[8/23/03]LAKE PROVIDENCE Costly turnovers and sloppy tackling doomed Briarfield Academy as it lost its season opener to Hillcrest Christian 33-6 on Friday night.

Briarfield fell behind 12-0 after the first quarter, and the Rebels couldn’t seem to finish off a drive until E.J. Holden plowed into the end zone with 20.9 seconds left in the game.

“Hillcrest played very well,” Briarfield coach Lance Prine said. “We played well in spots, but we turned the ball over five times inside our 40, which they scored on. They played well, but every time they needed a break we helped them out.”

Often forced to backpedal from the start of play, Rebel quarterback Drew Manning struggled to gain a rhythm early in the game. Manning threw three interceptions in the first half and finished 1-of-9 for 15 yards.

“My passing was bad but I thought I did fairly well on my running,” said Manning, who ran 14 times for 28 yards. “I just didn’t have a lot of time to pass the ball.”

Briarfield’s starting tailback Blake Pierce was limited to kicking duties because of a sore shoulder.

Wide receiver Montellus Craft said not having Pierce made it more difficult for him.

“It was real tough because they were keying on me,” Craft said. “I got injured early in the game and twisted my ankle, but I’ll be ready for next game.”

In the first quarter, Craft took the bulk of the carries, but he stopped getting the ball after turning his ankle and didn’t run again until late in the fourth.

Holden took over in the first and played well, carrying 19 times for 74 yards, but he was stopped in the backfield in several key situations.

The Cougars ran eight different players for 191 yards on 27 carries for an average of 7.1 yards per carry.

Two plays into Hillcrest’s first offensive series, William Girod broke off a 65-yard run for a touchdown and the Cougars added two more rushing touchdowns before halftime to make it 20-0.

With 14.3 seconds left before halftime, Hillcrest quarterback Loviett Dixon lofted a pass to Logan Power for a 70-yard touchdown pass and a 26-0 lead. Dixon completed 6 of 15 passes for 120 yards and two TDs.

“At spots the defense played well,” Prine said. “We missed a lot of one-on-one tackles. They had big plays on us that we’ve got to make.”

Craft, who played cornerback on defense, said the big plays are what killed Briarfield.

“We let a lot of things go easily that we could have avoided,” he said.

Manning, who also saw time at cornerback, said Hillcrest played a better game.

“We were expecting a good team,” Manning said, “but they just outpowered us and put more points on the board.”