Independence head coach John H. Lilly hasn’t made it a secret – his team wants to go fast.
They’re not the “seven seconds or less” Phoenix Suns, but close. The goal each snap is to get lined up and snap the ball within 12 seconds. That up-tempo approach has aided the Patriots well as they come into Friday’s Class AA quarterfinal averaging 60 points per game, having only scored less than 50 just once.
One way to stop that though, aside from playing great defense, is to slow the game down and limit Indy’s possessions.
That’s exactly what Lilly expects to see Friday when his Patriots (9-0) host No. 10 Roane County (9-2) with a spot in the Class AA semifinals on the line.
“They’re a pretty good football team,” Lilly said. “We knew the minute we heard they beat Nicholas County we were going to have our hands full. They have a running back that runs really hard and they play blood and guts football. They don’t mind going 3×4=12 and a first down. So it’ll be a unique challenge for us. We really haven’t played a team this year that’s done anything like that other than Nicholas County so we know it’s going to be a tough challenge.
“They’ve been successful with that and they’re 9-2 for a reason. I think that’s their style of ball and they feel good about it and that’s who they identify themselves as. They have pretty good size up front so that’s what we’re expecting.”
That approach poses a challenge for the Indy defense which gets a key player back this week. Starting defensive lineman Luke Allen, who missed last week’s game due to contact tracing, should be available in the trenches as the Patriots aim to slow the visitors down. While it would naturally seem silly to worry about the defense of a team that’s allowed just 21 points twice this season, the way Roane executes from the moment the play is relayed to the moment it’s snapped is what worries Lilly.
The Raiders capitalize on the use of sugar huddles, a tempo tactic where in which a team huddles close to the line of scrimmage, sprints out of the huddle and snaps the ball as quickly as possible. It prevents defenses from making quick adjustments and allows the offense to hide its formation.
“Right now we’re trying to establish how we’re going to defend them,” Lilly said. “We really haven’t played a team other than Nicholas County that’s grinded us. They run a lot of sugar huddle. They’ll huddle about two yards from the line, turn around and get huddled up and that doesn’t give you much time to get adjusted. It’s kind of tough to get ready for.
“What we’re trying to figure out is how we can adjust to their formations so quick. Like with our tempo we don’t change a lot of formations, we just go fast. They’re throwing different formations at you really quick so it’s kind of a unique offense. It’s a good look for them and a tough challenge for us. They’ll use some wing-T looks, come out with a sniffer (blocker behind the guard) and then go four-wide, so it’s a tough challenge.”
Those sniffer and wing-T looks have led to success for the Raiders as Briar Begler (1,499 yards, 20 TDs) and Skylar Delk (1059 yards, 12 TDs) each rushed for over 1,000 yards in the regular season. Begler was potent against Nicholas County last week, carrying the ball 31 times for 167 yards and a score.
On offense the Patriots figure to be dynamic as usual with a group that can beat you through the air or on the ground. Leading the air attack is QB Logan Phalin, a senior who did most of his damage last week as a rusher, picking up 77 yards and two touchdowns with his legs. He also has the ability to slice up a secondary with 19 touchdown passes on the season.
In the backfield all-stater Atticus Goodson leads the way, occasionally spelled by another dynamo in Judah Price. While the latter excelled in last week’s game against Shady with 236 yards rushing on 11 carries, the offensive line did a terrific job blocking for him with over 100 of those yards coming before contact.
His job may be be tougher this week not just because the level of competition increases each week, but also because Indy anticipates it’ll be without starting offensive lineman Michael Cheek who took a helmet to the knee late in last week’s win.
“I don’t think he’ll play,” Lilly said. “If we can brace him up, where he’s a senior he may try to give it a go, but looking at it right now I doubt he plays. It’s always tough to lose a 300-pounder and Mike moves well for a 300-pounder. He doesn’t get a lot of credit but he’s a two-year starter. He gets overshadowed a little bit with some of the other guys we have because they’re just good. (Logan) Isom’s shot up where he’s about 6-foot-6 or 6-foot-7 and (Brady) Grimmett’s good. It’s just tough to lose a 300-pounder because they’re not growing on trees. But hopefully we’ve got a kid that can step in there and give us reps. We feel comfortable with some guys that we’re trying to get to grow up and be ready, but it’s a tough deal for Mike because Mike’s solid.”
Independence will host Roane County on Friday, seeking its first semifinal appearance since 1986.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
