BESSEMER —
If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting the same result, then Dallas Tidwell and Ja’Micheal Willis are totally insane.
Tidwell at quarterback found Willis at receiver not once, not twice, but for six touchdown passes as the Rockets outran the Purple Tigers 51-26 in the first game at the new home of the school formerly known as Jess Lanier.
The six scores by Tidwell and Willis is believed to be a single-game school record for a passer-receiver pair, though a few dusty record books will have to be pored through to confirm that.
Gardendale wasn’t without its issues, most notably fumbles — six times with four turned over, part of a recurring problem for coach Chris Fancher in the young season.
“Three fumbles on our first plays isn’t a good thing,” Fancher said. “We can’t continue to do that sort of thing. But this game was a tale of two halves. We were terrific in the first half, but kind of sloppy in the second. But still, a good win.”
Tidwell and Willis struck early on nearly back-to-back scores. The combo connected for a 7-yard strike with 5:39 left in the opening quarter. Then after Brandon DeBruce recovered a Tigers fumble on the first play after the subsequent kickoff, Tidwell found Willis again for nine yards and a score, 31 seconds after the previous score.
The pair pound the end zone again early in the second quarter, this time for a 56-yard bomb down the right sideline.
After Bessemer bogged down, Christian Green returned the punt 50 yards to the Tigers 11. After a false-start penalty, Green ran it in from 16 yards out for the only Gardendale score that wasn’t from Tidwell and Willis.
Bessemer showed signs of life when quarterback Kevin Johnson found 6-foot-6 wide receiver Jervohnte Riles for a 65-yard touchdown on the first play after the kickoff.
Tidwell and Willis did their thing again with 1:03 left in the first half, this time for 10 yards.
Johnson scored on a 1-yard dive to cut the margin to 21 points midway through the third quarter, but Tidwell and Willis scored their fifth touchdown on the first play after that kickoff, a 51-yard play.
Johnson and Riles scored again for Bessemer (0-2, 0-1 region), with the lanky receiver catching a 2-yard pass in the back of the end zone.
The sixth and final touchdown for the Tidwell and Willis came with 7:20 left in the game, a 7-yard pass play.
With the second team in late,kicker Adam Anderson added a 20-yard field goal.
Tidwell finished with 16 completions on 22 attempts for 283 yards. Willis caught eight of those passes for 190 yards, a career best.
The Christian Brothers — Christian Green and Christian Rodgers — rushed for 78 and 84 yards, respectively.
All totaled, the Rockets gained 473 yards, 334 of them in the first half.
Gardendale (1-1, 1-0 region) hosts Carver next week.
Local Sports
Related Photos
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Ja’Micheal Willis runs for one of his six touchdown receptions in the Rockets’ 51-26 win over Bessemer City. The six TD catches from Dallas Tidwell is believed to be a single-game school record. Robert Carter
Discussion
Gardendale 51, Bessemer City 26: Click Six
Tidwell finds Willis for six TD passes as Rockets roll
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