By John Goolsby, Prep Sports Editor
LEEDS — For the second straight year, Briarwood Christian looked ready to hand Leeds a loss. But this time, the Green Wave flipped the script.
Down 28-14 midway through the third quarter, Leeds stormed back with 15 unanswered points to escape Homer Smiles Field with a 29-28 win.
Green Wave faithful saw Leeds pull out 29-28 win. Credit: John Goolsby
Briarwood’s John Campbell’s 53-yard reverse set up Jamison Barnes for a 4-yard touchdown run less than three minutes into the game. After trading stops, the Lions struck again when quarterback Charles Dedmon found Tram Walker in the back of the end zone to make it 13-0 early in the second.
Leeds finally got on the board when defensive tackle turned running back Tylin Moultrie cut the Lions’ lead to 13-7 on a 10-yard run with 8:18 in the first half.
Briarwood answered back quickly with a 48-yard touchdown to Eli Thompson to extend their lead to 20-7.
With 2:12 left on the clock, Moultrie scored again with a 9-yard run, cutting the Briarwood lead to 20-14.
Briarwood turned the ball over with forty seconds left in the half, and Leeds moved the ball into scoring position. The Green Wave missed a 46-yard field goal and headed to the break down six.
Briarwood threatened to put the game away after halftime. The Lions forced a fumble on Leeds’ first possession, setting up a first-and-goal. Barnes ran it in for his second rushing touchdown. Dedmon’s two-point conversion pass to Thompson gave Briarwood its biggest lead of the night, 28-14, with 8:11 left in the third.
The Greenies’ comeback began when a high snap on a Lions punt sailed through the end zone for a safety. The Briarwood error tightened the game to 28-16 and handed the ball back to Leeds.
Leeds, looking to cut into the Briarwood lead further, fumbled the ball away. However, the Green Wave defense shut down the Lions’ offense for the next two drives.
Leeds quarterback Sam Lollar then marched the offense 65 yards, finishing with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Howard that pulled the Green Wave within five, 28-23.
The Green Wave defense stiffened on the next drive to force a short punt. A personal foul added fifteen yards to the Green Wave’s cause and set Leeds up at the Lions’ 30-yard line.
Greenies’ offense coordinator Jeremiah Millington didn’t waste his chance. Wide receiver Taylon Gaiter hit Jordan Smith on a 27-yard trick-play touchdown pass to give Leeds its first lead of the night, 29-28, with 5:22 to play.
Offensive coordinator Jeremiah Millington directs his offense. Credit: John Goolsby
Briarwood had two chances to respond, but the Green Wave defense delivered the knockout blows. Dedmon was sacked on third down and threw incomplete on fourth-and-21, turning the ball over on downs. Leeds nearly ran out the clock before Briarwood’s last-second lateral attempt was stopped. A penalty gave the Lions one last play, but the Briarwood pass fell incomplete, and the Green Wave celebration began.
Jerry Hood waits to call timeout late in the game. Credit: John Goolsby
Quarterback Sam Lollar said the message all week was about passion after last week’s setback.
“Well, this whole week, Coach Hood’s been talking about the word passion,” Lollar said. “We took that loss from Jacksonville, which really hurt, especially since it’s a region game. He really challenged us this game. He said, ‘How can we play with passion?’ And early, we went down a little bit, but we just kept fighting. I think we did what coach wanted — we brought that passion with us, and that’s what helped us win the game.”
Taylon Gaiter echoed that theme.
“We didn’t play really good last week, and all the coaches talked about was energy and passion, and we had to respond,” Gaiter said. “That was the only thing we had to do — just respond. And we did that. Our offense and defense, we fought really well. I’m so glad about that win. We finally got them. We were just staying calm. Even when we were down, it was just execution at that point. Just had to execute, hold on to the ball, and score.”
Howard, a senior linebacker and part-time tight end, said the game was a battle. “Man, it was an ugly one, but we came out with it,” Howard said. “Over the week, Coach Wingo was all week like, I want it to be ugly. And it happened, and it came down to the last play. It was a heck of a game. We just preached passion, and that came alive in the second half. Our offense fumbled, but our defense came together, and then the offense got it together and came back. They played a great game.”
Moultrie, a 6-foot, 300-pound defensive tackle moonlighting in the backfield, said those touchdowns meant more than points on the scoreboard.“I had made a promise to my grandma,” he said. “I told her by the end of the season, I’m gonna get you some touchdowns, make sure I got them before she passed away. And my great-grand, I made sure that happened. That was tough. And I gotta thank God for giving me the opportunity to do that too.”
Moultrie said the comeback felt like redemption.
“I feel like we redeemed ourselves,” he said. “Made up for our mistakes, figured out what we had to do with the game plan, and corrected what we did wrong last year. For us to have an opportunity to come up with a victory, that means everything.”
Head coach Jerry Hood added his pride in the group.
“Hats off to Briarwood. They have a really great team. They put us in a bind tonight, but I was so proud of our young team,” Hood said. “We’re so young, and for them to have that type of effort to continue to come back, everybody just did a wonderful job tonight. I’m so proud of them. What a night. What a great game. Proud of Leeds, proud of these seniors here on senior night. Such a big crowd. Great crowd out here. This is what high school football is all about. This is real high school football. I’m proud to be a part of it.”
Smith finished with eight catches for 96 yards and the game-winner, while Lollar spread the ball around to Jacari Swain (6 catches, 95 yards) and Gaiter (5 catches, 73 yards). Lollar was steady all night, completing 20 of 26 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown.
Leeds rolled up 358 yards and limited Briarwood to 276.
Leeds steps back into region play against St. Clair County next week.
