By Loyd McIntosh
Sports Editor
MOODY — It came down to a fumbled snap on an extra point.
Moody quarterback Cole McCarty drops back for a pass against Leeds, Friday, October 14. (Photo by Ron Burkett)
The most highly-anticipated high school football game in recent memory, the hottest ticket this side of Elton John’s farewell tour, a game creating more buzz than a nest of stirred-up murder hornets, and it came down to a failed extra point.
In the 2022 edition of the Battle of the Bridge, the Leeds Green Wave hung on for dear life to defeat the Moody Blue Devils, 14-13, in front of packed and boisterous Bill Morris Stadium Friday, October 14.
After being held scoreless in the first half, Moody started the second half trailing by two touchdowns, 14-0, the first time they trailed in any game in 2022. Each team traded three-and-outs to start the third quarter, before the Moody offense finally found its rhythm, moving the ball against a stingy Green Wave defense.
The Blue Devils finally got on the board as Quarterback Cole McCarty found his favorite target, Davion Dozier, on a 16-yard touchdown strike on a risky fourth-down-and-nine.
Moody’s defense rose to the challenge in the fourth quarter, stopping a Leeds run game that had been quite effective in the first half. McCarty, who seemed to be running for his life most of the evening, led Moody on a drive late in the fourth quarter, capped by another strike to #4, Dozier, to bring Moody to within one point, 14-13.
This is where things went pear-shaped.
The ensuing snap on the extra-point attempt was mishandled, leading to a fumble recovered by the Green Wave defense. With just a little more than two minutes to play, Moody trailed by a digit, 14-13.
The play caused some confusion on the sidelines. Many people, including this reporter, thought the play was a fake extra point concealing a two-point conversion attempt to take the lead. Moody head coach Jake Ganus confirmed this was not the case.
“It was just a regular PAT, just kick it through the uprights, but for whatever reason, we had a miscommunication,” said Ganus. “We have the ability to run certain fakes out of it, but it was 100 percent, without question supposed to be a PAT.”
Ganus said that the Moody defense came up big against a formidable running attack by their 411 foes and felt they had a chance to pull out the victory if the game went into overtime.
“My defense was playing lights out and I trusted them in overtime, but that’s on me,” Ganus said. “It ain’t on 15, 16, 17-year-old kids. This loss is on me and I’ll take all of it.”
Regarding that unsuccessful extra point attempt, the fact is these are never simply automatic. Miscues on extra points can happen to any team at any time.
In fact, it happened to Leeds.
The Green Wave scored first on a 19-yard touchdown run from Jeremiah Hunter midway through the first quarter. However, the extra point attempt was wide, leaving the score 6-0 in favor of Leeds.
Moody’s offense was able to move the ball throughout the first half, but the Leeds defense held the Blue Devils scoreless on three trips inside the 20-yard line. Twice, Moody was unable to convert on fourth down tries, and a field-goal attempt with 4:53 to play in the first half was blocked.
On the next Leeds possession, the Green Wave put a drive together capped by another Henderson touchdown run. Leeds Head Coach Jerry Hood rolled the dice and put the offense back on the field to attempt a two-point conversion attempt. The gamble paid off and Leeds took a 14-0 lead into halftime.
Moody’s defense shut the Leeds running attack down in the second half, giving a boost to the offense that has been incredibly productive all season, but struggled to put points on the board Friday night.
Following Moody’s second touchdown and failed extra point attempt, Leeds did their best to run out the clock but left just enough time for Moody to take one crack at a miracle. However, the game came to end as a pass from McCarty to Dozier was caught at around the Leeds’ 30-yard line. Attempts to keep the play alive as time ran out were thwarted by the Green Wave defense.
The final score: Leeds 14, Moody 13.
Despite the lass and some of the mistakes Moody made throughout the night, Ganus said he is proud of this team, especially in the way they fought back after finding themselves down by two touchdowns.
“We were down at halftime 14-0 and my kids had to respond, and they did. That’s what I need to see because you’re not going to win every game by 35 or 40 points,” Ganus said. “You’re going to have some adversity.
“This is a learning experience for all of us, but Nick Saban always says ‘don’t waste a failure,'” Gauns added. “We have to go back to the drawing board as coaches and find ways to put our kids in better positions to be successful.”
Moody drops to 8-1 overall and 4-1 in 5A Region 6 play. Lees improves to 8-0, 5-0 in region action.
More on the 2022 Battle of the Bridge here.
