Spartans shut out Briarwood in slugfest
MOUNTAIN BROOK – There will be plenty of sore bodies on both sides Friday morning.
A game that was expected to be a physical, defensive struggle was exactly that Thursday night, as Mountain Brook High School beat Briarwood 14-0 at Spartan Stadium in a matchup of the top two teams in Class 6A, Region 5.
“That was a physical, physical football game,” Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager said following the game.
No. 6 Mountain Brook (6-1, 4-0 in region) put together an incredible defensive effort throughout, keeping No. 2 Briarwood (7-1, 4-1) completely off the scoreboard the entire evening.
“Our defense, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a group of kids play any harder than they did tonight,” Yeager said.
The Spartans made Briarwood one-dimensional in the second half, holding the Lions to just 15 rushing yards in the contest and forcing Briarwood to throw the ball almost exclusively in the second half.
Both head coaches had high praise for Mountain Brook defensive coordinator Robert Evans.
“He is one of the best in the state,” Briarwood head coach Matthew Forester said. “Coach Evans does an amazing job. You know the tighter it gets to the goal line, the harder it is, and they proved that tonight.”
Briarwood had a few chances to dent the scoreboard, getting into the red zone twice in the game. But each time the Lions got some momentum going on offense, Mountain Brook’s defense forced negative plays or coaxed the Lions into costly penalties. John McMillan and Trent Wright lived in the Briarwood backfield much of the night.
“I would not want to see that defense on a Friday night,” Yeager said. “I see it every day in practice, so I know how hard it is to work against and play against. It’s so multiple, there’s so many variables. It puts a lot of stress on your people to protect.”
Mountain Brook’s defense had Briarwood’s star quarterback on the run much of the evening. A couple Clemson coaches were in attendance to watch Christopher Vizzina, who willed his team down the field several times despite not having his full complement of weapons. Already down receiver Nicholas Dicen, running back Luke Reebals was not at full strength and leading receiver Jay Butler suffered an injury in the first half and was unable to return.
Vizzina finished the night 25-of-45 passing for 245 yards, throwing an interception to Braxton Dean on his final attempt on a desperation toss. Cooper Higgins caught eight passes for 60 yards to lead the way, with Ethan Anderson snagging five passes for 51 yards.
Consider the opposing coach a fan.
“I thought he played one of the most courageous games I’ve seen,” Yeager said. “I don’t know who all’s offered him, but everyone needs to offer that kid, because he’s a winner. He’s got guts. Our kids gave him a lot of body shots tonight but he just kept coming back and did a heck of a job.”
Forester said field position was one of the key factors to the game. In the first half, Mountain Brook started three of its five drives on the Briarwood side of the field. Briarwood’s defense held firm for the most part, only surrendering one touchdown drive.
On Mountain Brook’s second possession, it got inside the 10-yard line, but Grant Bruce recovered a fumble to thwart the opportunity. However, a few plays later, Briarwood was forced to punt and Jake Thompson ran the punt back 75 yards for a touchdown to give the Spartans a 7-0 lead.
The Spartans began their next drive with good field position and got down close thanks to a 33-yard pass from John Colvin to Will Waldrop. Three plays later, Colvin hit Jackson Beatty for a 10-yard score to make it 14-0 early in the second quarter. That score held the rest of the night.
“We were doing a little feeling out in the first quarter, then we found we can really play with them and we came out and we battled,” Forester said. “I was proud of our team for the fight that they showed. We got down early and it was too much to overcome.”
Briarwood’s special teams unit came up big in the second half. Reece Garner blocked a punt and Bruce blocked a field goal to give the Lions chances to cut into the deficit.
Forester asserted that his defensive line was dominant on the night, aside from a few big plays. Mountain Brook gained 292 total yards on the night.
Colvin finished the night 9-of-16 passing for 147 yards. Beatty led the team with 59 yards on two catches. Gamble and George Cain received 10 carries each, with Gamble going for 58 yards and Cain totaling 34. Thompson and Waldrop finished with 38 receiving yards apiece.
Yeager was pleased with the victory, but wants to see more from his offense and special teams units before he’s ready to say the Spartans are ready to make a deep run this fall.
“I think we’ve got a contending defense, but I don’t think we have a contending football team right now,” he said.
Next week, Mountain Brook plays another Thursday night game, at Homewood in another key region contest. Briarwood takes its open week.