Gallery by Heather Belcher
COAL CITY – Winning high school football games has always been a priority.
In yet another season where schedules are being wrecked each week by COVID issues, the importance of winning has reached new heights.
With that shadow hanging over the game, Shady Spring rolled into Coal City looking to upset No. 8 Independence in a battle of Class AA Raleigh County rivals.
The upset was nowhere to be found on George Covey Field.
After enduring a two-week layoff due to a COVID shutdown and only four days of practice, the Patriots steamrolled the Tigers, 50-17.
“There was just the question of how we would come off not practicing for two weeks. I was really concerned about conditioning,” Independence head coach John H. Lilly said. “We had a lot of young kids that stepped up and played tonight which really helped us. I am proud of the kids. Our guys really work hard, and we have some good players. You put good attitudes and good players together, good things happen.”
Entering the game struggling to stop the run, Shady Spring head coach Vince Culicerto knew his troops faced some tough sledding against first team all-state running back Atticus Goodson.
Goodson toted the rock 26 times and piled up 326 yards and score five touchdowns.
“He is big as a mountain and pretty darn strong. He did good tonight,” Culicerto said. “He is a good back, and he runs hard. I thought we put some good licks on him, but he was too much tonight.”
Independence set the tone of the game early and put Shady Spring in a deep hole in the first seven minutes of the contest.
Taking the ball to start the game, the Patriots went 62 yards in seven plays for the game’s first score on an eight-yard run by Atticus Goodson to make it 6-0.
A quick three-and-out handed the ball back to Indy who struck again like a bolt of lightning.
On the second play of the series, Logan Phalin stepped back and dropped a perfect strike into the hands of Cyrus Goodson for a 51-yard touchdown.
“When we started going, the defender was still in a back-peddle. I felt like if he was in a back-peddle and that far off me, he was thinking I was going to run a hitch,” Cyrus explained. “I gave him a little studder, he closed in on me and I was gone. It was a great pass.”
The younger Goodson was not done with his heroics on the night. On the next Shady series, Goodson electrified the crowd with a 56-yard pick-6, giving Indy a 20-0 lead with 4:53 left in the first quarter.
“I saw it was a pass, so I dropped back a little and was playing soft coverage on him to get the open field tackle if he caught it,” Cyrus explained. “The quarterback hesitated a little and I told myself if he throws this, I am going to close and get the interception. He threw it and it was kind of a lob pass, so I went for it.”
Getting that early momentum was a big key in the game according to Cyrus.
“In a rival game, whoever gets the momentum first usually takes it,” Cyrus said. “With the fast start we had all the momentum going for us and it carried on all night.”
Atticus talked about watching his younger brother and his teammates play so well Friday.
“I have been told by a lot of people that this is the Atticus Goodson show. I think it is the Cyrus Goodson, Judah (Price), Logan (Phalin) and everybody else show,” Atticus said. “It’s amazing watching Cyrus do the things that he loves and has worked so hard for. This whole team works really hard.”
Shady would show some life in the second quarter trimming the lead to two scores on a 44-yard touchdown run by Caleb Whittaker.
The hope was short lived, however, as Indy’s power regained control and made it a 32-7 lead at halftime following two more Atticus Goodson scores in the quarter.
“The line was amazing tonight and our defense played well,” Atticus said. “We were getting called over-rated coming into this game and we just wanted to come out and show them that we weren’t.”
Although Atticus Goodson had another huge night, that was not the gameplan according to Lilly.
“The goal tonight was to try and spread the ball around,” Lilly said. “We really tried to do that tonight to hopefully make us a better football team. We will be better if we can spread it out.”
The older Goodson would open both quarters of the second half with scores from 51 and 17 yards. Sandwiched in between those scores was another Phalin touchdown pass, this time to Trey Bowers from 12 yards out.
“(Independence) is physical. They showed it tonight and put it to us early,” Culicerto said. “We did the worst thing you could do and gave up the deep ball. Then the pick-6 was huge. It just got us behind the eight-ball, and they kept moving that ball. But hats off to them. They’re better, no doubt, but we will stick with it. I saw a lot of fight out of them. We came back there and got a score. That showed some heart.”
Shady Spring scored in the second half on a 37-yard field goal from Will Harmon and a three-yard run from quarterback Cameron Manns.
“I want to give Shady credit. They battled hard until the end and got a score. They are not a bad football team,” Lilly said. “We were really concerned because Cam is a really good quarterback. He has good touch on the ball, and he has been throwing it really well. I thought our guys stepped up tonight, but Cam is a heckuva quarterback.”
For now, the next scheduled game for both teams will be against Westside. Independence (2-0) hosts the Renegades Friday, while Shady Spring (1-2) travels to Clear Fork in two weeks.
The Tigers were scheduled to play PikeView Friday, but that game was postponed due to Covid issues in Mercer County.
SS: 0 7 3 7 – 17
I: 20 12 12 6 – 50
First quarter
I: Atticus Goodson 8 run (kick no good)
I: Cyrus Goodson 51 pass from Logan Phalin (A. Goodson rush)
I: Cyrus Goodson 56 INT return
Second quarter
SS: Caleb Whittaker 44 run (Will Harmon kick)
I: Atticus Goodson 1 run (rush failed)
I: Atticus Goodson 16 run (pass failed)
Third Quarter
I: Atticus Goodson 51 run (pass failed)
I: Trey Bower 12 pass from Phalin (pass failed)
SS: Harmon 37 FG
Fourth Quarter
I: Atticus Goodson 17 run (rush failed)
SS: Cameron Manns 3 run (Harmon kick)
Team Stats
Rushing: (SS) Manns 5-(-10)-1, Bryson Pinardo 8-32, Whittaker 11-59, Michael Burgess 1-(-7), Jacob Showalter 2-(-8); (I) Atticus Goodson 26-326-5, Phalin 2-6, Judah Price 6-57, Tyler Linkswiler 1-16, Cyrus Goodson 1-9, Bowers 1-10.
Passing: (SS) Manns 10-22-93-0-1; (I) Phalin 9-16-189-1-1, Bowers 0-1.
Receiving: (SS) Gavin Davis 1-6, Whittaker 3-50, Showalter 2-8, Tyler Mackey 1-15; (I) Price 3-55, Cyrus Goodson 4-113-1, Bowers 2-20-1