Garner Jr. Scores Four TDs in Win Over Hale County

By Brian Hamilton, Sports Correspondent

Gordo knew it had a running back it could depend on coming into the 2018 season. What the Greenwave didn’t know was that Troy Garner Jr. would make scoring touchdowns look as easy as calling Geico to save money on car insurance. All analogies aside, Garner might just be the insurance that a young Gordo team needs when it comes to picking up a first down or crossing the orange pylon. The junior running back has now scored three touchdowns or more in three of the Greenwave’s five games this season.

Garner Jr. put Gordo on the board first with 7:35 left in the first quarter when he ran for a three-yard touchdown, giving the Greenwave a 7-0 lead. Junior Joshua Darling, a Southern Miss recruit, then crossed the goal-line for a one-yard touchdown run to put the Greenwave in front 14-0 midway through the second quarter.

Hale County’s Xavien Banks returned the ensuing kickoff 83 yards for a score to cut the Wildcat deficit to 14-7. Garner Jr. would score his second touchdown of the night on a three-yard touchdown run putting Gordo ahead 20-7.

Banks cut Hale County deficit to five points, at 20-15, when he found the end zone again for a seven-yard touchdown run with 4:09 remaining in the first half. The Greenwave would respond, however, as Garner Jr. broke free for a 66-yard touchdown to put Gordo in front 26-15. The Greenwave would take an 11-point lead into the locker room at the half.

Hale County would receive the second-half kick, but the Wildcats’ drive would be stimied when Jy’Tavian Billups picked up a Hale County fumble and ran it back 42-yard touchdown and a 33-15 Gordo lead. The Wildcats would then put together an eight-play, 77-yard drive, capped by another Banks touchdown to cut the Hale County deficit to 33-21 with 8:22 left in the third quarter. The Greenwave would again respond when Garner Jr. found the end zone for the fourth time on a 17-yard run, giving Gordo a 39-21 lead after three quarters.