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It was a defensive battle for the majority of the game, but a late offensive push led Briarwood to victory. (For the Reporter/Todd Kwarcinski)

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By DANIEL LOCKE | Staff Writer

HOMEWOOD – Despite both sides putting some points on the board early, it was a defensive battle for the majority of the night at Pat Sullivan Field. The Briarwood Lions had an offensive surge in the fourth quarter, however, leading them to a 23-7 victory over the John Carroll Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers drove 78 yards on the contest’s opening drive. Garret Barnes found his target for a six-yard touchdown to cap it off. Briarwood responded with a successful 33-yard field goal attempt by Evan Ball.

After a 67-yard punt by Ryan Swetz, Briarwood was pinned at its own five-yard line. After overcoming multiple penalties and converting on four third-downs, the 95-yard drive was highlighted by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Charles Dedmon to Eli Thompson. This gave the Lions a 9-7 lead and was the last instance of points being scored until the fourth quarter.

“I was really proud of the defense,” said Briarwood head coach Matthew Forester. “John Carroll is well-coached; they always have good stuff going. They hit on the first drive, and from there, our guys settled in. They started playing good, sound defense. We’re a defense that’s growing. I’m really excited about where we’re heading.”

After not having his best performance in the Lions’ loss against Corner last week, Dedmon was on against John Carroll. He went 11-of-13 on passing attempts for 151 yards and two touchdowns.

“Charles (Dedmon) is a great kid, comes from a great family. He knows how to respond; boys at our school know how to respond. When you have a rough outing, you know that you’re going to be able to come out and do it again.”

The two sides combined for eight scoreless possessions before Briarwood found its way into the end zone with 6:01 left in the game. The Lions drove 43 yards, but were facing a fourth-and-two situation from John Carroll’s 13-yard line. Dedmon came up with his second touchdown pass of the game, finding Dane Whitehead for a 13-yard scoring play.

Whitehead only had two receptions, but did not waste either one, as the other was for a gain of 24 yards, bringing his total for the game to 37, behind Sam Canale’s four catches for 55 yards and Thompson’s four for 51.

Thompson also led the Lions on the ground with 54 yards. Jamison Barnes had 53, Dedmon had 39, Jackson Reyer had 35 and John Campbell had 16.

The Lions’ defense held strong on a fourth-down conversion on the Cavaliers’ drive that followed, giving them the ball back at John Carroll’s 35-yard line. Barnes scored on a 20-yard quarterback scramble. Ball’s extra point extended Briarwood’s lead to 23-7 with 3:01 left on the clock.

“Some of their best drives were just getting it off the five-yard line, getting it out and flipping the field,” Forester said. “We did a lot of really good things tonight, not everything reflected on the scoreboard. We were running the ball well. They did a good job of limiting explosive plays. But we did a good job of grinding out the clock.”

When the clock hit 0:00, Briarwood had once again found the win column against a region opponent, something Forester never takes for granted.

“Secure your spot in the playoffs with a region win,” Forester said. “That’s the goal, we did what we needed to do. John Carroll always plays Briarwood tough. My second road game I ever watched as a Briarwood student was at John Carroll in the pouring rain. Since 1993 to the present, John Carroll always plays Briarwood tough. It’s always a great game. We knew that coming in tonight.”

Briarwood (4-3) will have a bye week next week before taking on the Hayden Wildcats on the road in its final region contest of the season on Friday, Oct. 24.

A win over Hayden would do Briarwood a favor as it continues to fight for the Class 5A Region 5 title. The Lions currently occupy the region’s top spot with two games remaining on the regular season schedule.

“We got a bye week, so we’re going to enjoy that. Hayden is for playoff seeding,” Forrester said. “So let’s gear up, because we’ve got another season that’s about to start.”

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