Gardendale scored the game’s first 23 points, rolled up more than 500 yards of total offense and then withstood a furious rally by the visiting Tenacious Tigers at Driver Stadium.

The Rockets (2-5 overall, 2-2 in Class 6A, Region 5) kept their playoff hopes alive by earning a second straight win.

Gardendale led 23-0, 30-7 and 40-14, but Minor scored five second-half touchdowns. The Tenacious Tigers have lost three straight and five of the last six.

Boogie Harris ran 17 times for 168 yards and scored on runs of 1, 22 and 62 yards for the Rockets. Morgan Harris scored on runs of 11 and 14 yards and caught a 56-yard touchdown pass.

Gardendale quarterback Mac Beason completed 21-of-33 passes for 262 yards, with TD passes of 21 yards to Jacoby Quates, 1 yard to Carter Jenkins and the 56-yarder to Morgan Harris. Beason also ran for 93 yards. Ryan McPherson also kicked a 39-yard field goal.

Minor’s Sherman Williams had a huge night, throwing TD passes of 37 and 75 yards and scored on runs of 1, 13, 15 and 10 yards.

Stat sheet: Gardendale finished with 582 yards of total offense – 320 on the ground and 262 through the air. Minor had 415 yards of total offense, with 260 through the air and 155 on the ground.

Dirty yellow laundry: The two teams combined for 32 penalties, as Gardendale has 15 for 150 yard and Minor had 17 for 125 yards.

What’s next?: Gardendale plays at Woodlawn next week, while Minor (2-5, 1-3) is at Parker.