By Mike Goodson/Sports Correspondent
A capacity crowd at Titan Stadium witnessed Gadsden City defeat the top-ranked team in the Class 7A rankings, Bob Jones, 44-20, on Friday (Sept. 19).
The Titans (5-0, 3-0) led the Region 4 contest for much of the evening, although the visitors from Madison did tie the game briefly in the opening period.
GCHS head coach Matt Scott called it a “solid” win for the Titans, although he didn’t consider his team’s most impressive win of the season as an upset.
“I’m sure some people will call it an upset, although our kids fully expected to win the game,” he said.
For Gadsden City, Gabriel Ford rushed for 109 yards. Damon Williams added 108 yards including touchdown runs of 5 yards and 67 yards.
Gadsden City also scored on a 65-yard punt return by Darnell Mooney.
Gadsden City picked up 19 first downs while rushing for 314 yards and passing for 126. Adrian Sumpter intercepted two passes.
The Patriots (3-1, 2-1) rushed for 101 yards while gaining 193 through the air.
Gadsden City blocked the Patriots’ first punt of the game, setting up a 3-yard Dante Rudolph touchdown run.
Bob Jones tied the game at 6-6 in the first quarter when Deondre Douglas caught a 20-yard pass from Jeremy Frye.
The Titans answered with Rudolph scoring from one yard out. Parker Holland then added a 22-yard field goal for a 16-6 lead.
The Patriots then drove 38 yards with Brad Anderson scoring on a one-yard touchdown run to trim the GCHS lead to 16-13 at the half.
In the second half, however, The Titans put together scoring drives of 99, 59 and 74 yards to win going away. Bob Jones could only manage one touchdown over the final two quarters.
Scott said he wants his team to focus on getting better in the passing game to be more balanced on offense.
“We need to be ready when the playoffs come and we face someone that can go pound-for-pound with us,” he said.
Gadsden City takes a break from region play next week with a home game against Hewitt-Trussville.