The Gardendale Rockets will head out to challenge the Mortimer Jordan Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Gardendale is looking for their season's first victory.
Gardendale is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Homewood on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Rockets had to suffer through a 42-9 loss at the hands of the Patriots. While losing is never fun, the Rockets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Alabama football rankings (they are ranked 220th, while the Patriots are ranked 37th).
Mortimer Jordan not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since October 24, 2024 (when they won 46-20). They blew past Minor 35-14. The Blue Devils' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Mortimer Jordan's win came from a few key players Gardendale will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Parker Reno, who rushed for 142 yards and two TDs while picking up 7.1 yards per carry. Mortimer Jordan is 2-1 when Reno posts 80 or more rushing yards, but 0-4 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Tanner Rice, who gained 172 total yards and a touchdown.
With the win, Mortimer Jordan broke their four-game losing streak and moved their record to 2-5. As for Gardendale, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-7.
Things could have been worse for Gardendale, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 34-20 loss to Mortimer Jordan when the teams last played back in October of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Reno, who rushed for 71 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also caught one score. Now that the Rockets know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
