Gallery by F. Brian Ferguson
The dominance of the Class AA No. 4 Independence football team was reaching historic proportions through six games.
However, there were still some whispers. Were the huge numbers a result of a weak schedule or are the Patriots that good?
Friday night against AA No. 5 Nicholas County, those whispers were put to rest.
Striking by land and through the air, the Patriots scored 35 first-half points in a 57-21 thrashing of the Grizzlies on homecoming.
“I think our team wanted to show that we are a good football team,” Independence head coach John H. Lilly said. “We knew (Nicholas County) was very well coached and we knew we had a battle up here. I was really proud of our kids for accepting the challenge.”
Nicholas County entered the game hoping to slow down the Patriots high octane offense. Indy quickly turned those hopes into a nightmare scenario.
Following a strong gainer from Atticus Goodson, quarterback Logan Phalin hit Judah Price with a pass near the sideline. A quick burst from Price ended 47 yards later for the first score of the game.
With the focus on Goodson most of the night, it was the Patriots’ passing game that was the difference in the contest.
“We knew they would focus on Atticus,” Lilly said. “That has kinda been our game plan all year. If they load up on Atticus, we have some guys on the outside.”
A three-and-out by the Indy defense gave the ball back to the offense who kept the heat on the Grizzlies.
“We just had a real tough time stopping the pass,” Nicholas County head coach Gene Morris said. “With their ability to throw the ball, I left the guys on an island a little too much and that is on me. They were able to beat us in some one-on-one matchups and that kinda hurt us.”
The Patriots marched 74 yards in eight plays and Atticus Goodson made it a 13-0 game on a four-yard jaunt.
The key play of the drive was a 41-yard pass from Phalin to Trey Bowers to set up Goodson.
In a game where he had to shine for Indy to have success, Phalin was on point all night, The senior signal caller threw for 254 yards on nine completions. Four of his strikes went for touchdowns.
“It was all my receivers and my O-line tonight. They made me look good and they do that every week,” Phalin said. “We went to the field almost everyday in the offseason. We felt like we could be good if we just put in the work during the offseason and we are seeing the results of that now.”
The first chance for a big play for the Grizzlies went awry when a pass intended for Kaleb Clark fell incomplete. Clark was running free out of the backfield down the sideline.
“We couldn’t get our passing game on track tonight. We moved the ball effectively sometimes, but they were able to load up the box,” Morris said.
Heavy doses of Atticus Goodson moved the ball into scoring position before another Goodson stepped into the limelight.
Doing his own version of “You Got Mossed,” Cyrus Goodson went over top of the defender for a score from 18 yards out.
“We started on the 18 and the coaches called a pass play. I thought that was weird because we don’t normally pass this close to the end zone. I was thinking it would be a fade. We had worked on that over the offseason and we would say, imagine it happening in a game. We got it,” Cyrus Goodson said. “I was telling myself, don’t get the flag. We kinda got close together and you couldn’t see it, but I gave him a little push. I jumped and I knew I was going to catch it because my arms were right over his head.”
The second quarter started perfect for Nicholas County who appeared to get itself back in the game. Chewing up seven minutes off the clock, the Grizzlies scored on a one-yard plunge from Brycen Morriston.
Indy appeared to immediately get the momentum back, however when Bowers returned the ensuing kick to Nicholas 27-yard line.
This time, the Nicholas defense was up to the challenge. Forcing a three-and-out, the defense gave the ball back to the offense with just over three minutes to play.
Getting the ball to start the second half, the Grizzlies went for a quick strike down the middle of the field. Waiting on the other end of the pass was Cyrus Goodson who returned the interception back to the Nicholas County 18-yard line.
“It was man-to-man and I was thinking run, because they run the ball so well,” Goodson said. They caught me sleeping a little bit, but I felt like if they put it deep that I could get it. I got it, but that runback would not have happening without everybody blocking.”
“We threw a pick. After the big return, the defense swelled up and stopped them. We kinda took the momentum back,” Morris said. “We had a guy open there, but we just under threw it a little bit. We are going to take those shots and see if we can win. We aren’t going to play too conservatively, even though we like to run more than we throw it.’
Two runs from Atticus Goodson pushed the lead out to 27-7, but unfortunately for the Grizzlies, the first half frustrations were not over.
A Nicholas fumble on the next play led to a 38 yard touchdown pass from Phalin to Price for the 35-7 lead at the break.
“With their style of offense, it is very hard to get them off the field. The turnovers helped us a little bit because we could get a buffer lead there,” Lilly said “Once we got a lead, they had a hard time with the style of offense they play.”
Nicholas County would not get closer than the 28-point halftime deficit.
With the win, the Patriots have likely secured at least one home game in the playoffs this year. It will be the first time since 1994 that Patriots will host a playoff game. It will also be the first time in school history that the game will be played on the campus in Coal City. The two previous games hosted were at Woodrow Wilson High School.
“It’s huge and we know that. We have never had a home playoff game at our stadium,” Lilly said.
I: 19 16 6 16 – 57
NC: 0 7 7 7 – 21
First quarter
I: Judah Price 47 pass from Logan Phalin (Atticus Goodson kick)
I: Goodson 4 run (kick no good)
I: Cyrus Goodson 18 pass from Phalin (kick blocked)
Second quarter
NC: Brycen Morriston 1 run (Braden Short kick)
I: A. Goodson 7 run (Price rush)
I: Price 38 pass from Phalin (Price rush)
Third quarter
I: Cyrus Goodson 66 pass from Phalin (rush failed)
NC: Kaleb Clark 1 run (Short kick)
Fourth quarter
I: Price 4 run (Price rush)
NC: Alex Pritt 4 run (Short kick)
I: Price 15 run (Price rush)
Game stats
Rushing: (I) Atticus Goodson 13-90-2, Phakin10-76, Price 10-54; (NC) Kaleb Clark 28-117-1, Alex pritt8-53-1, Jeff Girod 3-28, Morriston 8-26-1
Passing: (I) Phalin 9-18-254-4; (NC) Morriston 1-6-22-0-2
Receiving: (I) Price 3-96-2, Trey Bower 3-68, Cyrus Goodson 2-84-2, Atticus Goodson 1-6; (NC) Clark
