Rico Jemison’s Five TD Passes Lift Undefeated McAdory Past Bessemer City 35-27

McCALLA, AL — Quarterback Rico Jemison threw five touchdown passes to power McAdory to a 35-27 win over Bessemer City on Friday night, keeping the Yellow Jackets perfect at 4-0. The Class 5A, Region 3 victory came down to the final minutes, but McAdory’s junior signal-caller made the plays when they mattered most.

Jemison Sets the Tone Early

McAdory grabbed control from the start. Jemison connected on two scoring strikes in the opening quarter, staking the Yellow Jackets to a 14-0 lead before Bessemer City could find its footing.

He finished the night 14 of 24 for 249 yards and five touchdowns. His targets came in every direction. Jemison hit Grayson Shamburger for a 55-yard score, found Carter Feagin twice on throws of 20 and 10 yards, linked up with Jeremiah Ware for 32 yards, and later capped a drive with a short 2-yard toss to Chason Southall.

Feagin hauled in five catches for 79 yards, while Ware matched him with five grabs for a team-high 88 yards. The balanced attack helped McAdory outgain the Purple Tigers 390 yards to 260.

Bessemer City Storms Back

The Purple Tigers did not fold. Running back LaMarrion Gooden carried the offense and nearly the game, piling up 158 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 18 carries. He also added two catches for 22 yards and a receiving score.

Gooden’s biggest work came late in the third quarter. His 4-yard run with 1:17 left trimmed the gap to 28-21. Then, on the final play of the period, he broke off a 21-yard touchdown run to pull Bessemer City within 28-27. The Tigers went for a two-point conversion to take the lead but came up short, leaving McAdory clinging to a one-point edge heading into the fourth.

Bessemer City’s defense also made its mark, with Teldrin Turner picking off a pass to give the Purple Tigers a shot at the comeback.

A Fourth-Down Dagger

With the game hanging in the balance, McAdory drove deep into Bessemer City territory in the fourth quarter. Facing fourth-and-2 at the 2-yard line, Jemison rolled to his right and threaded a pass to Southall between two defenders for the score. The touchdown pushed the lead to 35-27 and proved to be the difference.

The contest was slowed several times by a stadium lights outage, but the delays did little to cool off Jemison, who kept the McAdory offense clicking through every restart.

What’s Next

McAdory (4-0 overall, 2-0 in Class 5A, Region 3) hits the road next week for a matchup at Brookwood, looking to protect its unbeaten record and stay atop the region race.

Bessemer City (2-2, 1-1) travels to Hueytown, aiming to clean up the early mistakes that dug an early hole and build on the resilience it showed in the second half.