Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy
Gadsden City clinched its first winning regular season record in six years with a 24-0 victory over Calera on October 21.
The Titans (6-4, 5-0) have an open date this week and will host Cullman in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs on November 4.
With Gadsden City trailing 20-17 with less than two minutes remaining in the game, Luke Waldrop’s 12-yard touchdown run and Jake Malone’s PAT held up as the winning points.
For the Titans, Matthew Sparks was 9 for 24 in passing for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Clyde Curry (pictured above at right) had six receptions for 125 yards, while Jacob Perry caught three passes for 52 yards.
T.J. Worthy finished with 50 rushing yards on 14 carries.
After the Eagles (4-5, 3-3) took a 7-0 lead on Preston Stokes’ 23-yard touchdown pass to Braylyn Farrington early in the first quarter, GCHS cut the deficit to four points at 8:42 of the second period via Gabriel Brito’s 10-yard field goal.
On the ensuing kickoff, however, Farrington returned the ball 95 yards to the house for an 11-point Calera advantage.
The Titans responded with a pair of touchdown passes by Sparks, the first to T.J. Worthy for 10 yards and the second to Perry for 53 yards. Malone kicked both PATs to make it 17-14 in favor of Gadsden City.
On the next possession, the Eagles made it to the GCHS 22-yard line, where T.J. Hernandez pushed through a 37-yard field goal to send the teams into halftime tied at 17.
Following a scoreless third quarter, Calera took a three-point lead on Hernandez’s 27-yard field goal at 8:44 of the fourth period.
Jackson Veasy led the way defensively with nine tackles, including three for a loss, and three sacks. Elijah Taylor had six tackles and two sacks, while Cameron Rolley and K’Rusiack Yow each had five tackles. Dre Kirkpatrick had an interception.