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As Leeds prepared for the upcoming 2008 season Coach Keith Etheridge knew the strength of this team would be along the line of scrimmage. Both offensively and defensively the talent was there to dominate the line of scrimmage.           The line was led by senior Matt Carmichael, along with senior Randon Carnathon (Sr. DE/FB), Zac Elkins (Sr., OL/DL), Robert McCoy (Sr., DL), Anthony Hulitt, and the lone junior Cody Ashley (Jr., C).            When it came to the skill position players, coach Etheridge would rely on Tony Threatt (Sr., SWS/WR), Austin Falkner, and Robert Watts as the offensive leaders. In the back field, quarterback Rush Perkins (Jr., QB/LB) is joined by Randon Carnathon, Zac Elkins Marcus Sanders, Shane McGinnis and Dedrick Foresythe.           Leeds finished the past two season with identical 8-5 record and losses in the quarter-finals of the playoffs.

Leeds 7   6   7   6   26     Oak Grove 0   0   0   0   0

The Leeds offense rolled up 368 yards while the defense did their part by limiting Oak Grove to two yards rushing and 58 total yards in a 26-0 shutout in the first game of the season. Shane McGinnis got things going when he scored on a 30-yard run for the first points of the game.           Payne Laster kicked two second quarter field goals of 37 and 28 yards to give the Green Wave a 13-0 halftime lead. Quarterback Rush Perkins found Robert Watts open for a 54-yard scoring pass and Dedrick Foresythe got the final score on a 18-yard run. Foresythe was the leading ground gainer with 94 yards on 10 carries.

White Plains 0   0   0   0   0     Leeds 14   17   24   0   55

The Green Wave celebrated a 55-0 win over White Plains by Commemorating Coach Homer Smiles on the football field named in his honor. Randon Carnathon scored the first touchdown on a 3-yard plunge and Shane McGinnis returned a punt 67 yards for another as Leeds opened up a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.            The lead was extended to 31-0 by halftime and 55-0 at the end of the third quarter. Perkins tossed two second quarter touchdown passes to Watts of 17 and 8 yards. The defense contributed by tacking on a safety and Tyler Jones returned an interception 32 yards for another score. Perkins was six-of-15 for 166 yards and two touchdowns as the offense rolled up 402 yards.

Leeds 10   21   14   0   45     Walter Wellborn 0   0   0   0   0

The Leeds Green Waver registered their third shutout in as many games by romping past Walter Wellborn 45-0 on the road. Leeds led 31-0 at halftime and cruised to the region win. Marcus Sanders scored three touchdowns on runs of 4, 16 and 3 yards and finished with 91 yards on 12 carries.           The special teams got in on the action when Robert Watts tipped a Panther punt and Jonathon Rose snatched it out of the air and raced 25 yards for a touchdown.

Weaver 0   0   0   0   0     Leeds 7   14   7   14   42

The Leeds defense again played near flawless football as the collected their fourth shutout of the season in a 42-0 win over Weaver. Six different players scored touchdowns for the Green Wave. Perkins had 79 yards on the ground and was 8-of-16 for 109 yards passing.

Leeds 0   20   7   7   34     St. Clair County 0   6   0   7   13

Leeds string of shutouts ended after not allowing a point for the first seventeen quarters of the season. St. Clair County scored, but not enough, as the Green Wave rolled to a 34-13 victory in week five of the season on the road. Leeds got a measure of revenge for three straight losses to St. Clair County the past trio of seasons with the win.           After a scoreless first quarter, Leeds scored three consecutive touchdowns on a one-yard run by Carnathon, a 56-yard pass from Perkins to Jesse Turner and a Austin Faukner 25-yard return of an interception. St. Clair scored a second quarter touchdown to break the scoreless streak but Leeds had too many weapons and eventually pulled away for the victory.

Pleasant Valley 0   0   7   0   7     Leeds 7   21   23   0   51

Leeds clinched a playoff spot with a 51-7 win over Pleasant Valley in week six of the season. The Green Wave led 28-0 at the half and coasted to another easy win. Rush Perkins tossed three first half touchdown passes and scored another on a 31-yard run. He hit Tony Threatt for two of the scores and Robert Watts for the other.           Sanders, Foresythe, Carnathon, and McGinnis combined for 165 as Forsythe led the way with 68 yards on nine carries. Perkins had a good night at the quarterback position hitting 6-of-8 for 136 yards and three touchdowns. Carnathon, Matt Rogers and Faulkner had interceptions to lead the defense.

Leeds 0   0   14   27   41     Glencoe 0   0   0   0   0

The Leeds Green Wave registered shutout number five on the season with a 41-0 win over Glencoe in week seven. They also moved closer to a region title as they ran their record to 5-0 in region play. Leeds totally outmanned Glencoe in every phase of the game on their way to another big win.

Piedmont 0   0   0   0   0     Leeds 7   14   7   7   35

The offense rolled up 309 yards while the defense held Piedmont to just 132 yards as the Green Wave dominated another opponent by shutting out Piedmont 35-0 the next week. Dedrick Foresythe finished the night with 151 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns as Leeds rolled up 271 yards on the ground.            Forsythe scored twice while Shane McGinnis and Marcus Sanders added scoring runs. The other touchdown came when Rush Perkins threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Robert Watts in the third quarter.

Leeds 7   10   14   7   38     Tarrant 0   6   0   0   6

Leeds wrapped up the region championship with a 36-6 win over Tarrant in week nine. Rush Perkins found Robert Watts for a 70-yard touchdown pass to get things going in the first quarter. Laster added a 29-yard field goal and Leeds led 10-0. Forsythe scored on a 60-yard run with 21 second left in the half for a 17-6 lead.             Forsythe added two 19-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter and freshman running back Ladarius Rogers scored the last touchdown on a 51-yard run to wrap up the scoring for the night. Leeds rolled up 438 yards on the ground led by Dedrick Forsythe's 229 yards on 19 carries.

Leeds 0   7   7   13   27     Moody 0   0   0   0   0

The Green Waver wrapped up the first undefeated regular season in school history with a perfect 10-0 record. The Green Wave shut down Moody 27-0 for their seventh shutout of the 2008 season. The Moody defense played well as Leeds only managed a 7-0 halftime lead on a Rush Perkins to Tony Threatt pass play that covered 15 yards.           Following a Foresythe 63-yard run to open a drive, Leeds took a 14-0 lead when Zac Elkins scored on a one-yard plunge into the end zone. Ladarius Rogers scored two fourth quarter touchdowns on runs of 11 and seven yards to wrap up the scoring for the evening and a 27-0 win.           The offense rolled up 365 yards while the defense did their part by holding Moody to 108 total yards. Perkins led all runners with 160 yards and Foresythe added 100 yards rushing.

Pisgah 0   0   0   0   0     Leeds 0   31   20   0   51

Leeds recorded their eighth shut of the season in a 51-0 win over Pisgah in the first round of the playoffs. Following a scoreless first period, Leeds exploded for 31 second quarter points and followed that up with 20 in the third period.           Robert Watts got thing going with a 63-yard punt return for the first touchdown. Rush Perkins scored two rushing touchdowns and threw for another. Randon Carnathon, Foresythe and Ladarius Rogers all scored touchdowns along with a 32-yard field goal from Laster. Rogers score came on an electric 61-yard run and was the last score of the night.

Sylvania 0   2   0   0   2     Leeds 13   12   13   0   38

Jonathan Rose had three interceptions and Rush Perkins added three rushing scores as Leeds ran over Sylvania 38-2 in the second round of the playoffs. Dedrick Foresythe gained 97 yards running the football. Leeds led 25-2 at the half and cruised to their twelfth win of the season which was a school record.           Perkins scores came on runs of 6, 1 and 7 yards. Roberts Watts returned a punt 60 yards for another touchdown in the third quarter. The defense held the Rams to 93 total yards including no passing yards. Meanwhile, the Green Wave rolled up 312 yards of total offense. Leeds now moves on to the third round of the playoffs for only the second time in school history.

Piedmont 0   7   0   0   7     Leeds 12   0   7   7   26

Leeds scored just 28 seconds into the game following a long kickoff return by Tony Threatt and a 31-yard gallop by quarterback Rush Perkins. Dedrick Foresythe added a 2-yard touchdown and the Green Wave led 12-0 after the first quarter.           The No. 2 ranked Green Wave scored twice on runs by Carnathan in the second half to pull away for the victory. Foresythe led the Green Wave on the ground with 78 yards in the game. The win sent Leeds to the semi-finals of the playoffs for the first time in school history.

Leeds 0   7   10   7   24     Colbert County 10   0   0   0   10

Colbert County led 10-0 after the first quarter before the Green Wave settled down and shut them out the rest of the way. A 24-10 win over the Indians in the semi-finals of the playoffs was good enough to sent Leeds to their first ever state championship game in Birmingham next week against Cordova.            When Leeds fell behind early it was the first time all season they had trailed in a game. Playing at Colbert County had been the doom of many teams over the years as the Indians were one of the most feared teams ever come playoff time. But not on this night.            Forsythe finished with 175 yards on 17 carries with 131 coming in the second half as Leeds gained momentum and controlled the football.

Cordova 7   0   7   7   21     Leeds 10   7   7   14   38

Leeds defeated Cordova 38-12 for their first ever state championship in the Class 3A title game at Legion Field in Birmingham. Quarterback Rush Perkins scored three touchdowns on runs of 23, 21 and 11 yards and tossed an 11-yard scoring pass to Randon Carnathan to earn MVP honors in the contest.           The Green Wave opened up a 17-7 lead at the half and cruised to the victory behind the running of Perkins who finished with 145 yards on 17 carries. Dedrick Foresythe added 120 yards on 18 carries including a 43-yard touchdown jaunt. Leeds piled up 377 yards rushing as they outscored the Blue Devils.           Cordova got on the scoreboard first but Leeds bounced back to score the next 24 points.           Kicker Payne Laster, Randon Carnathan, Robert McCoy, Tony Threatt and Zack Elkins were all named to the first team by the Alabama Sports Writers all-state team. Chase Samples and Dedrick Forsythe were selected to the honorable mention team.           Leeds finished with a perfect 15-0 record which was by far the most wins in school history. The previous highest win total was nine prior to 2008. They also set a team record for most points scored in a season with 571. Leeds 2008 8/29 26 Oak Grove . . . . . . . . . 0 9/5 55 White Plains . . . . . . 0 9/12 45 Walter Wellborn . . . . 0 9/19 42 Weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 9/26 34 St. Clair County . . . 13 10/3 51 Pleasant Valley . . . . 7 10/10 41 Glencoe . . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/17 35 Piedmont . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/24 38 Tarrant . . . . . . . . . . . 6 10/30 27 Moody . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 11/7 51 Pisgah * . . . . . . . . . . 0 11/14 38 Sylvania * . . . . . . . . 2 11/21 26 Piedmont * . . . . . . . . 7 11/28 24 Colbert County * . . . 10 12/4 38 Cordova # . . . . . . . . . 21 571 15-0 66 * Playoff game # State championship game

Amazing Seasons, a series on the greatest seasons in high school football history


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