By Will Heath, For the Tribune
LEEDS — Jerry Hood had some words for his “disappointed” Leeds High Green Wave team after Friday night’s victory over Lincoln.
Leeds quarterback Jarod Latta threw for 163 yards against Lincoln, Friday, October 21.
“I told them, the day you’re disappointed in winning 31-10, you need to quit football,” Hood said. “You stay around this thing long enough, you’ll be on the other side.”
Hood’s 5A Region 6 champs did more than enough to secure the victory Friday night in their region finale against Lincoln, racing to a 24-0 halftime lead. Lincoln (4-5, 2-4) did outscore the Green Wave (9-0, 6-0) 10-7 in the second half, including a 67-yard touchdown pass.
“I feel like we could’ve played much better, actually on both sides,” said Leeds’ Jeremiah Hunter. “We could’ve played better.”
Hunter helped key the Leeds offense, finishing with 114 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
“Our defense is so strong, everybody focuses on our defense,” Hunter said. “They don’t really think about the offense that much.”
He got some help from a potent Green Wave air attack — a week after only attempting 3 passes as a team against Moody, Leeds quarterback Jarod Latta accounted for 163 yards through the air, completing 13 of his 18 throws.
Sophomore Conner Nelson caught 8 of those for 106 yards and scored a touchdown as a runner. CJ Douglas also touched the ball five times on offense, accounting for 88 yards rushing and receiving, while repeatedly setting up the Green Wave offense as a returner.
“I’m glad they care enough to not be exactly happy with their performance,” Hood said. “I am proud of how they came out and took care of business early.”
The Green Wave scored the first four times it touched the ball on Friday, with touchdowns from Nelson, Hunter and tailback Miles Jones. Jackson Arthur added a 33-yard field goal as well.
At halftime, Leeds led 24-0.
“They’re monsters,” said Lincoln head coach Matt Zedaker. “They’re fast. We had so many areas where we felt we had a good play, and when a guy can whoop 2 of yours, it’s very hard.”
Zedaker’s team fared somewhat better in the second half, holding the Green Wave out of the end zone until late in the fourth quarter. Wide receiver Camare Hampton “ran by” the Leeds defense in the third quarter, and quarterback Montavius Weed found him for a 67-yard TD. Another Hampton reception set up a Lincoln field goal in the fourth quarter, before Hunter closed the game with a 26-yard run.
“Very easily could have folded right there (at halftime), but that’s not us,” Zedaker said. “That’s not these kids. Not really about moral victories, but when your kids don’t quit and they keep fighting that’s all you can ask as a coach.”
The challenges for the Green Wave are only beginning now that region play has wrapped. Leeds will host Center Point, the 9th ranked team in 6A, on Senior Night next Friday, before hosting the first round of the 5A playoffs. Lincoln will return home to face Beauregard.
