Gardendale Rolls Over Minor 35-13 in Homecoming Victory

By Jackson Hillis

GARDENDALE, AL – The atmosphere in Driver Stadium was electric throughout the night as Gardendale hosted Minor in a homecoming night contest. The Rockets entered into the game with the momentum of a 51-14 victory against Jackson-Olin the previous week. This, paired with the excitement of homecoming, contributed to a formidable environment of play which paid dividends for the hosts throughout the night.

In one of the most important games of their season, Gardendale stepped up to the plate and delivered with an excellent performance, highlighted by efficient offense and stifling pass defense. The Rockets held the Tigers to negative passing yards on only 11 attempts throughout the entire game.

For the Rockets, the underclassman tandem of freshman Urijah Casey and sophomore Deacon Dyer were major offensive contributors in the win. Dyer, Gardendale’s starting quarterback, continues to build on a solid year after transferring over from Corner High School following his freshman year. Dyer racked up 76 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns on the night. On the ground, Casey contributed 78 rushing yards and a touchdown that served to open up scoring just minutes into the first quarter.

The bulk of the Rockets’ production, however, came by the way of their senior veterans. Midway through the first quarter, WR/DB Braylon Henry snagged a 38-yard pass from Dyer to put his team up 14-0. Then, with just seconds remaining in the first half, Carter Jenkins completed a 34-yarder to Bryson Logan for a touchdown, extending Gardendale’s lead to 28-0. Later in the 4th quarter, Josh Malone broke off a 14-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 35-13, where it would stand until the game’s end.

On the other end, the Tigers offense relied heavily on sophomore back Kamari Bell, who claimed the bulk of his team’s yards and two touchdowns in the second half. As mentioned earlier, Minor was able to secure 4 completions on 11 pass attempts but ended the game with -1 total yards in the air. In addition to this, they incurred 11 penalties for 90 yards on the night, which served to further disrupt their rhythm as a team. Despite this, Minor’s offense was still generally successful throughout the game, as they would amass nearly 250 yards on the ground throughout the course of play and score both of their touchdowns on runs, while not committing a single turnover on the night.

The Rockets will look to claim a three-game winning streak in their upcoming matchup against Central High School of Tuscaloosa, which will also serve as a break in region play. For the Tigers, the loss served to snap a three-game winning streak of their own, which they will look to restart in their next contest against Mortimer Jordan.