Mountain Brook has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against The Gardendale Rockets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Mountain Brook is not getting complacent, as they presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Gardendale in Alabama (Mountain Brook is ranked 16th, while Gardendale is ranked 87th).
After only ten points in their last match, Mountain Brook made sure to put some points up on the board against Mortimer Jordan on Friday. Mountain Brook breezed by Mortimer Jordan at home to the tune of 54-14. The result was nothing new for Mountain Brook, who have now won four matchups by 28 points or more so far this season.
Cole Gamble was his usual excellent self, rushing for 195 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 12.2 yards per carry. Gamble was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 50 yards.
Meanwhile, Gardendale entered their tilt with Woodlawn with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. Gardendale blew past Woodlawn, posting a 59-20 win on the road.
Gardendale can attribute much of their success to Mac Beason, who threw for 216 yards and four touchdowns, and Boogie Harris iii, who rushed for 235 yards on only 15 carries. Beason hasn't dropped below three passing touchdowns for three straight games. Gardendale also got help from Carter Jenkins who showed off his sure hands for 86 receiving yards.
Another reason for the win was Gardendale's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. Woodlawn's QB won't forget Caiden Combs anytime soon given Combs sacked him five times.
Their wins bumped Mountain Brook to 6-2 and Gardendale to 3-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: Mountain Brook has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 152.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Gardendale struggles in that department as they've been even better at 182.4 per game. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Mountain Brook and Gardendale were neck-and-neck when the teams last played back in October of 2022, but Mountain Brook came up empty-handed after a 29-28 loss. Can Mountain Brook avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
