No. 7 Gardendale nabbed a 55-18 win over Carver (Birmingham) for its first Class 6A, Region 6 win on Friday night at home.

Rockets’ senior running back Demetrius King ran all over the visitors on his way to 175 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 19 carries. He scored from 6, 3, 1, 13 and 3 yards out in the win.

Omari Burton also ran hard for Gardendale, churning up 81 yards on 12 touches. Freshman Jay Brooks got in on the action with 75 yards and a touchdown on just eight carries.

In total, the Rockets outran Carver 352 yards to 94. Gardendale added another 152 yards through the air and converted six of nine third down opportunities.

Quarterback Michael Crowder tossed one touchdown—a 32-yard strike to Kevin Howard to bump their advantage to 20-0 with 7:18 remaining in the second quarter.

Gardendale (4-0, 1-0) now looks to a key region bout at Minor next Friday.

Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.