By Will Heath, For The Tribune
KIMBERLY — Even as an assistant coach shouts “HUMILITY!” in the background, Leeds defensive linemen Kavion Henderson and Devonte Megginson are not shy about their goals for 2022.
“We want to be the best defensive line in 5A,” Henderson said. “Me and (Megginson), we want to be the best edge rushers in 5A.”
Whether they will achieve that goal remains to be seen. On Friday night, the two of them, along with the rest of the Green Wave defense, keyed an effort that held Mortimer Jordan to 146 total yards in a 21-7 Leeds victory.
Unofficially, the Leeds defense sacked Mortimer Jordan’s Garrett Ames 7 times in the game, and limited the Blue Devils to 66 yards rushing.
“I thought they were phenomenal,” Leeds head coach Jerry Hood said. “Some of (the sacks) were very timely.”
That defensive effort was necessary to buoy the Green Wave offense, which rallied from early struggles to score two touchdowns late in the first half to take a lead they would not relinquish. The starring role went to sophomore Conner Nelson, who hauled in a swing pass from quarterback Jarod Latta and ran through tacklers for a 6-yard touchdown late in the first half.
Nelson would finish the scoring in the fourth quarter, with a 16-yard run from the quarterback position.
“We just stuck with it,” Hood said. “Didn’t try to get outside our comfort zone, and some runs started busting.”
Tailback Jeremiah Hunter led the Green Wave (1-0) with 110 yards, most of it coming in that second quarter surge. With the Blue Devils (0-1) leading 7-0 and without a first down through nearly two quarters, Hunter broke loose for runs of 20 and 43 yards to move the ball deep into Mortimer Jordan territory. Three plays later Christian Howard scored from 7 yards out, to tie the score.
“We had them pinned pretty much the first half,” Mortimer Jordan Dusty Goode said. “Right there late in the second quarter they took advantage of some things and took the lead on us. We never were able to recover.”
The Blue Devils had claimed the lead on a 54-yard drive in the first quarter, that featured two 3rd-down conversions and one conversion on 4th and 16. Mortimer Jordan’s Terence Gaines scored from a yard out to give the home team an early lead.
“You just got to keep going,” Megginson said. “Can’t get too high on the highs, too low on the lows.”
It would be the last time Mortimer Jordan would threaten to score the rest of the game. After their offense tied the game, Leeds’ defense forced a three-and-out, putting the offense back on the field with 3 minutes to go in the first half. A run by CJ Douglas on a fake punt moved the ball to the Blue Devil 6, and Latta found Nelson for the go-ahead touchdown three plays later.
“We’re finding out about ourselves,” Hood said. “Nobody got hurt, so we’re ready to move on to next week and see what we can do.”
Leeds will face Pell City next week at Homer Smiles Field in its home opener. Mortimer Jordan will travel to face Springville.