BIRMINGHAM—The Corner community rallied around their Yellow Jackets on Friday night in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs, but it wasn’t enough to conquer No. 5 Briarwood Christian.

The Lions rolled to a 42-17 win in Lions Pride Stadium to advance into the second round.

Friday night represented Corner head coach Zac Willis’ second trip to postseason play in his five-year tenure with the Yellow Jackets, and his players played their hearts out.

Corner first put points on the board with 2:46 remaining in the second quarter, cutting into a four-touchdown lead. Devne Daniel and Hunter Whitburn took turns running the ball, but it was Daniel that ran 12 yards for a touchdown. The drive consisted of 11 plays and 70 yards, putting the score at 35-7, Briarwood.

Eight plays after William Gray fumbled the ball, and the Yellow Jackets recovered it, Daniel ran the ball two yards for a touchdown, cutting the gap to 35-14 in favor of Briarwood. Corner would go on to add a field goal from Chase Jones with less than a minute remaining in the first half, which they ended on a 17-0 run.

The Lions last touchdown of the night was achieved by a 7-yard pass from Gray to Kolby Kwarsinski. Noah Nall kicked the extra point, bringing the final score of the night to 42-17, Briarwood.

Daniel ended the night with 121 rushing yards, and two touchdown for the Yellow Jackets. Eric Millwood had 82 rushing yards, and Whitburn had 47 rushing yards.

Hayden Walker had a total of eight stops for Corner. Austin Boyd, Trent Shedd, Jarred Millwood, and Gaylor, all had four stops throughout the night.

Corner ended the 2016 season at 7-4.