Gardendale 35, Pell City 6

Gardendale (4-0, 2-0 Class 6A, Region 6) held visiting Pell City to 178 yards of offense on Friday night as the Rockets remained undefeated in head coach Chad Eads’ second season.

Sophomore running back L.T. Sanders found the end zone three times and finished with 155 yards on 14 carries. Senior wideout Stephen Lewis caught eight passes for 121 yards and junior quarterback Will “Goose” Crowder completed 15 of his 21 passes for 189 yards to go with a short touchdown run. As a team, Gardendale posted 401 yards of total offense in the win.

Kendale Allen provided the Rockets with a non-offensive touchdown thanks to an 85-yard kick return late in the third quarter, extending the lead to 28-6.

Gardendale visits Clay-Chalkville next Friday night.

Mortimer Jordan 49, St. Clair Co. 7

Senior running back Keondrick Hankins led the Blue Devils (2-2, 1-1 Class 5A, Region 5) to their first league victory of the season on Friday night in Jimmie Trotter Stadium, as he ran for 134 yards and five touchdowns on only 13 carries.

Mortimer Jordan got two more scores from quarterback Kourtlan Marsh, who went 15 for 19 through the air for 221 yards. Marsh connected with Grant Ezikiel from 34 yards out in the first quarter and later found Daniel Parks for a 29-yard score on their next possession.

As a team, the Blue Devils gained 465 yards of offense and held the Saints (0-4, 0-2 Region 5) to 121 yards on the night. Mortimer Jordan jumped out to a 22-0 lead in the opening frame and went to the break with a 36-7 advantage.

The Blue Devils return to Jimmie Trotter Stadium next week when Sylacauga visits for region play.

Tabernacle 48, Victory Christian 28

Tabernacle Christian (2-3, 2-0 Christian Football Association) mounted a comeback at home on Friday night to capture its second straight win after starting the season 0-3. The Torches trailed Victory Christian 22-8 midway through the second quarter, but went on a 38-0 run that improved them to 2-0 in conference play. 

Running back Josiah Davis was the proverbial bell cow in this one, running for 185 yards with four touchdowns and four 2-point conversions on 31 carries. Tony Galbraith, who played through an injury, went for 96 yards rushing on 16 attempts. Quarterback Drew Peters added 73 yards on the ground and completed six of his 12 passes for 44 yards and a 2-point conversion. 

“We are really struggling to throw and catch so we have become a run team and our run game wore Victory Christian down in the second half,” said Taberbacle head coach Keith Dabbs. 

Dabbs pointed to his defense for opening the door to this comeback, praising the pass rush from Elijah McPherson and a key interception from Austin Sutterlin. 

The Torches hit the road to Tuscaloosa Christian next Friday.

Pinson Valley 31, Clay-Chalkville 7

The Indians, under head coach Patrick Nix, are now 5-0 against crosstown rival Clay-Chalkville. 

The series’ most recent edition saw No. 2 Pinson Valley (3-1, 2-0 Class 6A, Region 6) run away with a 24-point win at Jerry Hood Field on Friday night. The fourth-ranked Cougars (3-1, 0-1 Region 6) surrendered the first 31 points of the game and found their only points of the game off a 4-yard touchdown rush from quarterback Khalib Johnson in the fourth quarter. 

For Pinson Valley, Ga’quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry, Jaquel Fells and Keyonteze Johnson took turns pulling down touchdown passes from Barry White. 

The Tribe is scheduled to host Oxford at Willie Adams Stadium next Friday.

Jasper 42, Corner 0

Corner was unable to keep pace with top-ranked Jasper on the road Friday night. The Yellow Jackets fall to 2-2 on the year, including an 0-2 start to Class 5A, Region 7 play. 

Corner looks for its first league win this week with a visit to Hamilton.