By Rubin E. Grant
Coming into the 2023 high school football season, the Briarwood Lions expected to employ a two-quarterback system with the graduation of phenom Christopher Vizzina.
Vizzina started for four years, passing for 7,220 yards and 59 touchdowns. He also ran for 29 touchdowns.
Senior Josh Thompson and junior Will Clark were tasked with filling the massive void created by Vizzina’s departure.
“Both guys will play quarterback,” Briarwood coach Matthew Forester said in the preseason. “We feel comfortable with both of them and what we ask them to do.”
But as Briarwood was on its way to its second consecutive loss to open the season, a 37-6 setback at Spain Park following a 31-0 home loss to Clay-Chalkville, Forester decided to chunk the two-quarterback system and hand the reins to Thompson.
“He won the starting job halfway through the Spain Park game,” Forester said. “I think the big thing about Josh is he’s patiently waited his turn for four years, worked hard and tried his best. He’s learned his position well, so now he can come out and play at a high level for us. It’s a great example of delayed gratification.
“He’s been fabulous. The best thing about him is understanding of our offense and what we want to accomplish. He runs well and he know his reads, so he throws it to the right receiver.”
Thompson put up pedestrian numbers in his first game as the full-time starter, completing only 4 of 7 passes for 38 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 32 yards. But he led the Lions to a 28-10 victory at Chilton County in their Class 6A, Region 3 opener.
The next week, Thompson delivered a breakout performance. He completed 17 of 21 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns and ran six times for 33 yards and a TD as the Lions defeated Pelham 28-21 in another Region 3 game.
“Josh has done an amazing job of taking command and control, and we’ve had other guys really accept their roles and accept them really well,” Forester said.
Last Friday, Thompson completed 11 of 19 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran 11 times for 59 yards as Briarwood shut out Oak Mountain 21-0 on the Lions’ homecoming. Thompson’s touchdown passes covered 7 yards for Caleb Keller and 34 yards to Sawyer Click.
The win was the 400th in program history and the first time Briarwood has shut out a Class 7A opponent.
Thompson said he hasn’t felt any pressure following Vizzina, who’s now at Clemson.
“C.V. is an amazing player who always helped me improve and taught me so many things that helped me prepare for when my time came,” Thompson said. “I’ve been able to play free this year because I know that I have so many weapons around me and a great coaching staff.”
Thompson sees himself as both a game manager and playmaker.
“I try to be a playmaker when needed, but I am surrounded by a lot of great players, which makes my job easier,” he said. “The coaches do an amazing job of putting people in places to succeed. They really make my job easy and just let me go out there and manage.
“Being a leader is the most important thing to me. I love rallying everyone together and pushing people to try and get better every day.”
The 6-foot, 180-pound Thompson is receiving some attention from college scouts. He recently took a recruiting visit to Stetson in Florida.
“I would love to play in college,” Thompson said. “I’ve got a few schools looking at me right now, but honestly my main focus is the team and trying to be the best we can be. Beyond that I am trusting in God’s plan and will see what opportunities He brings me over the next few months.”
The Lions (3-2) have bounced back from their opening two losses to match their win total from last season, when they finished 3-7 and had their streak of 29 consecutive playoff appearances snapped. Briarwood (2-0 in Region 3) travels to Helena (6-0, 3-0) Friday in a crucial region game.
“The first two games were hard playing two really great teams, but we were all able to stay positive and work to improve each day,” Thompson said. “The defense has been amazing this year and really pushes us in practice to get better. Our offensive line has done a fantastic job these past two weeks and has been a vital part of our success.
“We are trying to get better every single day. We all have a goal to get back to the playoffs and make a run.”
