LEEDS — Keith Etheredge said Friday that he loves “this type of football.”

“In 3A football, you got to be lucky,” he said. “Not just good, you got to be lucky and stay away from injury. Last year we stayed away from injuries, and we were lucky enough. … That’s the breaks in small football.

“I love this type of football, because you have to adjust, and it also gives those other guys opportunities to play and to step up, and to see if they’ve been paying attention and working hard in practice. And they do it every time.”

Etheredge’s and the Green Wave have an opportunity to do it again this week, after scoring 17 fourth-quarter points for a nerve-wracking 24-21 victory over undefeated Madison Academy. The defending 3A champs now host Piedmont, a region foe they defeated in overtime during the regular season.

The Leeds head coach immediately ranked Friday’s win near the top for his program.

“It’s at the top, next to the state championship from last year,” he said. “This is comparable to the Colbert Co. game from last year; it was that type of football game: a real smashmouth type of football game.”

To win, the Green Wave (11-2) had to overcome bad break after bad break, including two turnovers that resulted directly in touchdowns for the Mustangs (12-1), a myriad of costly penalties and at least three key injuries.

“I just feel like, we weren’t ready to go home,” junior back Dedrick Forsythe said. “Everybody had to step it up – our line had to step it up, defensive back, linebacker, defensive line, from the whole Leeds football team, we had to step it up.”

Forsythe shouldered the bulk of the rushing load for the Green Wave down the stretch, particularly after fellow back Ladarius Rodgers suffered a scary neck injury while fighting for yardage midway through the fourth quarter, with the home team trailing 21-14.

Rodgers, a sophomore, laid virtually motionless on the turf at Homer Smiles Field for nearly 20 minutes while trainers worked to strap him to a backboard and load him onto an ambulance. The tailback finished with 125 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, raised his arm to the crowd as he left the field; afterward, Etheredge said he thought he was “OK.”

“He had full movement in his arms and legs and was feeling everything,” he said. “He got his IV and he said, ‘Ow!’ so I think he’ll be fine.”

Forsythe scored the game-tying touchdown – his second of the game on a night in which he rushed for over 200 yards – on the very next play from scrimmage.

“I had to do all that for (Rodgers),” he said. “I just had to put my team on my shoulders, and they put me on their shoulders. They looked at me to make the plays, and I had to step up and make the plays.”

The junior workhorse then set up the game-winning sequence – he picked off MA quarterback Chris Clouser inside the Green Wave 20-yard line to snuff out the ensuing Mustang drive. After the possession change, Forsythe carried the ball nine times on a 14-play drive that culminated in a 29-yard field goal by sophomore Keaton Glass.

“He’s (Forsythe) a player, he’s a player,” Etheredge said. “He’s gonna make plays for us. He might not have made that interception, except Javier Mitchell, our sophomore, comes off the edge and hits the quarterback in the back and makes the ball wobble a little bit.

“It’s just a total team effort – our guys played great from top to bottom.”

The kick cleared the crossbar with 6 seconds showing on the clock.

“I didn’t say anything (after the kick),” said Glass. “My teammates were running up to me – I was just kind of bombarded by teammates.

“They were like, ‘Good job, Keaton!’ The seniors were like, ‘Thank you for making my season last longer.’ That’s what we do all this for – it’s for the seniors.”

The undefeated Mustangs led Friday’s game after three quarters thanks to a pair of turnovers they turned into scores. The first came when Mustang senior Jordan Kerr intercepted Leeds’ Rush Perkins midway through the first quarter – he returned the football 65 yards for a score, and the ensuing PAT made it 7-0 MA with 1:36 to play in the period.

“We played hard the entire game,” Mustang head coach Eric Cohu said. “We’ve been playing hard the entire season. We just came up a little short there at the end.”

A Forsythe touchdown tied it at halftime. Then, in the third quarter, on a simple handoff to Forsythe, the ball came free, winding up in the hands of Mustang senior Jordan Matthews. Fifty-five yards later, MA had another touchdown.

Despite three offensive first downs — none in the third quarter — the Mustangs led 14-7 after the PAT.

“The season was an outstanding season,” Cohu said. “The expectations were pretty low coming in – these guys exceeded everything, and they had an awesome year.”

Rodgers and the Green Wave made the first move in the fourth; the sophomore scored from six yards away, and Glass’ PAT tied the game.

Madison’s offense sprang to life on the ensuing possession – the Mustangs drove 56 yards in six plays, culminating in a rushing touchdown by junior Timothy Hamlett. The PAT made it 21-14.

Leeds responded in kind with a 64-yard drive, halted briefly by Rodgers’ injury and culminating in Forsythe’s 11-yard score.

The Green Wave finished with 399 yards of rushing offense as a team, despite injuries to Rodgers, fullback Sam Johnson and quarterback Rush Perkins (the status of all three was questionable for this week at press time).

“With our style, it’s a wonder we don’t get more injuries,” Etheredge said. “Of course, we lost our quarterback tonight, we lost our tailback tonight, we lost our fullback. Hopefully we go in there, and it’s just bang-up injuries and they’re able to get back out there.”

After Glass’ go-ahead kick, Matthews had an opportunity on the ensuing kickoff. His desperation return, however, fell short – Leeds defenders snowed him under at his own 30-yard line.

Kickoff between the Green Wave and Piedmont is set for 7 p.m. Friday.