By Bobby Mathews, sports editor
LEEDS — It was impossible to pick one standout performance from Leeds’ dominant 28-0 shutout of Center Point on Friday night.
That’s why the Green Wave (7-0, 4-0) is The Tribune’s Team of the Week — because there were too many outstanding players to choose just one.
Senior running back Rametrius Yelverton scored all four touchdowns for Leeds and racked up 167 yards on the ground. But what about the offensive line that leaned on the Eagles defense and opened the holes for Yelverton to run through and helped convert a key fourth-down attempt?
What about Jarod Latta, a highly skilled quarterback who tossed a 41-yard scoring pass to Yelverton, who broke three tackles at the goal line to finish out the TD run?
And then there was an overwhelming tide of Leeds defenders kept the two-headed rushing attack of Center Point under control for the majority of the game, creating havoc with the Eagles’ defense and totaling four turnovers before the half.
Center Point’s Jabari Collier and Troy Bruce, usually masters at getting to the edge or finding their way through small gaps in the line of scrimmage, were held to 133 yards. So Kavion Henderson and Cody Saulisbury could have qualified for Player of the Week, too. So could Tucker Summers and Josh Ruff, part of a defensive backfield that intercepted Center Point three times on the evening.
The Eagles (4-3, 2-2) were on a three-game win streak until they hosted the Green Wave.
This was a team that created havoc against a good region foe who is also likely to make the playoffs, and Leeds, ranked No. 3 in 5A, completely dominated them. That’s scary. A regular season matchup with Alexandria looms on October 22 to finish out the season for the Green Wave. Everything before that feels like it may be a tune-up.
But the game against the Eagles was a game that Center Point had circled for a year. They could have — and maybe should have — won the 2020 contest between these two teams. The Eagles led that game at halftime, 14-0, only to lose 17-14 after a Leeds player caught a deflected pass for a touchdown in the second half.
This time, the Green Wave wouldn’t let things get to that point. They left no doubts on the field as to who was the better team.
Leeds travels to Odenville to face off against St. Clair County this Friday evening at 7 p.m.
The Tribune’s Team of the Week is sponsored by Courtesy GMC.
