Commentary by Charles Prince

The North Jefferson News



As soon as the new alignments were announced this spring by the Alabama High School Athletic Association, the moaning and complaining began.

All I heard from Gardendale alumni and supports was how unfair it was that Gardendale had to play in Hoover’s region and that the Rockets had no chance at all to compete against that caliber of competition.

I had several folks around town tell me that the Rockets wouldn’t win a single region game this year after moving up to 6A.

After last Friday’s game at Hoover, I think even the most pessimistic of fans has to realize the Rockets can compete at at the 6A level. Gardendale’s the second smallest 6A school in the state, but their play proved they belong in the state’s highest classification.

The Rocket defense was the story of the game. They limited the Bucs to only 2.1 yards per rush and held the vaunted Hoover passing game to only a 42-percent completion percentage.

One of the biggest worries I heard expressed since the realignment, was that the Rockets didn’t have enough speed for 6A. On Friday, they didn’t look slow and Hoover may have been a quicker club, but if so, it wasn’t by a great margin.

The Gardendale defenders ran down plays from sideline to sideline and the offense had two big plays called back due to penalty, a 33-yard run and a 40-yard pass play. It takes speed to make the big play, and Gardendale has it.

This year’s club looks to be the fastest club in the past three seasons. The athleticism of the club also stood out on Friday. If not for a few breakdowns in the kicking game and a couple of turnovers, the Rockets would have won the game.

In their first game in 6A, Gardendale may have lost to Hoover, but the Bucs weren’t the best team on the field that night.

Even with the two big plays called back, the Rockets still out-gained the Bucs 208 yards to 165.

The offense doesn’t appear to be as efficient as the defense right now, but, by eliminating a few mistakes, look for the Rockets offense to put up enough points to win in the state’s toughest region.

For everyone who thought the Bucs would blast the Rockets by a lopsided margin, Friday’s game must have been a real eye-opener.

Who’s afraid of 6A football? I can assure you, it’s not the Gardendale Rockets. Even before the season began, Rocket senior linebacker Tyrone Bowie told me that people shouldn’t count the Rockets out, telling me that he thought the club could win at the 6A level.

You know what? He’s right.