By Adam Crocker/Sports Correspondent
Gadsden City turned back Oak Mountain with a 45-28 victory in the second round of the Class 7A state playoffs on Friday at GCHS.
The Titans (10-2) will travel to top-ranked Hoover next week.
Gabe Ford ran for two touchdowns and caught another and Ahmad DeRamus passed for three scores for Gadsden City, who advanced to the semifinal round for the first time since the 2010 season.
The Titans started the game off quickly with a pair of touchdown catches by Denzel Mooney, the first from a DeRamus pass and the second from a fake field goal. David Webb added a 32-yard field goal for a 17-0 Titan lead at halftime.
Gadsden City got the ball on their own 21 in the third quarter, which led to a 49-yard TD pass from DeRamus to Ford and a 24-0 GCHS lead.
The Eagles (10-2) finally got on the scoreboard when Harold Schader’s touchdown run made it 24-7.
Following a Titan punt, Oak Mountain made it 24-14 with a touchdown run by Daniel Salchert.
The visitors would get no closer, as Gadsden City answered with a 34-yard pass from halfback Damon Williams to Mooney, followed by a 12-yard scoring run by Ford with 3:31 remaining to put the Titans up 45-21.
Just a minute and a half later, the Eagles answered with a 1-yard scoring run by Daniel Salchert. That score was set up by a 15-yard run by Warren Schader, who picked up 87 yards on the ground for the game.
Ford finished with 143 rushing yards on 15 carries and caught three passes for 72 yards. Rodney Bozeman, Jr., rushed 10 times for 83 yards.
DeRamus completed 5 of 10 passes for 87 yards and rushed seven times for 59 yards.