Patriots rally not enough in playoff loss
HOMEWOOD – The Homewood High School football team put up a valiant effort Friday night before falling to Gardendale 35-27 at Waldrop Stadium in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.
Despite trailing by double digits for the majority of the contest, the Patriots (6-6) battled until the end, highlighted by a 13-point flurry within a 10-second frame early in the fourth quarter.
Following an improbable 18-yard touchdown strike from junior quarterback Woods Ray to Jackson Parris on fourth-and-18, defensive lineman Rigdon Gibbons scooped up a botched Gardendale handoff and raced in from the 10-yard line to bring the hosts within one.
Gardendale (10-2) responded with an 11 play, six-and-a-half minute drive, capped off by Kejuan Brown’s second 6-yard touchdown run to extend its lead. Ray marched the Patriots back down the field but the drive ultimately stalled out at the Rockets’ 35-yard line.
“I am proud of our kids for the fight they had and they gave us a chance to win in the end,” Homewood head coach Ben Berguson said. “Gardendale is a great football team. We only had around 15 snaps and two turnovers in the first half and put our defense in a bad spot.”
The Patriots found success on their opening drive after marching down to the opponent’s 15-yard line before turning the ball over via fumble. The following four possessions of the opening stanza resulted in another fumble and three consecutive punts.
Despite the lack of success on offense, the Homewood defense provided momentum heading into halftime after junior linebacker Adam Parker jumped on a loose ball on his own 4-yard line right before halftime, ending a promising Gardendale drive.
Ray carried the momentum over into the third quarter on the opening offensive possession of the third quarter, leading an eight-play, 55-yard touchdown drive, which the signal caller punctuated with a 1-yard scoring run. Ray’s heroics, however, could not overcome the Rockets' bevy of explosive running backs, who amassed 371 rushing yards.
Senior running back L.T. Sanders was the bell cow for Gardendale, accumulating 246 yards on 30 attempts that resulted in three touchdowns, including a 65-yard sprint up the middle in the waning moments of the game.
“He (Sanders) is really good and has such a low center of gravity and is a great running back. They are really good up front on both sides of the ball – really good offensive and defensive lines,” Berguson said.
Ray and the Patriots' offense displayed moxie once again after Sanders long run, with Ray hitting senior J.C. Daniel in stride down the home sideline for a 90-yard touchdown strike for the final score of the night.
Ray finished with 200 total yards of offense and three touchdowns (one rushing, two passing). Aron Marsch was his favorite target, grabbing five receptions for 61 yards.
Gardendale advances to next week’s quarterfinal contest against Clay-Chalkville.