Friday Night Flashback: Sylacauga vs. Leeds

SYLACAUGA, Ala. - Sylacauga suffered its first setback of the 2026 season Friday night, falling 57-7 to a talented Leeds team at Legion Stadium.

The final score was lopsided, but there were stretches when the Aggies showed some of the same things that helped them open the season with back-to-back wins. Sylacauga moved the football at times, got another strong night from several of its playmakers and came out of halftime with some fight.

Leeds was simply able to turn its opportunities into points and eventually pull away.

Sylacauga is now 2-1 on the season and will hit the road next Friday night to face Jacksonville in an important region matchup.

The Aggies had to play from behind almost immediately Friday.

Leeds struck on its second offensive play when quarterback Brennan Archer found Tailon Gator in space. Gator broke loose for a 61-yard touchdown, and a broken extra-point play resulted in a successful two-point conversion to give the Green Wave an early 8-0 advantage.

Sylacauga responded with a promising drive of its own.

Quarterback Jasper Jacks broke loose for a big run up the middle to move the chains, and running back Zakorien Chambliss followed with a couple of tough runs. Later in the possession, the Aggies faced fourth-and-three in Leeds territory.

Jacks initially looked to throw, but when the play broke down, he took off. The Sylacauga quarterback escaped a pair of defenders and fought his way to the marker for a first down.

A penalty backed the Aggies up on the next play, however, and eventually ended the scoring threat.

Penalties were a problem for Sylacauga throughout the opening quarter. The Aggies were flagged on both of their early kickoff returns and had several offensive penalties that put them in difficult down-and-distance situations.

Leeds added another touchdown early in the second quarter to make it 15-0, but Sylacauga answered with its best offensive possession of the night.

Jacks first got the football to Juice Riley in space, and Riley did the rest.

The senior made the first defender miss and raced down the field before being tripped up deep in Leeds territory. It was the explosive play the Aggies had been looking for and immediately gave the offense some life.

A few plays later, Jacks found another target.

With Leeds paying extra attention to Riley, Se'ryon McMillan slipped behind the defense and found himself wide open over the middle. Jacks put the football on him, and McMillan took it the rest of the way for the touchdown.

Anderson Adair connected on the extra point, and Sylacauga had cut the deficit to 15-7.

Leeds answered, though, and that became one of the biggest differences in the game.

Each time Sylacauga appeared ready to grab some momentum, the Green Wave found an answer.

Leeds scored twice more before halftime, including a touchdown in the final minute of the second quarter, and took a 29-7 advantage into the locker room.

Sylacauga came out of halftime looking like a different football team defensively.

The Aggies forced Leeds into a fourth-down situation on the Green Wave’s first possession of the third quarter. Leeds attempted a fake punt, making it appear the snap had sailed over the punter’s head, but the Aggies stayed with the play and stopped it.

That gave Sylacauga the football at the Leeds 43 and its best field position of the night.

Chambliss immediately went to work.

He ripped off eight yards on first down and moved the chains on his next carry. Jacks then went downfield for Jordan Brooks and drew a pass-interference penalty that moved Sylacauga inside the Leeds 15.

The Aggies were suddenly in position to make it a two-score game.

Leeds tightened defensively, however, and forced Sylacauga into a field-goal attempt. Adair came on to try a 29-yarder, but Leeds got penetration from the right side and blocked the kick.

It was a tough ending to what had been a good start to the second half for Sylacauga.
The Green Wave extended the lead later in the third quarter when Archer connected with Gator on a well-covered wheel route. It took an excellent throw to complete it, and Archer put the ball exactly where it needed to be for another Leeds touchdown.

Sylacauga continued to compete.

Chambliss ran hard throughout the night despite often having to make his first move in the backfield. He had several of his better runs after contact and continued carrying the load as the game moved into the second half.

Riley was asked to do a little bit of everything. He made plays as a receiver and returner and spent much of the night on the field defensively as well. He battled cramps during the second half after playing a heavy number of snaps.

Jacks made plays with both his arm and legs. His touchdown pass to McMillan was Sylacauga’s only scoring play, while several of his first-half runs helped keep drives alive.

Adair also had a strong night punting the football.

He pinned Leeds at its own 5-yard line with a first-half punt and was even better in the third quarter, when another punt rolled all the way to the 1 before Jeremiah Crawford got downfield to keep it out of the end zone.

Leeds eventually stretched the margin in the second half. A second blocked field goal was returned for a touchdown, and the Green Wave added two rushing scores in the fourth quarter, including one in the final minute with reserves on the field.

The final score didn't change what Sylacauga accomplished during the first two weeks of the season, and it won't change what is still in front of the Aggies.

They're 2-1. More importantly, there's another region game waiting next Friday night.

Sylacauga will spend the coming week working to clean up the penalties and missed tackles that proved costly against Leeds while building on the things it did well.

Friday was the first real adversity the Aggies have faced this season.

Next Friday will provide their first chance to answer it.

Sylacauga travels to Jacksonville for another big region matchup as the Aggies look to get back in the win column and improve to 3-1.