Gardendale quarterback Will Thompson moves past Minor defender Darius Waller on a run in the second quarter of the Tigers’ 17-14 win over the Rockets Friday night.

Tyler Wright may just be a freshman, but he knows how to capitalize on opponents’ mistakes.

The Minor running back scored both of his teams’ touchdowns Friday night immediately after Gardendale turnovers, pushing the Tigers to a crucial 17-14 win in Class 6A Region 5 play.

Wright scored on a 42-yard run with 13 seconds left in the first quarter, when he somehow squirted through a hole in the Rocket defensive line for 42-yards. That scoring play came just after Gardendale fumbled the ball away on an errant pitchout.

He did the same the same thing in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for the Tigers. This time Wright wriggled and squiggled through three separte would-be tackles, running for 79 yards. That play came just after Minor had stopped a Rockets drive dead in its tracks at the Tiger 21-yard line, turning the ball over on downs.

It was a night when Gardendale struggled to find momentum, and often just struggled to find the ball.

The Rockets fumbled on six different occasions, turning the ball over twice. They also gave up a late interception on a halfback pass by Connor Reed, on a ball which went fluttering into the hands of the Tigers’ Reginald Johnson.

But that pick was immediately followed by a Minor fumble recovered by Brandon DeBruce, his second of the game. That gave the ball to the Rockets on the Tiger 10.

That turnover, with six minutes left in the game, set up a touchdown that would keep the Rockets within three points and keep hopes alive.

After backing up to the 24 thanks to a high snap — a recurring issue for the Rockets in the game — quarterback Will Thompson found Reed on a leaping catch, falling just inches short of the goal line.

Thompson then took the ball in for the score on the next play to put Gardendale to within three points.

But the Tigers were able to run the clock out on the next possession, and finished off the game on a fourth-down pass from Jonathan Thompson to Janquan Sanford for 34 yards with seven seconds left.

But Wright was the playmaker of the night, running 10 times for 143 yards to lead the Tigers.

Jordan Howard was the leading rusher for Gardendale, with 62 yards on 17 carries. But Thompson actually ran much of the ground game, as he repeatedly faked handoffs to Howard or Christian Jones, then ran right up the gut. But his numbers were hurt by three sacks and to recoveries of snaps over his head.

Thompson was 6-of-13 with one interception for 92 yards, a season high. Howard caught two Thompson passes for 36 yards, and Jesse Blackburn also caught two for 30 yards.

DeBruce added eight tackles to his two fumble recoveries to lead the Gardendale defense.

The loss puts the Rockets in a precarious spot in the playoff picture. At 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the region, they will likely now have to upset one of the region’s tough Tuscaloosa-are teams to get into the post-season.