Briarwood

BRIARWOOD LIONS

Year one of the Matthew Forester era was a roaring success for Briarwood after finishing with a 12-2 record and a trip to the semifinals of the playoffs where in the end they missed out on advancing to the state championship game by two points in a 16-14 loss to Pleasant Grove.

Year two, however, is going to present a new set of challenges for the Lions, who will now move up one classification to Class 6A and into one of its most difficult regions.

The good news for this year’s team is the return of a strong defense and several starters on the offensive side of the ball. While their last move up to 6A didn’t go extremely well, this year’s team seems built to compete at a high level, as long as the Lions can build the depth.

With a star player at every position on both sides of the ball aside from offensive line, and sometimes more than one, the Lions are poised to make some noise. Forester proved he’s capable of leading his team to greatness in year one, and it’s hard to imagine the Lions losing confidence going into year two.

MEET THE TEAM

QUARTERBACK

One of the biggest bright spots for Briarwood will be the return of sophomore quarterback Christopher Vizzina, who started as a freshman and won 11 games, including three postseason victories. Already standing at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds with three years left, his future is bright and he has a chance to take command of the offense this year. Last year, the Lions were more built to run the ball, and while they’ll do that again, Vizzina has learned the offense and will be trusted with much more as they expand what they do this season. He won’t have a lot of height at receiver to throw to downfield, but his accuracy will be help this offense succeed.

Christopher

Vizzina

CLASSIFICATION

AHSAA Class 6A, Region 5

2019 RECORD

12-2 (6-1)

HEAD COACH

Matthew Forester

RECORD

12-2 (Second year)

ASSISTANT COACHES

Mike Bautista, Ernest Carroll, Chris Donnelly, Matthew Furuto, Shane Harmon, Bobby Kerley, Jay Mathews, Johnny Howard, Brent Reese, Steve Renfroe, Jared Walker, Jay Wise

LAST REGION TITLE

2019

LAST PLAYOFF GAME

2019

Luke Hand

RUNNING BACK

The Lions have big shoes to fill with the departure of three-year starter Luke Prewett in the backfield, who totaled 950 rushing yards and 238 receiving yards from his senior season, but they’ll return junior Luke Reebals. Last year, Reebals played a major role with 852 rushing yards and 232 receiving yards with a combined six touchdowns in a backup role. Now, Reebals will be the leader at the position and should be in a position to run for more than 1,000 yards. He has great cut back potential, which is then followed by explosiveness. Junior Riley Margene will join him as a do-it-all running back who can block, run and catch out of the backfield. Both players stand around 5-foot-10, 180 pounds.

RECEIVERS

The receiving corps won’t be the tallest this year, but all have great hands and understand how to be well-rounded receivers who do what is needed. Brooks Donnelly tore his ACL the third day of fall practice last year and was set to be a leader at the position. This year, he’s back and healthy and will be a big boost to the offense with great hands. Eli Steadman moved to the receiver position from defensive back last year to help fill Donnelly’s spot and looked good. Now he’s back and ready for a bigger role as well. Junior Nick Deason will also bring back some playing experience, while Sawyer Tindell will be

2020 SCHEDULE

Aug. 21: @ Madison Academy Aug. 28: Spain Park Sept. 4: @ Chelsea* Sept. 11: Woodlawn* Sept. 18: Huffman* Sept. 25: @ Mortimer Jordan Oct. 2: @ Shades Valley* Oct. 9: Mountain Brook* Oct. 16: Bye Oct. 23: @ Homewood* Oct. 30: Corner

*Region game

another strong addition this season after returning from an injury last year. Jay Butler is the tallest at the position standing at 6-foot-3, while senior tight ends Sam Gage and Bailey Salmon will help at the position.

OFFENSIVE LINE

The Lions are going to have to be deep up front this season after making the jump up to 6A and will also have to replace All-State lineman and current Clemson Tiger Trent Howard. Junior Alex Moore and senior Carson McKeen will be leaders of the unit this year. Moore stands at 6-foot, 285 pounds, while McKeen is 6-foot-2, 265 pounds. Charlie Heidepriem, Peyton Fox and Harris Smith all stand at least 6-foot-1, 225 pounds and will play key roles on the line as well.

Christopher Vizzina, QB

As a freshman, Vizzina stepped in and won 11 games for Briarwood leading the Lions to the semifinals of the playoffs. He’ll be the engine of this year’s offense.

Luke Reebals, RB

As a sophomore backup, Reebals ran for 852 yards and five touchdowns and added another 232 receiving yards on 22 catches. Now, he’s the premier back.

Tyler Waugh, LB

Waugh led the team with 163 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks last year and will lead the defense this year.

Parker Hutson, LB

Hutson added 141 tackles last season with 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks to complement Waugh at the linebacker position.

Alastair Harris, DB

Harris totaled 62 tackles on the back end of the defense last year with six tackles for loss and 11 pass breakups. He’ll lock down the secondary again this year.

Luke Reebals

KEY DEPARTURES

Luke Prewett

Prewett takes three years of starting experience with him and totaled 950 yards rushing and 238 yards receiving last year despite missing three games.

Trent Howard Now at Clemson, Howard was one of the best offensive linemen in school history.

Cal Reebals

Reebals had 102 tackles last year with a team-high 12.5 tackles for loss and six sacks.

Blake McKenna

McKenna became a major receiving threat last year with 678 yards and eight touchdowns on 37 receptions.

Cole Garner

Garner totaled 70-plus tackles last year, including 12 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.

A GIANT LEAP Briarwood is making the dreaded leap back up to the 6A classification for the second time in the last seven years. Their first go around during the 2013 and 2014 seasons saw the Lions make the playoffs both seasons but win just a combined nine games with 14 losses. This time around, Briarwood not only has to make that leap into the competitive classification, but jumps into a region with the likes of former 7A team Mountain Brook, who is moving down, as well as rival Chelsea, Homewood, Shades Valley and others. Briarwood has the talent to compete in the starting lineup, but they have to form depth.

PREVENTING THE SOPHOMORE

SLUMP Last year was remarkable for head coach Matthew Forester in his first season at the helm with 12 wins and a berth in the semifinals with a freshman quarterback in Christopher Vizzina. Some may worry it happened so quickly, that there is nowhere to go but down, but it also could have been the start of a dynasty. Now, Vizzina and Forester go into their second year in key roles for the Lions hoping the latter is true. The main key this year for that to be the case will be forming a passing game with more trust in Vizzina.

DETERMINED FOR DEPTH

The coaching staff knows how important it will be for this year’s team to form depth in order to be successful at a higher level of competition. They may have to play some players younger than they normally would as sophomores and juniors, and those younger players will have to be ready to compete at a high level. If they stay healthy, and that depth forms, the Lions will likely be playing their toughest two games in the final three weeks of the season in great shape.

OFFENSIVE CONSISTENCY

The last two years, Briarwood has averaged 25 points per game or less with inconsistency on the offensive side of the football. This season, they’ll trust Vizzina more as a sophomore with a season of starting under his belt, they’ll have solid depth at running back and the offensive line should have some good sized players, but the receiver position has to step up. The Lions need that position to be a difference this year in order for the team to take that next step and compete at the 6A level.

2020 Briarwood Roster

NO. 1 2 4 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 30 31 32 33 NAME Miller Stubblefield Brooks Donnelly Brady Waugh Cal Higdon Sawyer Tindall Knox Baker Luke Hand Luke Gilbert Vraj Patel Cohen Luker AJ Davis Parker Hutson Eli Steadman William Lloyd

Reece Garner

Sam Gage Jakob Brower Christopher Vizzina Payton Clement Sawyer Russell Seth Alford Haddon Stubbs Riley Margene Luke Reebals Nicholas Dicen Grant Bruce Tyler Smith Ethan Anderson Pierce Reichle Bailey Salmon Peyton Steed Tyler Waugh Alastair Harris Daniel Corbin Sam Hoff POSITION

DL WR QB DB WR QB LB WR DB DL WR LB WR WR DB TE K QB WR WR DB DB RB RB WR LB DL DB DB TE DB LB DB DL WR

YEAR

11 12 10 12 12 10 12 11 12 12 11 12 12 10 11 12 11 10 12 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 12 11 12 12 10 12 12 12 10

NO. 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 52 54 55 56 58 59 64 65 66 67 70 73 74 76 79 80 81 84 95 NAME Harrison Self Robert Beason Peyton Fox Vance Hopkins Mathis Tindall Wells Connell Preston King Grant Dickinson Knox Merry Aidan Punch Walker Chambless Buddy Campbell Aaron Cale Colton Williams Jake Scott Caleb Laechelt Hardy Thompson Alex Hudson Harrison Clemmer Garrett Harmon Charlie Heidepriem Holden Patterson Carson McKeen James Michael Tedesco Alex Moorer Andrew McAdams Jason Bess Griffin Clark Rich Connell John Taylor Harris Smith Clay Dorrill Jay Butler Beau Barnes Sully Wright POSITION

DB WR OL WR TE LB DL LB LB K TE LB LB RB DB DB LB OL OL DL OL DL DL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL DL WR DB DL

YEAR

10 10 11 10 11 10 10 10 11 10 10 12 12 10 10 10 11 11 10 11 11 11 12 11 11 10 10 10 11 10 12 11 11 10 10

couple of solid returnees who should play big roles this season, led by juniors Miller Stubblefield and Holden Patterson, as well as senior Daniel Corbin. Stubblefield, 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, and Corbin, 5-foot11, 210 pounds, both started last year. Patterson, who is the bigger of the three at 6-foot-2, 235 pounds, will be a key addition. All three of those players are expected to step up, while Tyler Smith is a senior defensive end the coaches hope will step up and have a big year as well.

EDITOR’S 2020 PREDICTION (7-3)

It’s no secret, the jump from Class 5A to Class 6A is one of the most difficult to make in the state of Alabama due to the number of competitive teams in the 6A classification. That said, the Lions face a schedule this season where they should be able to compete in just about every game. A best case scenario would likely be an 8-2 or 9-1 regular season, which is very plausible. But a realistic expectation in their first year back in 6A is closer to 7-3, while the worst case scenario would likely be 5-5 or 4-6. But this team is too talented for the worst case scenario. The difference between this team being 7-3 and 9-1 will be whether or not a receiver steps up as a legitimate threat and whether or not there is depth built early in the season. The defense alone, however, should continue to allow the Lions to be better than average and find one of the top four spots to make the playoffs out of a difficult region.

LINEBACKERS

As usual, linebacker will be one of Briarwood’s strongest positions during the 2020 season thanks to the return of three seniors. All-State linebacker Tyler Waugh will be one of those returning, as will Parker Hutson, who coaches say was just as good last year, and Luke Hand. Waugh, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound linebacker, totaled 163 tackles last year with seven tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and four recovered fumbles. Hutson totaled 141 tackles with 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Those two were in on a combined 304 tackles together last year. Hand, who stands at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, has played significantly the last two years and will have the chance to be a major contributor this year. Behind that, Aaron Cale is a senior who will add depth and give the Lions four seniors in the mix, while some younger guys will get time as well.

SECONDARY

The secondary will also see the return of two key starters in Cal Higdon and Alastair Harris. Last season, Harris totaled 62 tackles with six tackles for loss, one sack and one interception as a sophomore. Vraj Patel and Pierce Reichle are two other seniors the Lions can lean on. Behind that, the coaching staff is hoping for a several younger players to step up, including juniors Haddon Stubbs, Reece Garner, Seth Alford and Ethan Anderson.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Briarwood will have to replace star kicker Noah Nall this year. Behind Hutson as the long snapper, everything else is up in the air. Aidan Punch is a sophomore who wants to kick, while Alford and Stubbs have done it in the past for junior varsity.

GOOD LUCK LIONS!

Chelsea# Pleasant Grove Woodlawn @ Wenonah Hartselle John Carroll @ Parker Ramsay @ Fairfield @ Hueytown Marbury* @Jackson* Bibb County* Pleasant Grove*

#Forfeited win *Playoff game W L W W W W W W W W W W W L 1-0 14-26 38-20 16-7 21-10 48-15 38-20 21-20 28-18 7-0 42-26 24-14 7-3 14-16

2019 STATS

Offense Total points: 332 Per game: 23.7 County rank: 8

Defense Points allowed: 221 Per game: 15.7 County rank: 1

5-YEAR WIN TREND

12

14 9

2019 2018 2017 12

2016 5

2015