yards on the ground. Mbakwe caught four passes for 95 yards.
The Clay-Chalkville defense surrendered only 146 yards and 11 first downs.
“We knew this defense had a chance to be pretty special,” Gilmer said. “They played hard. They rallied to the football. They set the tone of the game. Couldn’t be happier for our defense.”
Briarwood hosts Spain Park next week. The Jaguars defeated Calera 14-10 in Tim Vakakes’ head coaching debut Friday night.
“We know they’ll be a tough, hard-nosed, physical football team,” Forester said. “We knew off the bat with the schedule we were starting with two really physical teams. That’s going to help us grow as we play our region, play the playoffs.”
Clay-Chalkville hits the road next week to take on Hueytown in a rematch of last year’s Class 6A state championship game, which the Cougars won 46-42.
“It’s going to be a good game, so we’re looking forward to it,” Gilmer said.
