By Loyd McIntosh
Sports Editor
ALEXANDRIA — Leeds ran the ball, and ran it some more, en route to an impressive 23-7 win over the Alexandria Valley Cubs Friday night.
Head Coach Jerry Hood brought his Green Wave squad into Alexandria riding a six-game winning streak and their rivalry game against next-door neighbor Moody looming next week. Add in the fact that Leeds has had trouble with the Valley Cubs in recent years, and you had the making of a classic trap game.
Leeds was ready.
Green Wave ball carriers, Conner Nelson, Jeremiah Hunter, and Jarod Latta, pounded the ball straight up the gut all night long, daring Alexandria to try to stop them. The Green Wave racked up 301 total yards on offense, 219 of those yards coming on the ground on 42 rushes. Sophomore quarterback Nelson led Leeds with 117 yards on 14 rushes and two touchdowns on a night when the Green Wave run game was on point.
“Our run game is unstoppable,” said Nelson after the game. “We got three good runners and with our line blocking, nobody can really stop us.”
Leeds received the opening kickoff and only needed seven plays to put up the game’s first score, a four-yard touchdown run by Nelson with 7:56 left to play in the first quarter. The Green Wave defense contributed early as well, pouncing on a fumble by running back Ty Brown on Alexandria’s third play of the game, the first of five turnovers forced by the Leeds defense.
Starting their second drive from the Valley Cub’s 40-yard-line, Leeds attempted to take quick advantage of the turnover going to the air. However, Leeds was forced to settle on a 31-yard field goal by Jackson Arthur after two straight incomplete passes stalled the drive on the Alexandria 14-yard line. With the first quarter barely half over, Leeds led 10-0.
Alexandria responded on their next possession, starting with excellent field position near midfield thanks to a facemask penalty on Leeds during the kickoff return. After gaining just 17 yards on their next seven plays, Alexandria quarterback Ty Barker hit TK Downey on a slant route for a 35-yard touchdown, to bring the score to within three points with 25 left in the first quarter, 10-7.
That would be as close as Alexandria would get.
Leeds responded with a 10-point second quarter, beginning with another 31-yard field goal by Arthur with 5:45 left in the second quarter. On the Cub’s next drive, the Leeds defense came up big again as Zaine Hood intercepted a Barker pass at the Alexandria 42-yard-line.
Again, Leeds took advantage of the Alexandria turnover responding with a four-play drive capped off with a 20-yard touchdown run by Nelson with just 2:32 to play in the first half.
Alexandria received the kickoff to begin the second half, starting the possession at their own 40-yard line. The Valley Cub’s offense put together an effective drive into the red zone. Again, the Leeds defense rose to the challenge. On a first and goal from the Leeds ten-yard line, a pass up the middle by Valley Cubs quarterback Barker was again intercepted, this time by Josh Lee, with 7:55 to play in the third quarter
The Leeds offense took possession on their own five-yard line, methodically marching the ball down the field before the drive finally stalled at the Alexandria 19-yard line. Arthur added three more points on a 36-yard field goal, to push the score to 23-7. However, more importantly, Leeds gobbled up more than seven minutes leaving just 17 seconds to play in the third quarter, putting the game out of reach.
“That’s what championship football teams do,” said Hood of the 14-play, seven-minute, thirty-eight-second drive. “We just talked to our kids and said ‘just execute. Don’t worry about anything else, just get another first down. We have a good lead, let’s play like it.’”
With the victory over Alexandria, Leeds improves to 7-0, 4-0 in 5A Region 6 play. Hood said the win was an important one as they head into their annual rivalry game with Moody, also undefeated, next Friday, October 14.
“This was a win that you need to have. If you don’t win this now you’re fighting uphill because Moody’s a great team,” Hood said. “We’ll do what we do. We’ve looked at Moody a lot and we’ll just do the best we can. They’ve accumulated a great team.”
Leeds travels 6.7 miles up U.S. Highway 411 to take on Moody on Friday, October 14. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.