Coming into Briarwood’s matchup with undefeated, No. 10-ranked Pleasant Grove, Lions’ standout Tim Castille was supposed to be on the bench.

Not by the choosing of Castille of Briarwood head coach Fred Yancy, but due to a strained knee.

&uot;That was a last minute deal, really,&uot; Yancy said of Castille’s ability to play. &uot;Last Wednesday the doctors told us he could play a little and run some routes and be on the field. On Friday, the doctor said he could do more. I sat down and talked to Tim Friday and told him whatever he felt like he could do, just to let me know.

&uot;He was nervous coming into the game, to say the least, but once he got to cooking on the field, he was able to do a lot more.&uot;

Castille finished the night with three receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown &045; the game winner.

&uot;We didn’t call his number a whole lot, but we thought that if he could just be on the field he would be a great decoy,&uot; yancy said. &uot;He wound up being a lot more.&uot;

With 3:30 left in the game, Briarwood found itself down 27-21. That’s when Castille made &uot;the catch.&uot;

Pleasant Grove had scored twice on the Lion defense with halfback passes for touchdowns. Briarwood had the final word when halfback Brian Crumpler found Castille from 20 yards out for the score. Castille made a one-handed, diving catch. Ben Bludsworth’s extra point gave the Lions the lead and the win.

Pleasant Grove had missed an extra point earlier in the game.

&uot;It was a great catch, one of the best I have ever seen,&uot; Yancy said. &uot;Tim was the only person in the stadium who could have made that catch &045; besides maybe his brother (Simeon).&uot;

Yancy was proud of his team’s effort overall.

&uot;I thought we played well,&uot; Yancy said. &uot;We made a lot of mistakes, but we fought hard and played with a lot of fire about us against a really good team.&uot;

Briarwood took an early lead when David Eady scored on a 5-yard plunge. Bludsworth tacked on the PAT to give the Lions a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Lions added to that lead when Joe Craddock connected with Brian Crumpler from 15 yards out in the second quarter. Bludsworth’s kick gave the BCS a 14-0 lead.

Pleasant Grove would not lie down, however, as Josh Scott scored on a 1-yard run to cut into the lead. Casey Coburn added the PAT to make the score 14-7 at the half.

Pleasant Grove knotted the score at 14 each in the third quarter when Scott found the end zone again, this time a 24-yard reception from halfback Darrell Lebeaux. Coburn’s kick tied the score.

Briarwood would answer, however, taking the lead on a 2-yard Eady run. Bludsworth’s kick gave the Lions a 21-14 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

Pleasant Grove tied the game when Judah Lando caught an 8-yard scoring pass from halfback Cornelius Murrell in the fourth quarter. Coburn’s kick tied the score at 21 each.

Pleasant

Grove added to the lead when Scott found paydirt from 2 yards away. The PAT failed, which would loom large for the 10-ranked team.

Castille’s touchdown and Bludsworth’s PAT with 3:30 left in the game moved the Lions to 4-1 on the season while Pleasant Grove fell to 4-1.

Craddock finished the night 7-of-21 for 72 yards with 1 interception and a touchdown. Craddock also rushed 12 times for 87 yards.

Eady scored twice on 13 rushes for 33 yards.

Bobby Sherman paced the Lions on the defensive side of the ball with 13 tackles, 2 for a loss. Simeon Castille had 8 tackles including one for loss along with a pass deflection and John Hall also recorded 8 tackles.

Next up for Briarwood will be Brookwood at home. Brookwood (1-4) is coming off a 21-0 loss to Oak Grove