Staff Report
In 2024, Brody Leonard averaged better than four yards per carry and toted the rock 125 times. His senior year, the Haddonfield coaching staff decided to see what would happen if they doubled up his carries.
Last fall, they found out that the more you give Leonard the ball, the better he gets.
Leonard was a whole lot stronger and more intimidating than his 6-foot, 185-pound roster stats might indicate, and he dished out some serious punishment to anybody trying to tackle him. He carried the ball just 20 times in the Bulldawgs’ first two games last season, combining for 55 yards and one touchdown. But once he started getting fed, he starting producing some serious gains.
Eighteen carries against Willingboro, 128 yards and two scores. Twenty carries and nearly 100 yards in a win over Seneca. Then 144 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Gloucester.
You get the picture. And in the state playoffs, he was even better. He ripped off 143 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Willingboro, then followed that up with a monster 35-carry, 234-yard, two-touchdown night as Haddonfield beat upstart Lower Cape May in the sectional semifinals.
The following week, Leonard had 201 yards and four touchdowns on 32 carries in a 28-7 win over Delran in the South Jersey Group 2 championship game. After a state semifinal loss against Camden, Leonard finished out his high school career with 120 yards and a pair of scores against rival Haddon Heights.
In just two varsity seasons, Leonard racked up more than 1,700 yards and 19 touchdowns, and he also finished with nearly 600 receiving yards. He was also a solid defender, notching 59 tackles during his career, and he was a weapon on special teams, too, totaling 362 kickoff return yards.
— Staff Writer Dave O’Sullivan
