Helena’s defense stepped up on back-to-back red zone possessions to turn back Briarwood Christian 28-24 in a Class 6A, Region 3 matchup on Friday at Helena’s Husky Stadium.

Eli Ray knocked the ball away from Lions wideout Gray Reebals at the 5-yard line with 1:41 left in the game to preserve the win.

“Our defense made plays when we needed them,” Helena coach Richie Busby said. “Those two stands showed the maturity and resiliency of our defense and our team.”

The eighth-ranked Huskies improve to 6-0 and 4-0 in region play while Briarwood dropped to 3-3, 2-1.

The Lions, who forced four Husky turnovers and blocked a punt, built a 21-14 lead when Reebals returned a fumble 68 yards for a score just before half.

Game ball: Senior running back Jordan Washington ran 36 times for 193 yards, including touchdown runs from 3 and 1 yard away. He also caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Carson Acker.

Coachspeak: “We played about as bad as you can play. Briarwood had a lot to do with that, but I was proud of the way we battled.” – Busby

They said it: “They made the plays when they needed to. We knew that 3 points wasn’t going to help us, so we went for the win. We made some big plays, but not when we needed to make them. This was a huge learning experience for us and it will help us in the playoffs.” – Briarwood Christian coach Matthew Forester

Next: Briarwood Christian travels to Calera. Helena has a bye week before hosting Calera on Oct. 20.