Johnny Sanders, for The Tribune
LEEDS — The Pirates from Boaz made the trip south to take on the Leeds Green Wave in class 5A Round 1 playoff action on Friday night. Leeds dominated from the opening whistle and cruised to an easy 41-14 win over the visiting Pirates, thanks to an unconventional fast start.
“I thought we finally did very well in the first half and started better. That’s been a huge focus for us because we haven’t started well a lot this year,” said Leeds head coach Jerry Hood.
On the opening offensive play of the game, Leeds quarterback Jared Latta found Josh Ruff for a 38-yard pass that set the tone for the offense, and two plays later, Rametrius Yelverton took the ball 14 yards for the opening touchdown of the game, putting Leeds up 7-0 just a little over a minute into the game.
Boaz would find some success on the following drive, until the Leeds defense broke through the offensive line of the Pirates and caused quarterback Tyler Pierce to fumble the ball. Cameron Dunklin scooped up the fumbled ball and ran 72 yards for another Leeds touchdown, putting his team up 14-0 half way through the first quarter.
After holding Boaz to a punt, Leeds took over and once again wasted no time getting it into the end zone. Latta found Ruff again, this time for 58 yards to the 10-yard line. From there, CJ Douglas lined up in the wildcat and took it the 10 yards needed for another score with 3:05 to go in the first.
Once again, the Leeds defense would stifle Boaz and set up shop at the 43-yard line of the Pirates. Five plays later, Yelverton tacked on another touchdown, this time from 12 yards out, and Leeds ended the first quarter with a 28-0 lead.
The second quarter was much like the first, with smothering defense and potent offense by the Green Wave. On their first drive, Leeds failed on a fourth and 13, giving the Pirates the ball at their own 29-yard line. CJ Douglas would pick off a Tyler Pierce pass and return it to the 10-yard line, where Devonte Megginson would join the scoring party and get his first rushing touchdown of the year to put Leeds up 35-0 with 4:37 to go before the break.
After holding Boaz to another punt, Leeds would get the ball at their own 45, where Latta would find Yelverton on consecutive passes, the second of which was a 44-yarder that saw Yelverton get his third score of the night, making it 41-0 after a missed PAT.
Leeds would put some fresh faces on the field in the second half and Boaz would find some success, outscoring the Green Wave 14-0 in the final two quarters of play. The highlight of the second half for Leeds would be CJ Douglas getting his second interception of the night. Boaz running back Elijah Jacobs scored on an 8-yard run at the 8:43 mark of the fourth and the Boaz defense would jump on a fumbled snap in the Leeds end zone to give themselves 14 points to close out the game.
Speaking of his team’s performance, Leeds Coach Jerry Hood said, “They did what I wanted them to do, which was play at a high level, until I tell them to come out. That’s what we care about.”
“Boaz guys, they were dealing with a little COVID and their quarterback was out,” he continued. “I salute them for making the playoffs. This was a good run for them.”
Asked about CJ Douglas’ performance (two interceptions and an offensive touchdown), Hood said, “He’s an incredible player. He had two picks. He’s not only an incredible football player but he’s a great student and a great leader on our team and he’s only a 10th grader. He’s got big things ahead of him.”
Leeds, now 9-2, travels to Russellville next week in Round 2 of the playoffs. Boaz ends the season at 5-6.
