By John Goolsby, Prep Sports Editor
LEEDS – When Leeds faces off with the Moody Blue Devils this Friday night, it will mark the Greenwaves’ seventh semi-final appearance and first since 2015.
The Greenies hold a 5-1 record in the penultimate playoff game. Leeds native and current Auburn High head coach Keith Etheredge led the Greenwave to all six appearances.
Tre Nation rushed for 548 yards ans 11 touchdowns in three semi-final games
Leeds made their first semi-final appearance in 2008. The second-ranked Greenwave traveled to Leighton to face the sixth-ranked Colbert County Indians. The Greenwave trailed 10-0 after the first quarter before outscoring Colbert County 24-0 the rest of the way. Sophomore Dedrick Forsythe’s 17-carry, 175-yard performance helped lead Leeds to the 3A championship game against Cordova. The Greenwave prevailed 38-21 over the eighth-ranked Blue Devils to claim the school’s first football title.
The following season, the sixth-ranked Greenies defeated fifth-ranked Madison Academy in the third round to advance to face Piedmont in the semis. This time, Leeds fell 13-7 to the Bulldogs.
The 2010 season saw another semi-final appearance for the top-ranked Greenwave. Behind Forsyth’s 258-yard performance, Leeds prevailed over Gordo 25-7 to advance to the Super Six championship, where they defeated Hamilton 42-32 in Jordan-Hare Stadium to claim their second 3A title.
In 2013, seventh-ranked Leeds hosted Straughn and emerged with a 19-7 victory behind running back Tre Nation’s 24-carry, 156-yard, two-touchdown performance. The Greenwave then headed to Bryant-Denny Stadium the following week, where they fell to number one-ranked Madison Academy in the 3A championship game.
The following season, Leeds traveled to Mobile to take on UMS-Wright. The number two-ranked Greenies cruised to a 42-14 win over the number one-ranked Bulldogs behind 127 yards from Tadarryl Marshall and a 119-yard, two-touchdown performance from Nation. The win set up a clash with Deshler for the 4A title in Auburn. Leeds won 30-0 and returned home with their third state championship.
Leeds, ranked third, made a third consecutive trip to the semi-finals in 2015 against Munford. The Lions, who had defeated Leeds earlier in the season, left Homer Smile Field with a 48-20 loss. Nation rolled up 273 yards on 43 carries and scored all seven Greenwave touchdowns. The Greenies advanced to Tuscaloosa and left Bryant-Denny Stadium with their fourth state championship after a 55-7 blowout of Fayette County in the 4A championship game.
Nation rushed for 548 yards on 87 carries and scored 11 touchdowns in three semi-final games for Leeds from 2013-2015.
Leeds’ head coach, Jerry Hood, is no stranger to semi-final games either. In 2005, Hood took Oak Mountain to a semi-matchup against number four-ranked Hoover. The Buccaneers defeated the Eagles en route to the 6A state championship.
Hood returned to the semis in 2012 with the number five ranked Clay-Chalkville Cougars but lost to another state title-winning Hoover Buc team.
Hood would take the Cougars to a semi-final matchup with Florence two years later. Number one-ranked Clay won 35-21 to advance to the 6A state championship game against Saraland. The Cougars prevailed 36-31 to win the school’s second state championship.
Hood led his top-ranked Cougars to a semi-final tilt in Decatur versus Austin the following year. The Cougars won 45-35 before falling to Spanish Fort by three in the 6A state championship game.
