October 2023 Fall Edition Vol. 1
Briarwood’s newest source for news, opinions, and commentary by students, for students. Jesus brought the Good News, and we are doing our best to do the same.
Co-Conspirators: Luke Long & Allison Anderson
Editor’s Note: This newspaper was inspired by students and is for students. My fourth period creative writing class took a simple assignment and transformed it from a Renweb grade into something much greater. Their enthusiasm and desire to share their writing beyond the walls of H109 has truly been an inspiration to me. I’m so proud of their creativity and their willingness to use their writing skills to reach out to others. In this first edition, you’ll find the following: 01. Sports History // 02. Homecoming Review // 03. New Faces and New Places 04. Social Life // 05. High School Advice // 06. Seasonal Favorites
The Lion’s Chronicle
Battle of 119 by Luke Long BIRMINGHAM – Friday night, October 1st, Briarwood Christian School’s varsity football team faced Oak Mountain High School. This game seemed not only important simply as Briarwood was competing against a 7A football team or because it is known as the “Battle of 119,” but also because it was Briarwood's Homecoming game. As the Homecoming game came around, Briarwood anticipated a large outing of alumni and they were absolutely right. There were over 500 alumni gathered for the alumni tailgate which is Briarwood’s largest recorded alumni tailgate to date. Both teams in the season 2022-2023 struggled for wins both gaining a record of 3-7 with a region record of 1-5 for Briarwood and 1-6 for Oak Mountain. Neither team had satisfactory records but the question to be asked is, “What did these teams do to improve and have their efforts come to fruition?” In regards to his predecessor Coach Fred Yancey, Head Coach Matthew Forester comments, “Coach Yancey put the emphasis on… good defense, ball-control offense, and
[being] physical… and I’m not going to fix it if it ain’t broken.” During the homecoming game, Coach Forester’s emphasis on good defense led to a shutout on Oak Mountain’s offense not permitting any points. The team's efforts not only led to a win for the season but also the 400th win in Briarwood’s football history. This is quite the feat and out of 832 recognized high school football teams in Alabama, only 184 teams have more than 400 wins Briarwood being currently at 183. But moreso, Briarwood amongst the top 200 for wins, Briarwood is sitting in 5th place for their winning percentage which is 67.9%. Briarwood’s win against Oak Mountain all goes back to the hard work of the players and the coaching staff. It is safe to say that Briarwood’s hard work has yielded results but that does not mean the team is finished nor have they met their goal as Coach Forester and his staff train Briarwood football players to be men of integrity, grit, courageousness, and most importantly witnesses of Christ.