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Briarfield Academy's Ryder Jones (5), Jack Woodall and Calvin Barnes (56) celebrate with the MAIS Class 1A football championship trophy after beating Wilkinson County Christian Academy 32-18 for the state title on Friday. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Wilkinson County Christian Academy's Deshun Smith tackles Briarfield Academy quarterback Brock Johnson (12) during the MAIS Class 1A championship game Friday in Jackson. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Briarfield Academy offensive lineman Calvin Barnes (56) and his teammates run a play in the MAIS Class 1A championship game Friday against WCCA. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Briarfield Academy cheerleaders root on their Rebels before the start of the MAIS Class 1A football championship game against Wilkinson County Christian Academy. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Briarfield Academy's Hayden Smith (1) and WCCA's Deshun Smith (21) fight for a pass in the end zone during the MAIS Class 1A football championship game. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Briarfield Academy football assistant coach Derrick Watson talks to Trecin Baker (9) on the sideline during the MAIS Class 1A football championship game against WCCA. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Briarfield Academy cheerleaders stand at attention for the National Anthem before the start of the MAIS Class 1A football championship game against Wilkinson County Christian Academy. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Wilkinson County Christian Academy defensive back Charles Grezaffi (12) tackles Briarfield Academy's Jack Woodall during the MAIS Class 1A championship game Friday in Jackson. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Wilkinson County Christian Academy's Dax Doyle sacks Briarfield Academy quarterback Brock Johnson during the MAIS Class 1A championship game Friday in Jackson. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Briarfield Academy football player Boone Sanderson (35) celebrates with a team manager after the Rebels beat Wilkinson County Christian Academy 32-18 to win the MAIS Class 1A championship on Friday. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Briarfield Academy football head coach Beau Travis puts a gold state champion's medallion around the neck of Jack Martin after the Rebels beat Wilkinson County Christian Academy 32-18 on Friday to win the MAIS Class 1A title. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Briarfield Academy football players and cheerleaders pose for a photo with the championship trophy and banner after beating Wilkinson County Christian Academy 32-18 on Friday to win the MAIS Class 1A title. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

JACKSON — Briarfield Academy has had to scratch, claw and grind for most of what it’s gotten this football season. The thing it wanted most was no exception.

The Rebels got off to a slow start, then had a two-score lead evaporate in the second half before pulling away late to beat Wilkinson County Christian Academy 32-18 in the MAIS Class 1A championship game on Friday.

It’s Briarfield’s (12-1) fourth MAIS eight-man football championship in eight years, and first since 2020.

“It feels incredible. Incredible. I’ve never felt a feeling like this. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy in my life,” said senior running back Ryder Jones, who had 125 total yards. “To get a two-score lead, and then they almost make a comeback, we get multiple penalties over and over, to go out and perform like that and put in some heart, it’s incredible. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Briarfield found the end zone three times in the second to take a 20-6 halftime lead. Jack Woodall broke off a 77-yard touchdown run, and Trecin Baker and Brock Johnson also scored.

WCCA (9-4) came out of the halftme break on fire, though. It recovered an onside kick to start the third quarter, as well as a fumble on Briarfield’s first play, and cashed in both opportunities.

Jacob Sessions threw touchdown passes of 23 yards to Easton Buteaux and 25 yards to Charles Grezaffi to pull the Rams to within 20-18 with 4:04 left in the third quarter.

WCCA’s two-point conversion attempts failed both times, as did another following its first touchdown in the second quarter. Briarfield coach Beau Travis said he knew that could be a factor after his Rebels beat WCCA 30-28 in the regular-season finale a month ago.

“We kept them out and I think we got all but two. We knew the two-points were big because last time we won by two points. Hats off to our boys,” Travis said.

As it turned out, Briarfield did the rest of the scoring.

The Rebels answered WCCA’s comeback with a scoring drive of their own, capped by a 10-yard TD pass from Johnson to Hayden Smith that made it 26-18 with 1:09 left in the third quarter.

In the fourth, after a WCCA drive inside the 10 ended on downs, the Rebels delivered the kill shot. On third-and-17 from their own 30, Smith got behind the secondary and Johnson hit him with a deep pass down the middle. Smith took it for a 70-yard touchdown and a 32-18 lead with 3:12 to go.

“That play has worked almost every time we have run it this year,” Travis said. “You set them up by throwing screens, throwing screens, throwing screens, they look for the screen and you slip him out. You lull them to sleep and then hit them over the top.”

Johnson finished 4-of-13 passing for the Rebels, for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He also had one rushing touchdown. Smith caught two passes for 80 yards and two TDs, and Woodall had 91 rushing yards and one TD.

Briarfield’s defense was the real star, though. It had five sacks, forced two turnovers, and got key stops when it needed to.

Although Sessions passed for 158 yards and three touchdowns, WCCA had two red zone drives end with no points. The last was midway through the fourth quarter, when an injury to Sessions was followed by a fumbled snap, two pre-snap penalties, and finally a sack.

Jones had two of Briarfield’s sacks and 10 total tackles. Jack Martin led the Rebels with 12 tackles and one forced fumble.

“That’s the way it’s been all year. We’ve always been a second half team. We always come back in the second half. It’s what we do, and what we do best,” Jones said. “When they started closing that gap it downed us a lot. A lot of guys started hanging their heads and I was trying to tell them to keep fighting and play with some heart, and eventually we did and we made some stuff happen.”

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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