Moody Holds on for First Time Ever win over Leeds

LEEDS, AL – The Leeds Greenwave has ended the last three games with the outcome riding on the wire. Against Piedmont and Tarrant, Leeds made the winning plays in the very last seconds. When they faced off against the Moody Blue Devils (Class 5A, 5-4) on Thursday night, another last second winning score fell short by inches.

The Leeds-Moody rivalry drew lots of fans on a Thursday night, where the Blue Devils kicked off in front of a packed stadium. Leeds came out strong, returning Brandon Watson’s (#2) kick to their own 37 yard line and driving 54 yards before running out of steam. On fourth down Keaton Glass (#82) put three points on the board with his 26 yard field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, the Greenwave special team put Moody on their own 25, where the defense forced a three-and-out. Watson’s punt was recovered with favorable field position at Leeds’ 46. Running from the shotgun for most this drive and the first half, Leeds made 37 yards before the Blue Devils’ defense again stopped them short of a touchdown. Glass kicked in another three points on a 34 yard field goal.

That gave Leeds the lead as the first quarter ended, 6-0. The Blue Devils answered by returning the Greenwave kickoff to their own 46, going 54 yards in 15 plays and rushing 5 yards for a second quarter touchdown by Brandon Hicks (#12). They took a one point advantage with a good kick by Blake Spiker (#84).

Leeds’ third drive fell apart as the Blue Devils’ defense held them to only three plays, forcing a punt. Quarterback Rush Perkins (#10) had two runs for seven yards but couldn’t find a target on his third down pass. Christian Blaylock (#23) made a 52 yard punt for a touchback. The Greenwave defense quickly avenged their offensive line with a three-and-out, also sacking Blue Devil Quarterback Josh Owen (#3) for a ten yard loss. The punt by Watson went only 22 yards, starting Leeds at Moody’s 36. Two runs from Dedrick Forsythe (#34) for eight yards and an encroachment penalty against Moody put Leeds within 23 yards of a score.

What followed was a scenario that plagued the Greenwave’s last two tight wins and would haunt them again during this game; they could make the yards but couldn’t get the points. They gained a quick three yards with a run from LaDarius “Speedy” Rogers (#22) but lost it all when a pass was picked off by the Blue Devils’ Watson. After one short run, Moody headed into the locker room and the second half up by one point, 7-6.

The second half was a slugfest, as each team’s respective defense gave up yards grudgingly. Leeds’ started the second half with a 42 yard kickoff from Glass, putting Moody on their own 20. The Greenwave defense forced a punt, which was blocked and recovered by the same. Then it was called back with a 15 yard roughing the kicker penalty against Leeds, giving Moody the first down. The Blue Devils didn’t enjoy their possession long, fumbling it to Leeds on their next play. The offense started at the opposing 25 but after two runs for four yards and two incomplete passes, the ball went to Moody on downs. Despite putting up 207 yards rushing and 37 passing, the Greenwave offense found the Devil’s defense a tough nut to crack.

As the Greenwave’s offense struggled, the defense held steady. Though they gave 40 yards to the Devil’s in the ensuing drive, including a 28 yard pass from Owen to Perry Best (#80), Leeds prevented a score. The drive faltered after back to back penalties, leaving Moody unable to find a hole in the Greenwave pass protection. The next three drives would net Moody a total of negative seven yards. At the end of the game, the defense kept Moody to 53 yards rushing and 45 passing in a total of 45 plays.

As the fourth quarter ground on with no score, The Greenwave attempted to mix things up. Still down by one point, they started their last drive on their 32 and ran for consistent gains. A breakaway play came when Jonathan Rose ran the ball for 41 yards but that too was called back by a holding penalty against Leeds. Shane McGinnis (#7) took over the quarterback position and secured the first down with a 13 yard pass to Perkins. Two runs were stopped by the Blue Devils for a gain of two and McGinnis’s second pass missed. A delay of game penalty on the fourth down put the score out of reach again; McGinnis made a valiant nine yard run but fell short.

Moody took over on downs at their 32 and Owen went to a knee on the first play. Moody suddenly seemed to realize they didn’t have enough time to run the clock out. After two runs were stopped by the Greenwave, the Devil’s got ready to punt. The game once again balanced on a knife edge. The snap went high over Watson, into the end-zone. The Blue Devil kicker scrambled and recovered the ball, narrowly avoiding a safety. Watson ran the ball to the 24, short of a first down, leaving Leeds ten seconds to make a score. The Greenwave lined up for a 42 yard field goal. Leeds had pulled off spectacular wins like this at the past two games. Jesse Turner (#13) took the snap and Glass brought his leg up, getting good contact with the ball. The pigskin flew swiftly up and came down lazily, bouncing off the bottom crossbar of the goal post. The game winning shot was missed by inches. Moody took over the ball and Owen went to a knee, bringing an end to the game. After two victories pulled off at the last minute, the odds caught up with the Leeds Greenwave and the Moody Blue Devils won the game, and bragging rights, 7-6.

Leeds Head Coach Keith Etheredge spoke candidly with the Herald after the game. “We shot ourselves in the foot… We did what we wanted to do but every time we’d break a long one or put it in the end zone, (the refs) would bring the flags out.” He praised the Moody players and coaches for a hard fought game. “My hat’s off to them.” He also praised his own team for going toe-to-toe with a 5a school. The night also saw Dedrick Forsythe break 1,000 rushing yards in the regular season. He finished the game with 94 yards on 17 carries, bringing his total to 1,036 rushing yards and 102 passing yards off two half-back passes. “He’s a phenomenal back,” Etheredge said. “I felt like tonight was a night we needed more of a grinding type back, a bigger guy in there.” Forsythe wasn’t in a celebratory mood though. “I don’t rightly feel too good about it… I just felt like we could do better.” The running back perked up a little and said “We’ll make up for it.” Etheredge seemed to have the same attitude. “We gotta put this one behind us and get ready for the playoffs… we’re fine.”

Moody High School Blue Devils 7, Leeds High Greenwave 6