By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
MOODY – In 1973, country singer Conway Twitty released a song titled “You’ve never been this far before.” This could be the theme for the Moody Blue Devils on Friday night as they welcome the Leeds Greenwave to “The Bill” for not only the Battle of the Bridge 2.0 but for the right to continue the blue map mentality and earn the right to play in Protective Stadium on Thursday, December 5 for the 5A state championship.
This will be the first time in Moody’s history, which began in 1978, that they have been to the semifinals.
Moody runs onto the field for their quarterfinal game against Ramsay.
Credit: Ron Burkett
When these teams take the field, it will truly be the tale of two programs. Leeds and their head coach, Jerry Hood, have seen their share of success on the field. As reported earlier this week, the Greenwave has appeared in six games, going 5-1 with four state titles. Hood, a high school football coaching legend in our state, has four semifinal appearances on his resume to go with a state championship.
Moody, however, has not experienced such success…until now.
The Blue Devils currently hold a 9-15 playoff record. Their deepest run was in 2004 when John Grass’s team made it to round three before losing to Deshler.
To say, “This is not your grandfather’s Moody,” is a vast understatement. These Blue Devils are, as the kids say, built different.
Bill Morris Stadium Turf Football Field
Jake Ganus can be credited with bringing this type of energy and success to 411, as there was an immediate shift when he was hired in January of 2022.
Ganus’ first game was played on a brand-new playing surface with many minor upgrades around the stadium. That year, all his team did was win ten games for the first time in program history. 2022’s playoff run ended in the second round at Arab after Ganus’ team rewrote the record books at Moody.
In 2023, the Blue Devils won 10 games again and shared the region title with rivals Leeds and Southside Gadsden. They made it to the third round of the playoffs, losing at home to eventual runners-up Ramsay. Before the season started, the stadium was upgraded with a giant jumbotron.
Moody Football’s jumbotron.
Credit: Johnny Sanders
Now, the 2024 team sits at 10-2 in a season that boasted one of the state’s toughest schedules. Gainesville (GA) (Coached by former Hoover coach Josh Nibblett), Oxford, Helena, and Auburn (this game was canceled due to a hurricane) were Moody’s out-of-region opponents. Leeds, Center Point, and Jacksonville were also playoff teams in the region. So, the road was not easy. In the season, the Blue Devils pulled off an upset of Helena, almost beat Oxford, and got Ganus’ first win over archrival Leeds.
To put in perspective the difference that Ganus has made at Moody, just on the field, the aforementioned 9-15 playoff record was 3-13 when he took over.
Despite the lack of historic success and the fact that this is the first time Moody has ever made it to a semifinal game, they find themselves as favorites heading into Friday’s matchup with Leeds.
“It really is hard to beat a team twice in the same year,” said Ganus. “We have to make it about us and not them. There are a lot of external factors this week, but we will try to keep it as normal as possible and make it all about us. It really is a blessing to play this game that we love and especially to play it against our rivals down the road. We are really excited.”
