Hartselle went on the road Friday night to Briarwood Christian hoping to repeat last year’s 14-7 Tigers’ victory over the Lions.

The Tigers were coming off of bye-week following back-to-back region losses to Athens and Muscle Shoals.

Briarwood Christian (3-2) opened the scoring when running back Luke Reebals scored from seven yards out to take a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The Tigers got on the board right before halftime when kicker Bryan Munoz connected on a 29-yard field goal to make the score 7-3.

Missed opportunities in the first half once again hurt the Tigers’ chances for a victory. They lost the ball twice on fumbles deep in Briarwood’s territory and once when they failed to convert on a fourth down inside the Lions’ 10-yard line.

Hartselle started the third quarter with some momentum when Austin Hardin intercepted a Lions’ pass that set the Tigers up with great field position at their 49-yard line. 

The Tigers would take advantage of the Briarwood turnover to take the lead when Brinten Barclay scored from two yards out to give the Tigers their first lead of the game, 10-7, with six minutes to go in the third quarter.

With about 11 minutes to go in the fourth, the Lions were able to retake the lead when Christopher Vizzina hit Blake McKenna for a 65-yard touchdown pass to make the score 14-10.

Vizzina connected with McKenna next on a 30-yard score to make the score 21-10.

Hartselle’s rushing attack was shut down by the Briarwood defense, which held the Tigers to less than 60 yards.

Hartselle (1-4) will be back at J.P. Cain Stadium Friday night to host Columbia (0-5) in a Class 6A, Region 7 match-up. The Eagles are coming off a 63-0 loss to Huntsville last week and have not scored a point this season; they have been outscored 283-0.