By WESLEY HALLMAN / Sports Editor

Briarwood Christian School capped Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 5A, Region 5 play with a 42-21 win Oct. 21 on the road at Sylacauga.

The Lions clinched the Class 5A, Region 5 championship following another undefeated season in region play.

After Sylacauga jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, the Lions responded with 42 unanswered points before the Aggies added three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Ben Craft put the Lions (8-1 overall, 7-0 in Class 5A, Region 5) on the scoreboard with his 5-yard touchdown pass to Canon Smith with 2:22 remaining in the first quarter.

Craft added a 1-yard rushing touchdown early in the second quarter and Pearson completed a pass to Craft for the 2-point conversion to give Briarwood Christian a 14-7 lead with 11:17 left in the opening half. Craft tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Keaton Russell and Benson Mulvaney added the extra point to push the Lions’ lead to 21-7 with 6:43 left in the first half.

Briarwood Christian carried a 28-7 lead into the locker room at halftime following a 2-yard touchdown run by Craft and an extra point by Mulvaney with 1:05 left in the second quarter.

Matthew Furuto got the scoring started in the second half with his 3-yard touchdown run, which gave the Lions a 35-7 lead following an extra point by Mulvaney with 8:34 remaining in the third quarter. Craft capped the scoring for the Lions with his 25-yard touchdown pass to Victor Jerald with 5:40 left in the third quarter. Mulvaney’s extra point accounted for the final margin.

Craft completed 12-of-16 passes for 194 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in the win. Furuto rushed for 167 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.