Eighth grader
Kole Moody of
Southside (Selma, Ala.) is leading the nation in passing while breaking state records and has the Panthers on the verge of their first championship appearance.
The 5-foot-7, 150-pound quarterback leads the nation in passing with 5,028 yards, according to MaxPreps leaderboards, and holds the Alabama single-season
passing record. The previous record was held by Tyler
Caldwell, who threw for 4,187 yards with
Cullman (Ala.) in 2008.
Moody and the Panthers are 13-0 and play in Friday's Class 3A state semifinals where a win would give the school its first championship game berth in school history. He's also thrown 58 touchdowns this season and needs two to break the state record set by Chris Smelley of
American Christian Academy (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) in 2005.
In each of his first 12 games, Moody threw for over 300 yards including six that topped 400 yards. During the final two games of October, he threw for 1,025 yards and 15 touchdowns
Junior
Cedrick Simmons is his top wide receiver and a state single-season record holder himself with 2,064 receiving yards this season. He has gone over 100 receiving yards in all but one game and has topped 200 yards in four contests. Simmons holds offers from Auburn, North Carolina and Purdue.
Moody is No. 2 in the nation in passing yards while Simmons is second in receiving yards, according to MaxPreps leaderboards of team's that enter stats.
Southside is led by head coach Charles Moody, Kole's father. Charles Moody is 57-24 since taking over the Panthers program in 2019 and has back-to-back 3A semifinal appearances after going 11-3 in 2024.
Overall, Charles Moody has 95 career wins as a head coach spanning back to 2011. He was a three-time selection to the All-SWAC team as a tight end for Alabama A&M where he caught 63 passes for 740 yards and six touchdowns between 2004-07.
Southside plays at
Bayside Academy (Daphne, Ala.) at 7 p.m. Friday (CT) for a trip to the Class 3A state championship game.
