With a toast of Powerade and the presentation of the game ball by his starting quarterback, Briarwood Christian School&8217;s Fred Yancey reached a historic milestone in his career Thursday night.

The dean of high school coaching

got his career 200 win when the Lions destroyed the home team Talladega Tigers 42-12 on the road.

The 5A region win lofted the Lions to (5-1, 4-0) in what looks like another run for the state playoffs.

In a contest where the Lions led 29-0 at the half and 43 to 6 until the last minute of the fourth quarter, the football game seemed secondary to Yancey&8217;s accomplished feat.

Yancey is now 200-71-1 overall and 152-51 at Briarwood.

&8220;I&8217;ve thought a lot about it today… Bob Finley&8217;s wife gave me a call, and that just really kind of set the tone that it was really special,&8221; said Yancey following the milestone win.

He said the late Bob Finley, who coached at Berry High School for 30 years and died with a record of 198 wins, was the classiest football coach in the state of Alabama and that Mrs. Finley is a &8220;class lady.&8221;

Yancey said of reaching the 200 mark after 23 years as a head coach, 17 at Briarwood, &8220;This is special because it represents a lot of great people who held me up when I wasn&8217;t so hot.&8221;

He said, &8220;I&8217;ve enjoyed coaching, and I can&8217;t imagine doing anything else. I&8217;m thankful that it&8217;s worked out so well for me personally, but I think it&8217;s been a lot of fun for a lot of people who have played on our teams over the years. They&8217;ve had a great time.&8221;

Yancey said he was thrilled to see the success of the players who got win 200 for him. &8220;I know that they&8217;ve put in the time and effort to really be good players and fun guys to coach.&8221;

On having the game ball presented to him by quarterback Barrett Trotter, Yancey said, &8220;It means a lot to me coming from Barrett. I know he represents the whole team.&8221; He said Trotter was one of his special guys because he had been with the team since he was in the eighth grade and was on the state championship team.

As to the Powerade toast, &8220;I&8217;m just glad they didn&8217;t throw that stuff on me.&8221; Yancey said.

During Thursday night&8217;s contest Nathaniel (Nate) Carlson, who was back early from an injured ACL, caught four passes for 67 yards and three touchdowns.

&8220;Nate really surprised us,&8221; said Yancey. &8220;We know he&8217;s not full speed yet, but he sure showed out tonight. When he gets full speed it will help us a ton.&8221;

Trotter completed 14 of 15 passes for 249 yards and four touchdowns.

Jonathan Sillers was lost to a hamstring on the first play of the game. &8220;He&8217;s a terrific little player. We&8217;re going to have to get him well,&8221; said Yancey.

The Lions passed for 65 yards and rushed for 301 yards for a total of 365 yards total offense.

Yancey gave Briarwood freshman quarterback Zeke Walters playing time, and the freshmen took to the opportunity to connect with Carlson for a 7-yard TD strike. Sophomore Ben Bracewell also saw time on the field, relieving Gordon with two PATs.

The Lions host region foe Sylacauga this Friday night