By Will Heath, for The Tribune
LEEDS — On the first snap of the 2021 season, Sylacauga’s Maleek Pope gashed the Leeds defense for a 66-yard touchdown.
Following a Green Wave turnover, the Aggies scored again, and led 14-0 barely 5 minutes into the first quarter.
“I didn’t even get a drink of water, we were down 14-0,” said Leeds head coach Jerry Hood.
It turned out to be a test Hood’s Green Wave passed with flying colors. They fought back to tie the game in the second quarter, then amassed 271 yards in the second half to pull away in a 40-20 victory.
“We’re a second half team,” senior running back Rametrius Yelverton said after the game. “We might start off a little bit shaky, but once we get rolling, we’re rolling.”
Yelverton was one of the keys for the Green Wave in the second half, with 115 yards after halftime. He finished with 123 yards and two touchdowns, for a Leeds offense that scored every time it touched the ball in the second half.
“That’s how it was last year,” said quarterback Jarod Latta. “We’d find it in the second half.”
Latta was equally adept in the second half, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another. His rushing touchdown came on an improvisation after a broken play, and turned into a 13-yard touchdown.
“Our running back ran the wrong way, and I just took it for myself,” Latta said. “Luckily, I found the corner of the end zone and I scored.”
Meanwhile, the Green Wave defense shored up its deficiencies from the first half. Pope finished with 182 yards rushing and two touchdowns, but had only one run over 10 yards in the second half. And Leeds’ Tanner Chambers picked off Sylacauga quarterback Brayson Edwards twice to kill Aggie drives.
“Against that offense and those athletes, that’s a good job,” Hood said. “Sometimes it’s good to get down early, so you know if you get down, you really play.”
That effort came after Pope had dominated the first half. The Green Wave tied the game in the second quarter when Mekhi Jones blocked an Aggie punt, then Damorion Felder scooped up the loose ball and ran it into the end zone.
Three plays after that, Pope scored for the second time, on a 55-yard run. At halftime the Aggies led 20-14.
“Looked like we lost a little bit of our pizzazz there,” Sylacauga head coach Rob Carter said. “It could be the fact we hadn’t played a game, and they had played one last week. They’re (Leeds) a good team.”
Devonte Megginson and Brody Goodman hauled in touchdown passes from Latta in the second half. Yelverton finally slammed the door with a 15-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
“We get that momentum, we’re just going to do us,” he said.
The play followed an ugly incident that included an ejection after it appeared punches were thrown. Hood said the play was simply “just football.”
“We don’t worry about that kind of stuff,” he said. “It happened, let’s move on.”
Leeds will travel to face Pell City next week. Sylacauga will play Lincoln at home.