Yellow Jackets fight to finish in postseason opener
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.